Author: Sam Buisman

The Dane County Farmers' Market will remain at Alliant Energy Center for the rest of the 2020 season after the Capitol Police pull its permit to sell on the Square. 

Market Manager Sarah Elliott announced this morning that the Farmers' Market, in consultation with Public Health Madison and Dane County and other city entities, concluded that it would be impossible to safely host the iconic Saturday Farmers' Market on the Capitol Square for the remainder of the 2020 outdoor season due to COVID-19, prompting the Wisconsin Capitol Police to pull its permit to do so. The Farmers' Market will thus continue to be held at Willow Island on the Alliant Energy Center campus in drive-through-pick-up fashion through Nov. 7. 

While Elliott said that the vendors “honor and respect” this decision, it is still a real bummer to the farmers and Madison community.

“We too understand that our community is yearning for normalcy and being able to visit the Saturday Market on the Square would perfectly encapsulate ‘things being back to normal,'” said Elliott. “But we are not there yet.”

At the beginning of its outdoor season in April, the Farmers' Market shifted to a drive-through pick-up to prevent the massive crowds typical of a Saturday-morning Farmers' Market on the Square. Ever since, the Farmers' Market has hosted twice-weekly pick-ups at Willow Island on Wednesdays and Saturdays and expanded options for buying directly from local farmers. 

Interested customers can place an order for pick-up using the WhatsGood app or website.