While they’ve long been pillars of local food in urban centers and town squares, in recent years, farmers markets have gained the national recognition they deserve as essential community hubs that enable farmers, small businesses, and their communities to thrive. This year, Black Mountain Tailgate Market is delighted to participate in the America’s Farmers Market Celebration™ (AFMC), the only annual ranking of the top farmers markets in the United States as voted on by the public.
Since 2008, AFMC has highlighted the important role farmers markets play in communities across the nation while celebrating the farmers, staff, and volunteers who make markets happen. The 17th annual AFMC, set to run between August 1 and September 30, 2025, online at markets.farmland.org. This is a fun celebration that can help our precious market earn national recognition and local prestige. With votes from our beloved community, we hope to take home part of the $15,000 prize pool. This money would help us bolster our food access programming, ensuring that our farm families succeed and community members have access to farm-fresh, healthy foods! In addition to supporting our children's programming, and our Music at the Market program, which supports local artists!
If you have ever spent a Saturday with us, you know just how magical this little market is!
If you haven’t, here are a few reasons why Black Mountain Tailgate Market deserves nationwide recognition:
We're Community Cultivated! Our Board of Directors is composed of tried and true friends and neighbors of the market, folks who have devoted their lives to serving Black Mountain and the wider WNC community!
Our Programs - Food access programming like SNAP/EBT & SNAP incentives, ASAP's Farm Fresh Produce Prescription Program, and the North Carolina Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program make BMTM a more inclusive, equitable place to shop for essentials. Our Cultivator of the Arts program supports a paid platform for local musicians and performers!
Children's activities in the Little Seed Corner mean that there's something for our most important customers. Our Cultivator of the Arts program ensures that the market is filled with the sweet sounds of talented local musicians, and that they are promoted and compensated monetarily and through bountiful "love offerings" from our vendors!
Our staff and volunteers - Every Saturday, you'll find a host of smiling faces at the information booth, and moving through the market to ensure each Saturday is a safe, smooth, and happy experience for who grace our little greenspace.
Our vendors - We work diligently to create a welcoming atmosphere for around 100 occasional and full-time vendors, of course... but the farmers, artists, writers, and craftspeople who show up on Saturdays all contribute to the happy, harmonious gathering space we co-create! Patrons have raved about the sweet personalities and high-quality products coming into the market this season.
If you LOVE our little market, please consider taking a moment to VOTE for us!
