It looked like any other weekend at the Black Mountain Tailgate Market.
On the shady green lawn behind First Baptist Church, farmers stacked baskets of fresh-picked produce and artisans displayed their creations. Dogs barked, children raced one another past market stalls, and friends clustered together, weighed down with their purchases. It was a picturesque slice of mountain town life, the scene wreathed with gold leaves on a brisk fall morning when laughter could be seen in puffs of mist as well as heard over musicians’ instruments, and vendors, volunteers and customers shared hugs that were more emotionally-charged than just offering one another a warm welcome on a chilly morning.
For the first time since Hurricane Helene battered Western North Carolina three weeks before, on October 19 the market came back together in somewhat subdued but determined celebration.
On a typical Saturday at the market, the atmosphere is carefree, laid-back, even boisterous. This time with fewer vendors than usual — only a little over half of those who usually attend were able to come — the space was a bit emptier and the conversations often more thoughtful as people exchanged stories of coming through the storm. As James Smith of Woven Roots Farmstead in Black Mountain, said, people were simply thankful.
“Usually adversity has a way of creating gratitude, you know…but that gets numbed, or those edges get rounded off by life or whatever. But then when you come through a situation where maybe life was in question, or you might have lost someone — I think there was definitely an air of gratitude today.”
That gratitude was shared by vendors and customers alike. A common theme was gratitude to see familiar faces, to know they were safe. Another was gratitude to be able to gather for something joyful after the community has gathered again and again to help one another since the storm.
Sitting at a picnic table with friends, regular customer Amy Asay said she had missed the market during its three-week hiatus.
“The community has come together so much already and it’s been so heartening and made us love Black Mountain even more,” she said, explaining that it was the town’s small businesses that made her choose to relocate here a year before.
"We are so excited to support everybody, support the farms we love, support the vendors and businesses we love. It just felt like a celebration to come back.”
Only about half the usual number of vendors were able to participate in the first Tailgate Market since the storm, but they were eagerly received by attendees.
Coming back and taking steps toward a return to normalcy has had obvious physical complications as the area slowly cleans up and forges ahead. This has been especially true for local farms. Mary Carroll Dodd of Red Scout Farm in Black Mountain explained that one of her employees lost her home, another lost most of the belongings in her home, and the farm lost their greenhouse, some vegetables, and about 30% of their topsoil crucial for farming. Alvin Lytle of Cove Creek Farm in Old Fort was able to keep his Large Black pigs safe, but he lost all his crops for this fall’s harvest, and crops that were supposed to feed his pigs till next fall. Tou and Chou Lee of Lee’s One Fortune Farm in Marion lost around 40% of their seedlings for spring.
The path to bringing the Tailgate Market back has been filled with emotional complications as well — which only makes sense when everyone who makes the market happen is still living through the worst natural disaster the area has ever experienced.
Inside her booth showcasing her watercolor paintings and handcrafted jewelry, Black Mountain artist Laurel McClure shared what it’s felt like in the aftermath of Helene.
“We’ve all been in such a survival mode, not only just taking care of our families and people we love, but taking care of our communities. Knowing that there are so many people without homes, without their loved ones, to try to come back to normal feels weird, because we’ve just been living in different times,” she said.
“The reason why I came was because, for the community, I felt like it was maybe a morale booster and just a sign of hope that we haven’t been crushed, we’re coming back. I just wanted to be a part of that. I wanted to see everybody today.”
Old Fort residents Tami and John Summerour, who have faithfully attended the Tailgate Market since 2006, agreed with those sentiments.
“It means everything,” Tami said about having the market up and running again. “This is our main event!”
Taking the “eat local” lifestyle to heart, Tami said they have long bought as much of their food as possible from the Tailgate Market, only using grocery stores to fill in the gaps. On Saturday, they were among the first in line for Red Scout Farm’s rainbow-hued offerings of winter squashes and peppers, radishes, and greens. Once they finished their own shopping, the Summerours ferried steaming cups of coffee from Amanda Bell’s mobile drink cafe, The Coddiwompler, to different vendors around the market.
“Ah, caffeine! I can live again!” Someone called out across the parking lot.
Amanda Bell of The Coddiwompler hands a cup of coffee to Tami Summerour as John Summerour watches at the October 19 Tailgate Market.
In the eighteen years that they’ve been coming to the market, the Summerours said they’ve gotten to know and care for many of the vendors and had been eager to see them again and be a part of encouraging the community.
Encouraging is just how Saturday felt, according to Robert and Trish Pike, owners of Creative Copper & Peculiar Plants in Black Mountain.
“We’ve had a great crowd out today, post-hurricane, so we’ve been very uplifted,” Trish said, surrounded by the gleaming sculptures and jewelry Robert creates.
“I think people were just really happy…to have something to do to take our minds off everything. So, it’s been good hugging and embracing and seeing all our friends’ faces.”
Having been vendors at the Tailgate Market for nine years, they know the usual market rhythms, and there was something else that felt a little bit different — a little bit special —this time.
