Open-Air Certified Farmers Market to Debut at Old Town La Quinta on Sundays Starting November 9

Popular Community Event to Offer Fresh Produce, Food & Fun

PALM SPRINGS - October 21, 2008: A new open-air Certified Farmers Market at Old Town La Quinta featuring fresh produce and fruit grown by local farmers, as well as other farm-based products will open November 9, it was announced today. The market is a program of the Palm Springs Cultural Center and will be hosted locally by Old Town La Quinta and the City of La Quinta.

The market in La Quinta will be open every Sunday from 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Old Town La Quinta. Opening Day festivities will kick-off with some 16 vendors offering fresh vegetables and fruit (no spray and organic), cut flowers, honey, eggs, nuts, herbs, bread, cheese and plants. The new market day is an expansion of the popular weekly event held in Palm Springs each Saturday that is expected to attract tens of thousands of people there during its current season concluding in May, 2009.

"We're very excited to be bringing these wonderful local farmers and vendors to Old Town," said Rozene Supple, a Founding Director of the Palm Springs Cultural Center. "Palm Springs embraced the market last year and I know La Quinta will this year. It's a special community event because it embodies a big change in the way people think about food, the environment, and buying locally."

The Certified Farmers Market at Old Town La Quinta will feature many of the same farmers and vendors that participate in the Palm Springs market, including Jaime Farms, Ramirez Farms, Hamlow Farms, Lichen-Z Farm, Temecula Olive Oil Company, Arriaga Flowers, Evergreen Nursery, Winchester Cheese, Bautista Organic Dates, Aunt Willie's Apiary Honey, and L'Artisan Valley Baking Company. Additionally, local favorite Madison Street Produce of Indio will offer a mouth-watering selection of fresh vegetables and fruits.

"Our residents seeking locally-grown food and produce will have a new option right here in La Quinta," said La Quinta Mayor Don Adolph. "Supporting our local farming families is not only critical to preserving our agricultural heritage, but it's also fresher, healthier, and just plain better. Our unanimous vote last week to support the market is indication of how supportive we are at the City to have this market right here at Old Town La Quinta."

A "Market Chef" booth will be a weekly, featured event with cooking demonstrations and recipes using fresh produce from the Market. Weekly musical entertainment will provide a lively backdrop while shoppers peruse the wide selection of produce, products, plants and flowers.

"A Certified Farmers Market is approved and certified by the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Most of the vendors at the market will offer organic, no spray and chemical-free products. Very simply, it's where you can find the freshest, best-tasting produce available," said Paul Palodichuk, Manager of both Certified Farmers Markets, trumpeting the opening of the new La Quinta market. "All of our farmers and vendors are regionally-based -- most within 100 miles of the Coachella Valley -- so the food is incredibly fresh. It's part of our mission to help maintain the viability of these farms by supporting the local purchase of home-grown products."

"A farmers market, a cup of coffee, a sunny morning, and seeing friends has always been my vision for Old Town," said Wells Marvin, owner of Old Town La Quinta. "Our quaint Main Street is ideally suited for a European-style farmers market, and I think it will remind everyone of their best memories of Tuscany, Carmel or La Jolla. The new Certified Farmers Market will make Sundays even more special at Old Town La Quinta."

The Palm Springs Certified Farmers Market is a weekly "food-based" community event sponsored by the Palm Springs Cultural Center, a non-profit organization established to advance both access to and enjoyment of a broad range of cultural arts in the Coachella Valley. It does so by serving as an engine to foster new activities and connections that create synergies benefitting both people and communities.