Oxford Community Market Spring Kick-Off set for April 16

In Oxford, the annual celebration marking the start of the spring growing season and a key fixture on the Oxford Community Market (OXCM) calendar has been scheduled. The much-awaited OXCM’s 2024 Spring Kick-Off event will be held at the Old Armory Pavilion, located at 1801 University Avenue on April 16, from 3-6:30 p.m.

11th Anniversary Celebrations

The event not only marks the beginning of the growing season but also celebrates the 11th anniversary of the OXCM. It has been faithfully serving the community as Oxford’s only year-round weekly farmers market. This event kick-starts a series of community festivities lined up to commemorate this significant milestone in the market’s history.

“It’s been remarkable to watch this market grow over the last decade,” OXCM Director Betsy Chapman, who took the helm in 2014, explains. “Sustaining this farmers’ market has been the ultimate group project, with many people, groups, and organizations pitching in and committing to keep it growing, despite enormous challenges.”

Free and Open to Public

The Spring Kick-Off is free and open to the public, transforming an empty open-air pavilion into a bustling, vibrant public marketplace. The event will feature live music by Firewood, an ensemble featuring Luke and Amy Fisher, Ricky Burkhead, and Lucas Leigh; free cake from Velvet Ditch Confections; and Chef at the Market sampling by Ole Miss Dining.

Guests can look forward to giveaways, kids’ activities, a visit from the baby goats of Flowering Tree Farm, and a rich display of Oxford’s biggest selection of locally grown spring produce and other goods from local food producers.

Bounty of Spring Produce

During this time of the year, the market fills up with a variety of just-picked spring produce. Shoppers can find farm-fresh strawberries, lettuces, kale, spinach, collards, cabbages, spring onions, carrots, and broccoli, amongst other items.

Oxford on the Move: OXCM Goes to College

Post the kick-off event, folks will be able to find the market again from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 18, at the OXCM Goes to College event on Business Row at the University of Mississippi. It is a collaborative event with the UM Office of Sustainability and Ole Miss Dining.

In addition to the campus market, OXCM and Ole Miss Dining will be running the “Farmstand Food Truck” project, a rotating series of local chefs and farmers serving lunches prepared using locally sourced ingredients. The food truck will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, on Business Row.

OXCM operates every Tuesday, throughout the year, rain or shine, from 3-6:30 p.m. at the Old Armory Pavilion. For more information, one can reach out to Chapman at 622-816-7413 or follow OXCM on social media.