After years of inactivity, the Walker Square Farmers Market returned with a flourish of flowers, fresh produce, egg rolls and agua fresca.
The market, which the neighborhood previously held from 2011 to 2019, resumed on Sundays in Walker Square Park this summer with grant support from Bader Philanthropies and the Milwaukee Parks Foundation.
“How Walker Square is reviving its summer farmers market” is my most memorable story this year because the market is a vibrant example of how residents can work together to make a positive change in their neighborhood.
I learned some neighbors were interested in relaunching the farmers market while attending neighborhood association meetings. I learned more details when I ran into Nicole Hertel Meirose, co-leader of the Friends of Walker Square Park, at a VIA CDC event.
I then attended a neighborhood meeting during the spring planning phases, interviewing residents, project partners and Isabel Miranda, manager of the Walker Square Park Farmers Market.
What struck me was the group’s collaborative efforts to carefully take steps to ensure the market was a success for neighbors and vendors alike.
Miranda said she was working hard to recruit vendors, but that the market might not be as grand as residents remembered.
When I attended the market later in the summer, more vendors had joined since my story and the stage lineup featured a variety of local musicians to entertain market-goers.
This story circles back to NNS’ report on the Walker Square Farmers Market in 2012, which is where I found photos.
Edgar Mendez, NNS managing editor, also reported on the legacy of Jason Cleereman, a Walker Square neighborhood leader who organized the market for years before he was killed in 2020.
The neighbors honored Cleereman’s memory by reestablishing the market and are already working on the plan for 2026.
Read the story here.
Meredith Melland is the neighborhoods reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and a corps member of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. Report for America plays no role in editorial decisions in the NNS newsroom.
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