ST. THOMAS, ONT. -- St. Thomas' Horton Farmers' Market opened Saturday for the first time this year.
When it opened at 8 a.m., there were more than 50 people in line according to Dora Foster, the manager of the market.
"It was a great first morning," says Foster.
"We had a huge lineup. Next week we'll have more vendors, and the week after even more have signed up."
Foster added that everyone was obeying physical distancing rules, as they entered from the northwest side, and made their way through the market, exiting on the southwest side.
"Every vendor has done the test from Southwest Public Health," says Foster.
"All volunteers have done it before they come in, and we have hand sanitizer and the washrooms are open. We are keeping everyone safe and distanced as much as we can."
Initially it didn't look like the 142-year-old downtown market would get off the ground, after council voted against opening it on May 19.
However just two weeks ago, they reversed course and decided with proper distancing measures, and the inside of the building closed, they would give it a trail run.
“There is no one on our council who was anti-market, but six weeks ago we had plan from market board that wasn't suitable," Joe Preston, St. Thomas' mayor told CTV News recently. "We didn't think there was enough spacing and volunteers. People looked at it again, and said let's close the inside building and let's spread things out more."
Foster praised the numerous volunteers who came out saying the community "pulled together to get it going."
