Separate markets operate in Wellington every Saturday. A group of vendors is seeking a reunion. 

An online petition called One Wellington Market proposes to unite the Wellington Community Market, which runs at the United Church, with The Eddie’s Wellington Farmers’ Market.

Where and how the two could merge remains in question.

“A whole bunch of us at the market have been talking about this for the past couple of years. We want to document the support that exists for a single market,” said Dave Ullrich, who owns and operates the Lemonade Dave stand at the Community Market. 

“It’s not about creating one market, it’s about returning to one market.”

The petition is meant to gauge what the community wants. Based on conversations and comments on the petition, Mr. Ullrich said “there’s a strong appetite for just one market.”

Back in 2021, the lease at the United Church was up for renewal, sparking discussion about the market’s future. 

“There were quite a few vendors who were discouraged by how the market was being run, so we had a couple of meetings and talked about what we could do to help the market go in a better direction,” said Dee Hazell, a Community Market board member. 

When the church put out a call for proposals, a group of vendors got together to form a not-for-profit and the Wellington Community Market was born.

Patricia McDermott, who runs the Wellington Farmers Market through Prince Edward County Markets Inc., a for-profit enterprise, decided to take her business to The Eddie. 

“Some vendors decided to stay with Patricia and go to the Eddie and some decided to stay at the church with the new market,” said Ms. Hazell.

One of the reasons for the split was the overlap of products on offer: too many vendors, not enough selection. 

“We want a little bit of competition, but not too much,” said Ms. Hazell. 

Marie Greatrix, who manages the now bustling Picton Town Hall Farmers Market, noted that she’s able to contain the number of vendors by maintaining the number of farmers at 51 percent or more.

“Until we have a lot more farmers at the market, I can’t have a lot more vendors at the market,” she said.

Another issue was space. Michael Von Teichman, co-owner of The Eddie, said when they were approached to host, there were concerns about the by-products of success: congestion, lack of parking, and traffic safety in the village. The Eddie offered a stress-free alternative.

“Our vendors are doing well, our market’s busy, we have free parking, we’re accessible by the Millennium Trail. At the time we did this, we thought we were assisting in alleviating some of the congestion.” 

Ms. Hazell also noted that the Wellington Community Market has grown steadily over the past four years. 

As for business, “It fluctuates. I think this summer has been pretty good. I sell mitts and socks and you’d be surprised at how many people are buying mittens in 32 degree weather,” she said. 

For the proponents of One Wellington Market, recapturing the halcyon days comes down to community cohesion. 

“People are constantly asking, ‘why are there two markets?’” said Mr. Ullrich. “Two markets at the same time, less than 5 kilometers apart, in a community the size of about 2,000 people. It doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

Still, it’s not clear how obstacles like space and different operational structures will be navigated. Mr. Ullrich proposes a third-party mediator to facilitate discussion.

“Some vendors feel very strongly about uniting the two markets, and some feel very strongly that they want our market to stay a not-for-profit at the church. They don’t want the Wellington Community market to change,” said Ms. Hazell. 

On the other hand, discussion is now out in the open, and concerned parties are following where it leads.

“They’re welcome to come here,” says the Eddie’s Mr. Teichman. “They can’t accommodate all the vendors and the traffic at that market.”

For Ms. Greatrix, it all comes down to finding shared priorities. 

“You’re looking at the customer, the community, and the vendor. Those three things need to be equally balanced to make a great market.”