“We were afraid that the usual people that are here in October, leaf-looking people, would impact our sales because they’re not here right now,” Robert shared.
“But I think it’s been local people today, and it’s good to see them coming out. We’ve seen a lot of good response from the local community today.”
Robert and Trish Pike stand inside their booth at the Black Mountain Tailgate Market on October 19.
Pam Smith from Woven Roots Farmstead had also been concerned that locals would be too consumed with taking care of post-storm problems to fit the market into their schedules this weekend, but that wasn’t the case.
“Everybody turned out. Everybody showed up for us. I’m really grateful.”
Throughout the day, Pam and James took turns pulling out a dry erase marker to swipe a line through their offerings that had sold out as customers lined up to buy their chicken, pork, and beef and place deposits on holiday turkeys. For vendors like the Smiths, as much as they also enjoy the market, making sales are the reason they’re there. The things they make and grow are their livelihoods.
“I like farming, I like animals and things, but we do this to make money, and so if we’re not here [at the Black Mountain Tailgate Market], we’d have to find other outlets. We don’t go to any other markets,” James explained.
The same is true for Joan Walker’s organic and regenerative “mama-owned” Fiddlesticks Farm in Alexander. When Helene hit, Walker counted her blessings that her people were safe and their farm near the French Broad River wasn’t seriously damaged, although they lost some crops. A new concern, however, was how to restart their revenue: Fiddlesticks Farm had healthy produce to harvest, but nowhere to sell it.
“I can’t believe the market is back. We thought it was over for the year, and we’re just so happy to be here. I have somewhere to sell my stuff! We were really scrambling to figure out what to do. Our ginger and turmeric crops were just coming in, and this was our main venue where we were planning on selling it. As a really small farm, it’s kind of hard because we don’t have enough product to supply a bunch of different places, so we really rely on this market, and so thankfully now we can make some income,” she said.
“Also just socially, being a farmer is kind of isolating. So coming here and being able to have some normalcy after the storm and all this trauma we’re all experiencing, and seeing people happy and coming out and supporting the community is just really lifting our spirits.
Over at the information booth, catty-corner from where FEMA had set up a tent to meet with residents and beside the “Leave some love for our vendors” table where attendees could write words of encouragement on sticky notes, Julie Shippey was passing out the SNAP tokens and Market Bucks that are an important part of making sure market participation is accessible to everyone.
“The market before was full of community and love and support, and since the hurricane, the love and support shown by this community to this market, and all the people coming together, is even stronger. It’s absolutely amazing. I cannot express how grateful I am for everybody at the market, everybody who has gone above and beyond,” Shippey said.
The Leave Some Love table debuted at the October 19 Tailgate Market, where attendees could write encouraging notes for everyone to read.
Vendors, volunteers, and customers alike reiterated how the community and camaraderie of the Black Mountain Tailgate Market is deeply meaningful, and how it feels even more poignant now with life so disrupted.
“This is the best farmers market I’ve ever been to, much less been a part of. Seriously, it’s top-notch, world-class. The volunteers, Jacqueline [Smith] as market manager — I just can’t say enough amazing things about this market,” Walker said.
Mary Carroll Dodd summed up how the market has shaped her farm and family over nearly a decade.
“The market has been like our family. When we started we just had a few vegetables out on a 2x6’ table, with our baby who’s now nine years old strapped to me, and we were welcomed by kind people that have helped us grow as a farm and helped us build our community here in Black Mountain. The last three weeks it’s been hard not to be able to see all these amazing customers and the other vendors who have become dear friends. We’re so grateful to have the opportunity to be back in this place” she said.
“Even though there’s been so much loss in our community, it was beautiful today to just be able to gather with those who could make it, and we hope that others will continue to come back, whether they be vendors or customers. We also want to think about ways that we can support those that lost so much.”
In an effort to financially support market members who’ve been affected by the storm, flooding, and its aftermath, the Black Mountain Tailgate Market has established a Go-Fund-Me, and market manager Jacqueline Smith and volunteers are working on ways to further utilize the market to assist in recovery efforts. Bringing the Tailgate Market back so soon after disaster required incredible group effort, but it was still only one small step in helping work toward community recovery.
That recovery will be a slow but inevitable process, according to Mary Carroll Dodd.
“I know as a community we can come out stronger on the other side. Mountain people are resilient,” she said, her voice firm but a smile tugging at her lips.
“It’s been beautiful to see the way that neighbors have come together, and how strangers and friends have come out to help us on the farm, to help us get back on our feet, and the same with the market as well. We’re so grateful for all of the folks that support our community and support our market.”
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Donate to the Black Mountain Tailgate Market’s Farm & Rural Hurricane Relief fundraiser.
Volunteer with the Black Mountain Tailgate Market — contact Jacqueline at blackmountaintailgate@gmail.com or (828) 419-4613.
Visit the Black Mountain Tailgate Market on Saturdays through November 16 from 9:00am-1:00pm at 130 Montreat Rd., Black Mountain.