Vince Smith, vice president of operations at Yellowstone Motors, has an idea for a different kind of farmers’ market. The farmers’ market at Yellowstone Motors will come to fruition on Saturday, May 28. 

The team putting it together includes Wendi Peterson and Scott Larsen. Neither of them have official titles. Peterson calls herself a “facilitator of all things,” and works as a consultant. Larsen is an employee at the dealership, but he isn’t sure what his title is. 

Smith, who is from New Jersey, talks with the rapid speech pattern of someone from the East Coast. 

“I’m trying to talk slower, but I’m definitely listening slower,” he jokes. 

Smith said he’s been up since 2:30 a.m., and he’s on his second pot of coffee. He’s also had a couple Red Bull energy drinks, and he’s halfway through a Coke on his desk. 

The farmers’ market at Yellowstone Motors will have a range of local vendors, Smith said, and the dealership isn’t charging them anything for space. They get all the advertising for the event for free. The goal is to create something with a public benefit. 

“This town has been good for us, and we want to do something for them,” Smith explained.

It’s not a rummage sale or a flea market. It will be quality local foods and quality products from local artisans, making everything from tamales to baked goods to soaps and candles. 

Smith, who sits on the Powell Economic Partnership/Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, is a big believer in expanding hours of shopping opportunities. At Yellowstone Motors, he’s held a couple Black Friday sales at midnight. He said when the doors open, he’ll find more than a dozen people lined up to shop. 

“It’s surreal to see people at 2:30 in the morning walking around with their kids in pajamas, shopping for vehicles,” Smith said. 

So, his thinking goes, offering a weekend farmers’ market will expand opportunities for local vendors. With a Saturday event, they’re not competing with the Powell farmers’ market, which is held every Monday evening next to Washington Park. 

“We wanted to offer another avenue for our local vendors,” Peterson said. 

They’re going to have a single food truck each week, rather than inviting a swarm of them. On May 28, they’re bringing in the Olive Branch, a food truck billing itself as “a Mediterranean kitchen on wheels.”

The menu includes arancini, tabouli, eggplant parmesan, and falafel wraps. Larsen said he sampled some of the truck’s fare at the Northwest College Paint The Town Red event last September. It was so good he went back for another round, but the truck was sold out. 

“They were just whipped out completely,” Larsen said. 

Visitors to the Saturday farmers’ market can drop by Yellowstone Motors for five Farmers Market Bucks, which shoppers can use at any of the market’s vendors. 

The goal is to hold the markets weekly through September. As the trio shapes details of the May 28 event, Smith is already throwing out ideas for fall and winter events, such as an applefest and Christmas festivals. 

“If we build it, they will come. People want events,” Smith said. 

Vendors wanting to sell at the markets or shoppers needing more information can contact Peterson at farmersmarket@yellowstonemotors.com or call 307-754-5743.