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Wicker Park Farmers Market Canceled For Mother's Day Weekend

 Jessie Weingartner looks over cloves of garlic at the 2013 Wicker Park Farmers Market.
Jessie Weingartner looks over cloves of garlic at the 2013 Wicker Park Farmers Market.
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DNAinfo file photos/Alisa Hauser

WICKER PARK — The Wicker Park Farmers Market was abruptly cancelled this weekend, but organizers say it will begin next week.

The market was set to begin earlier than usual this year, on Mother's Day, but complications with the permit forced organizers to cancel it, said Jessica Wobbekind of the Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce.

Details about why the permit did not come through were not immediately available, but the farmers market is set to begin next Sunday, May 17, Wobbekind said.

The market will run 8 a.m.-2 p.m. every Sunday through Oct. 26 inside the park, 1425 N. Damen Ave.

For this year's Wicker Park Farmers Market, which got off to a sluggish start last June before picking up as the season went on, the local chamber hopes some new music offerings and a few popular vendors will help keep people coming.

The Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber also has a bigger role in organizing this year's market after it started a gradual process of taking the reins from the city last year.

"It’s kind of an internship, if you will," said Adam Burck, the chamber's executive director.

Mary May, a spokeswoman for the city's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, described the process as a partnership and said in a statement that the transition is about the market "growing and evolving to fit and cater to each community's personality."

May said the city is further developing the idea of a "Community Market" this year, which involves a typical farmers market but with additional music or other vendors that showcase the neighborhood.

It means more work for the chamber, which is now charged with staffing the event and has hired someone part time to help handle the market, but it also comes with some advantages, he said.

"It fits with our kind of community focus and continuing to promote the area," Burck said. "A farmers market is a really great promotional tool for highlighting what makes the area unique."

In 2013, the market faced dwindling attendance in the beginning and lost a few of its vendors to other city markets, such as Green City Market or the one in Logan Square.

But Burck maintained the market doesn't face competition from Logan Square, which he characterized as having a "different layout" and a bit more space to work with.

Burck said some new enticements this year include a number of artists who will play acoustic music during the fest, which the chamber decided to add after the success of its first ChillFest in 2013.

The addition of music is a "way to kind of promote the performing arts in the neighborhood," Burck said.

As for a few of the new vendors, one notable this year is Pinch Spice Market, which closed its Bucktown storefront in December and started operating virtually.

"This is a great way for them to have this kind of personal presence in the neighborhood," Burck said.

Another new vendor of note is Crumb, owned by breadmaker Anne Kostroski, who customers might know from her yearly rounds at the Logan Square and Green City Markets or from Sauce and Bread Kitchen, an Edgewater collaboration between Kostroski and Co-op Sauce.

Puffs of Doom, a popular stop at events such as Lollapalooza for its sweet and savory pastry puffs, will also be making its first appearance at the Wicker Park market.

A list of the 20 confirmed vendors:

Crumb (bread), Chicago

D-ology (bakery specializing in gluten-free and vegan goods), Chicago

Fehr Brothers Farms (meat, eggs), Eureka

Garden Offerings (flowers), Huntley

Golden Teardrop (art, jewelry), Chicago

Iron Creek Farms (fruits, vegetables), LaPorte, Ind.

Lando Jerky (beef jerky), Chicago

Lou’s Old-Fashioned (pickled vegetables, salsas, coffee cake), Des Plaines

Mint Creek (meats), Stelle

MJC Crepes (crepes), Chicago

Nibbles (cookies), Chicago

Nichols Farm & Orchard (fruits, vegetables), Marengo

Pasta Pappone (pasta), Chicago and suburbs

Pinch Spice Market (spices), Chicago

Puffs of Doom (pastry puffs), Chicago

River Valley Ranch & Kitchens (produce), Burlington, Wis.

Seedling (fruit), South Haven, Michigan

Sharpening by Dave (knife sharpening), Chicago and suburbs (At the market on select dates)

Spencer's Jolly Posh Foods (British and Irish-style meats), Chicago

Stamper Cheese (cheese), Chicago

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