From our humble beginnings with five growers on Park Marina Drive in 1975, the Redding Certified Farmers Market
then relocated to the old City Hall.
As we grew, the market then moved to a much larger site at the Mount Shasta Mall
parking lot on Dana Drive, and we eventually hired our first Market Manager. Everything went well until new construction at the
mall forced us to relocate to the northwest corner of the mall parking lot on Hilltop Drive. This location proved to be very unsatisfactory
as there was no visibility from the street and not much room for the market or parking for the customers.
Searching for
another location, we were offered the upper parking lot of the downtown mall accross from the Lorenz Hotel, figuring we would be an
asset to Redding's downtown redevelopment program.
The two moves in one year proved financially devastating to the Association
which required fee increases for growers and $100 or more fee advances by the board members and those willing to contribute,
just to get the Market started the following year.
At the same time, there was a demand for a mid-week
market on the other side of town and it was decided to start a Tuesday morning market at the Shasta Center parking Lot on Churn Creek
Road. This has continued to be a successful market over the years.
In 1995, eleven years ago while we were still at the
downtown mall on Saturday we were invited to participate in Marketfest, a mid-summer weekly event put on by the Viva Downtown
in the Library Park behind the Lorenz Hotel on Thursday evenings. We will continue to participate in this event.
Meanwhile, even though the downtown mall location was slowly growing, there were several drawbacks. It was not the best location
for our customers, and the inclined parking structure was a problem for the vendors - runaway apples or pumpkins would roll
clear down to the bottom of the parking lot, vendors were wearing their shoes off sideways and the expansion joints were trouble for
our older and wheelchair bound customers. Murals on the parking lot walls attest to our former location at this site.
As we searched
for a more appropriate site, the new Civic Center west parking lot on Cypress Avenue was suggested, and the City accepted our proposal
to relocate there. We were excited because the Civic Center had the advantage of plenty of space, level ground, and good visibility
from the busiest street in town. The location was esthetically appealing as well. The number of vendors and customers has grown rapidly
every year since our move six years ago.
Five years ago in 2002, we started a satellite market in Burney which we
now hold on Wednesday afternoons. It is continuing to be a growing and successful market serving the County.
In 2007, we
added two new Markets.The Shasta Growers Association has taken in the Anderson Market to be held at Shasta District Fairgounds on
Thursday mornings from 7:30am-12 noon.
Turtle Bay Market located in the parking lot by the museum entrance on Sundays
from 9am -1 pm.
