Following a few years of discussion, plans for a weekly farmers market in Guadalupe have taken root with the City Council approving an agreement for the event to occur at Le Roy Park.

On Nov. 25, the Guadalupe City Council approved the memorandum of understanding for the Cosecha Guadalupe Farmers Market. 

Cosecha, Spanish for harvest, will launch in early in 2026 in the small city surrounded on three sides by fields of produce, according to Judy Wilson from the Guadalupe Business Association.

“I think it’s a great idea,” Mayor Ariston Julian said, noting the benefit for the city’s restaurants if farmers market customers also stop for a meal.

“(It’s) a long-time coming. Just get it going,” he added.

Earlier this year, the Cosecha Guadalupe Farmers Market became affiliated with the nonprofit Guadalupe Business Association. 

Under this arrangement, the event would be operated by a market manager who would be subject to the oversight of the Cosecha Guadalupe Farmers Market Committee of the Guadalupe Business Association.  

Farmers market shoppers will need a tad more patience. Organizers estimated the event won’t begin until February, with operations expected weekly from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays.

Efforts to establish a weekly farmers market began in 2022 when proponents suggested a Friday event at Veterans Memorial Plaza, City Attorney Phil Sinco said.

Instead, the city suggested Le Roy Park as a better location.

Veterans Memorial Plaza, off Guadalupe Street (Highway 1) offers better visibility than Le Roy Park, which sits a block off the busy street running through the middle of town. 

Organizers ultimately agreed Le Roy Park offered the best location for a farmers market.

Under the negotiated agreement, the farmers market can set up a small “pop-up booth” and signage at no cost from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays, Sinco added.

That’s designed to help promote the new farmers market and direct customers to the new event at the park, Wilson said.

Other features of the pact include a six-month term with an option to extend another six months if both sides agree.

The agreement allows the use from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., providing an hour for set-up before and clean-up after the market’s operations.

After organizers initially sought a year-long fee waiver, the City Council agreed to allow the farmers market to use the park without paying the $520 fee for six months.

The farmers market won’t use electricity or water, and vendors will be expected to remove their own trash, helping trim costs for the city.  The agreement also spells out insurance requirements for farmers market operators.

Wilson said the organization is looking for a farmers market manager to oversee the event.