Farmers market harvests success in Henderson

Anyone who showed up at the Henderson's Farmers Market an hour after its debut Thursday discovered that most of the fresh produce had already been snatched up.

Organizers are hailing as a great success the event that about 5,000 people attended. Many vendors sold out within an hour.

"We estimated 3,500 people were here within the first 40 minutes," said Michelle Romero, spokeswoman for the city's community development department.

But many who went downtown to "get fresh" -- part of the market's slogan -- were disappointed by the lack of produce.

Sam and Deena Jannoud, with their 3 1/2-year-old son, Tyler, said they arrived about 5 p.m. in search of fresh strawberries, but all the produce except oranges was sold out.

The Jannouds moved to Green Valley five years ago from San Luis Opisbo, Calif., which is home to an extremely successful farmers market, Deena Jannoud said. She added they have been looking forward to the Henderson market's opening.

"It's neat," she said. "We're glad they have done it."

Another woman leaving the parking lot said she was disappointed. "There were three stands and nothing here. This was terrible."

But the Jannouds said they plan to give the market another chance in a few weeks, after it has time to get better organized.

Ron Martin, a strawberry vendor from Ontario, Calif., said that because of the demand he will bring double the number of flats to next week's market.

"I sold out 100 flats within an hour," he said. "It really surprised me. I was only going to bring 50 flats, but I know Las Vegas and (the residents) can't get enough fresh produce here."

It's difficult to gauge how much produce to bring to a new market until it gets off the ground, he said.

"Once this (market) gets going, I think it will be a successful one," he said.

The farmers market, which is set to run 4-7 p.m. every Thursday in the downtown Civic Center Plaza, is a joint venture between the city and its redevelopment agency as part of the city's downtown revitalization efforts.

The market is open to local and out-of-town vendors. Romero said 23 vendors were on hand for the market's debut.

"All markets start out small," she said. "It takes about five years to reach their potential."

The city has budgeted $25,000 in start-up costs -- including promotion and advertising -- to get the Henderson market going, Romero said.

The event also included children's activities and live entertainment.

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