Gardeners’ Market returns for 41st year

Every summer weekend, downtown Logan fills with the sounds of live music, conversations between neighbors and vendors calling out from beneath white tents lining the streets.   

For more than four decades, the Cache Valley Gardeners’ Market has served as both a community gathering place and a launching point for local businesses, connecting residents with small farms, handmade goods and locally produced food. 

Now entering its 41st season, the market has become a longstanding tradition in Cache Valley, drawing families, students and visitors to the center of Logan each week. 

“It originally started behind Caffe Ibis in their little side parking lot area with three vendors,” said Danielle Pace, manager of the Cache Valley Gardeners’ Market. “It was, I think, two farms and one craft vendor.”  

Since its founding in 1985, the market has moved through several locations as it expanded before settling near the historic courthouse in downtown Logan more than a decade ago. Pace said the move helped the market grow because of its visibility and central location. 

Today, the market focuses exclusively on small businesses, farms and local makers. Vendors must grow, produce or create the products they sell themselves. 

“We are a producer, grower, maker only,” Pace said, “so you have to make it yourself. You have to grow it yourself.”  

That emphasis on local production has helped turn the market into what Pace described as a “business incubator” for Cache Valley entrepreneurs. 

“We have incubated several businesses down here,” Pace said. “Stacked started at our market. Spirit Goat started at our market. The Crepery started at our market.”  

For many vendors, the market is not just a place to sell products but a place to become part of the community. 

Terry Thompson, owner of Terry’s Tinker Shop, has sold handwoven wool rugs at the market for years after first learning to weave during a church mission in Nauvoo, Illinois. 

“I saw how the pioneers wove rugs,” Thompson said, “and it just fascinated me because I’d never seen a loom before.”  

After returning home, Thompson built his own loom by referencing photographs and began weaving rugs made from Pendleton wool. More than 20 years later, he said he has woven over 4,800 rugs on the same handmade loom. 

Though Thompson and his wife now travel to craft fairs and festivals throughout the state, the Cache Valley Gardeners’ Market will always be their home. 

“This is where we started,” Thompson said.  

The market also continues to serve as a social gathering space for Logan residents and students alike. Pace said the return of Utah State University students each fall brings a noticeable increase in activity. 

“We see a young trendy group down here,” Pace said. “It’s kind of a place to be for the community.”  

She explained that students who remain in Logan over the summer often become regular visitors, returning each week for food, music and local products. 

“We’ve got fun bands, and it’s a low-stress place to hang out with your friends,” Pace said.  

Beyond supporting local businesses, the market also runs nutrition assistance programs for low-income families and seniors, helping residents purchase fresh produce from local farms. 

Pace said the long-term goal is not simply growth, but sustainability. 

“Our biggest goal is that we remain a sustainable nonprofit and that 100 years in the future, we’re still here,” Pace said.  

As Logan continues to grow, the market remains one of the city’s most recognizable summer traditions, bringing together longtime residents, students and small business owners in the heart of downtown each weekend.