Olympia Farmers Market moves back to four-days-a-week schedule on April 1

The Olympia Farmers Market, which has been operating on a smaller scale over the past year, will soon be looking and sounding more like it did before COVID-19.

Beginning Thursday, April 1, the market will launch its 2021 season and be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays for the first time since 2019. It’s the normal high-season schedule for the market, which draws shoppers with food and crafts grown and made in Washington — but after a year of pandemic, what used to be normal is big news.

Also coming to the market in April: a socially distanced on-site dining area and recorded music meant to echo the old days, when live entertainment was a big part of the market’s vibe.

“We’re excited about the incremental steps to getting back to normal or our new normal,” said Amy Healy, vice president of the market’s board and owner of Healy Originals, which sells bags, pouches and other items decorated with prints of ferns and leaves.

Last year’s market was smaller than normal in several ways. During the growing season from April to mid-June, it was open weekends only, then Friday hours were added.

The number of vendors dropped, too, from 65 to 28.

That’s partly because social distancing requirements limited space and partly because some vendors chose to stay away, said Brett Warwick, who started work as the market’s operations manager in January.

With fewer hours and fewer vendors — and with crafters other than soap makers prohibited by COVID-19 restrictions from selling between March and June — it’s no surprise that the market’s sales were down, too. But Warwick said he was pleasantly surprised when he reviewed the numbers.

“We actually ended up doing just well enough to stay in the black,” he told The Olympian. “We made about 75 percent of what we do in a normal year. I was shocked. I was expecting the numbers to be a lot lower.”

Though business was fairly strong, the market didn’t feel like a hub of the community during the pandemic, said Healy, who’s been selling at the market since the mid-’90s, when she worked with her parents at their woodworking booth.

“It definitely had a different feel with the weight of the pandemic,” she said. “The market went from feeling like this great community meeting place, a place to support local food and local artists and producers, to feeling much more utilitarian.

“Going into this year feels a lot better,” she said. “We know a lot more. A bunch of our crafters are coming back because they’ve been vaccinated.”

In April, there’ll be between 45 and 50 vendors, Warwick said. Among them is a handful of new ones, including Domina Dairy Farm, Olympia Salsa, and Mediterranean Flavors, which sells hummus and pita chips.

April also brings the return of Senior Thursdays, when the market is less crowded and vendors offer discounts and specials for people 55 and older. And then there’ll be the background music and the return of limited onsite dining.

But even as things open up, the market is keeping safety precautions in place and continuing to offer online shopping with low-contact pickup.

“That’s a great way for people to support the market without the exposure of going,” Healy said. “People can still get great fresh food, and there are crafters and other vendors on there, too.”

Olympia Farmers Market

• What: The market launches its 2021 season and resumes high season hours on April 1, returning to its pre-pandemic four-days-a-week schedule.
• When: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays
• Where: 700 Capitol Way N., Olympia
• More information: 360-352-9096, http://www.olympiafarmersmarket.com
• Precautions: The market is continuing to take precautions aimed at slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus, including having just one entrance and one exit, limiting the number of shoppers, encouraging social distancing and, of course, requiring masks.
• Online shopping: The market is continuing to offer online shopping with low-contact pickup.