The familiar smells of fresh-baked bread and homemade pastries filled the air as the hustle and bustle of the Community Market returned to the Backus Community Center parking lot Wednesday.
Seven vendors kicked off the season with a variety of goods for sale including electrical needs and award-winning cookies.
Hoa Sobczynski, Backus business manager, said a prosperous market season is expected.
“We always get a very good, positive response from both vendors and customers,” Sobczynski said.
The Community Market will be set up from 4-6:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, and from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays in the Backus parking lot facing Third Street. The season will run — rain or shine — until Sept. 29.
As the market enters its fifth year, Sobczynski said several of the same vendors the community has grown to expect will return to their booths selling the products anticipated by loyal customers.
“Business is good and everybody remembers me from last year,” said Danielle Davenport, who is known to Community Market shoppers as “The Bread Lady.”
Davenport said this is the second year she has brought her homemade breads, pies, and other treats to the market. The relationship developing between customers and vendors brought her back.
“I really like all the people,” she said. “Both the customers and the other vendors. We’re like a big family.”
Priscilla Schrock, another bread vendor, has been part of the Community Market since 2008. Along with her daughters, Julie and Michelle, Schrock said she enjoys the retuning customers who visit her booth in search of her popular cinnamon swirl bread and herb dinner rolls.
“I think people enjoy that my bread is homemade and very fresh,” Schrock said.
The baker said she is up early Tuesday morning in preparation for Wednesday’s sale and finds herself putting the finishing touches on the final loaf just minutes before market time.
“I’ve been baking bread for years,” she said. “I really love it.”
This year marks the third at market for Jackie Carroll of Carroll’s Creations. The crafter offers a variety of goods, including her fan-favorite: doggie biscuits.
“People love them,” she said of the canine treat. “They seem to not be able to get enough of them.”
She also sews “tush cushions” of all different patterns. The self creation was prompted while Carroll attended her grandson’s hockey games.
“I didn’t want to sit on a cold bench,” she explained. “So I put together a tush cushion. I think people around here can get a lot of use out of them.”
Oleg Simutkin said this is his second year participating in the Community Market.
Simutkin supplied treats for shoppers with a sweet tooth Wednesday, including his peach cookies, voted as the top cookie in a Littlefork cookie contest.
“I like when people like my creations,” Simutkin said. “It is all baked at home. This is what I do.”
Simutkin explained that he is a certified baker and he and his wife, Irina, have more than 40 years of combined baking experience.
“We love what we do,” he said. “And people love what we do.”
As the season progresses, Simutkin says he plans to offer a variety of treats ranging from his Russian-style honey cakes to his Americanized banana cupcakes.
Stacy Hall, another second-year vendor, brought fresh, home-grown eggs and honey to sell.
“We view this as a good opportunity to get our farm out there and to connect with the community,” Hall said.
She explained that the honey is locally grown on her family’s farm. “We have three hives of bees,” she said.
Hall plans to expand her products as the season continues by adding lip balms and soaps made from bee’s wax.
“I just received the supplies, so I hope to have more stuff available soon,” she noted.
And for some, this year will be their first with the Community Market.
Darrell and Myra Anderson, who made their seasonal home on Rainy River a permanent address this year, recently moved from the East Coast and although they are seasoned vendors, this will be their first attempt at the Community Market.
“Most of the stuff at my table is handmade by family,” Myra said of the colorful crafts spread in front of her. “I love to vendor.”
Darrell displayed a variety of electrical supplies that he said he has accumulated through the years, but “it is time to get rid of it.”
The couple said the market is a great place to get to know the community. The pair expects to make an appearance at as many of the established market dates as possible, however, Darrell says his attendance “depends on the walleyes.”
Sobczynski said more tables are expected at the market as the season continues.
“A lot of the produce isn’t ready yet,” she said. “By mid-to-late July, there will be a lot of produce out there.”
Sobczynski said this year will be the second for a Wednesday night market, and she expects it to mirror last year’s success.
“We have a lot of people stop by after work and on their way to concerts in the park,” she explained. “I think there will be a lot of traffic on Wednesdays again this year.”
Interested vendors are still welcome to sign up to participate in the Community Market, according to Sobczynski. The cost is $80 for the season and $20 per week. Fee proceeds go back into the Backus fund. For more information, call Sobczynski at Backus, 285-7225.
