It’s time to chase those winter blues away with a little farmers market therapy! The Annual Winter Blues Farmers Market returns for its 16th year on March 1 at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center from 12-5 p.m. Agribusinesses from across the state will set up shop to sample and sell their products. You can find everything from fresh produce to baked goods fresh from the oven, freeze-dried snacks, handmade soaps, raw honey, award-winning apple butter, jams, jellies, sauces, syrups and much, much more. The best part is it’s free to the public.
“Winter Blues is a really special event,” says Commissioner of Agriculture Kent Leonhardt. “We love to see all these agribusinesses under one roof, working together to promote West Virginia agriculture. We hope to see a big crowd this
year come out and support our West Virginia farmers and producers. For every dollar you spend at Winter Blues, that’s a dollar that’s going back into a West Virginia community. And every product you buy, you have the opportunity to ask
the farmer/producer where it was made, how it was made, and the ingredients they used to make it. It is the best example of ‘Know your farmer, know your food.’”
The deadline for vendors to apply for a spot at Winter Blues is February 14. You can find the 2025 Winter Blues Vendor Application at: https://agriculture.wv.gov/ag-business/winter-blues-farmers-market/.
Winter Blues is sponsored by the West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA) and the WVU Extension Small Farm Conference.
In 2024, 118 agribusinesses took part in the event with a sales total of $142,000.
