Customers and other loyalists love two farmers markets in one Illinois county so much that they’ve voted them most popular in Illinois two years in a row. One’s an upstart, while the other has been in operation for four decades.
The Open-Air Farmers Market+ at The Dole, started in 2021, received 2,870 votes in the 2022 competition held by the American Farmland Trust and Farmers Market Coalition. The Woodstock Farmers Market, celebrating its 40-year anniversary, ranked second with 2,806 votes. Both operate in McHenry County, about 50 miles or so northwest of Chicago.
See More: Farm Facts: Farmers Markets
“My wife and father-in-law who are also heavily involved in the farm primarily staff the Woodstock Farmers Market, and I primarily do The Dole Mansion Farmers Market,” says Mike Biver, who raises poultry and livestock with his family near Woodstock. “They are very different in their vibes. In fact, we’ve often found ourselves stocking up for the market in different ways.”
Biver and Aaron Kinney, whose family raises fruits, vegetables and flowers near Harvard not far from both markets, sell what they grow at both the Woodstock market on Saturdays and the Dole market on Sundays.
“Woodstock is trying to keep a feel of it more about farmer,” Aaron Kinney says, surrounded by his family farm’s offerings at The Dole market. “Whereas here, they recognize that there’s a human element to the experience. People come here to catch up.”
The Farmers Market+ at The Dole put its open location to work in 2021 as a way to bring people back to the nonprofit community center. The property consists of 12 acres next to the city’s namesake lake that includes an 1860s-era mansion built by Charles Dole, who constructed one of the first elevators to store grain in Chicago.
See More: The Farmers Market+ at The Dole Offers Fresh Commodities in a Historic Atmosphere
“Because our market has been so successful, the vendors that are at our market are getting vendors that are at other markets that they work with to join our market,” says Linda Wozniak, manager of The Dole market. “We’ve seen, consistently, thousands of people weekly.”
In 2022, the Woodstock Farmers Market, held two days per week during peak growing season in the town’s historic square, has been celebrating its fourth decade.
“We want to keep growing with new and exciting vendors,” says Kelly Kempf, manager of the market. “Give opportunities for new farmers to come through with new products and ideas. I want to keep growing the community aspect.”
Kempf believes some lessons learned over its long history include being “authentic.” The Woodstock market prides itself on being a producer-only market with visits to the farms of its vendors to verify production.
Other leading vote-getters in the 2022 contest rounding out the top 10 vote-getting farmers markets in Illinois include:
10. Springfield Old Capitol Farmers Market
9. Olde Schaumburg Centre Farmers Market
8. Logan Square Farmers Market (Chicago)
7. Downtown Elgin Farmers Market
6. Green City Market Chicago
5. Park Ridge Farmers Market
4. Downtown Evanston Farmers Market
3. Oak Park Farmers Market
2. Woodstock (IL) Farmers Market
1. Farmers Market+ at The Dole (Crystal Lake)
The Dole Farmers Market+ and the Woodstock Farmers Market each have indoor seasons during the winter, as do several other farmers markets throughout Illinois. Check with your favorite market to see dates, times and locations.
