DOWNTOWN
RIVER MARKET
ED DRONDOSKI PHOTOS
Each Saturday, as many as 5,000 people flock to downtown Fort Pierce to find fresh produce, yummy foods and other specialty products at the Fort Pierce
Farmers’ Market.
Downtown Farmers’ Market celebrates 16 years
BY CAMILLE S. YATES
Seafood, bread, chocolate and crepes. Who wouldn’t
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enjoy working in an atmosphere with tempting
tastes like these? Eric Seibenick, manager of the
Downtown Farmers’ Market of Fort Pierce, calls
his workplace “the happiest place on Earth. Our
vendors describe it as a very positive experience. One even
says it’s like our little Disney World.” From 8 a.m. to noon on
Saturdays, rain or shine, market vendors line the waterfront
plaza overlooking the Indian River Lagoon on Melody Lane
just south of the Fort Pierce Marina.
Visitors to the market, which is now in its 16th year, can
find local growers who sell a huge variety of vegetables,
fruits, plants, and other agricultural products. Visitors will
also find homemade soaps, grass-fed beef, 100% natural dog
biscuits, smoothies and a selection of other foods. “We just
got a new flower vendor,” says Seibenick. “ I am so excited.
This is just what I wanted.”
During the week, Seibenick, a husband and father of two
children, works for the Early Learning Coalition running
its Early Fatherhood Program. “I love being at the market,”
says Seibenick. “Being surrounded by food, music and
happy people is great! I’m a market regular, and when the
market manager job became available, I threw my hat in the
ring. My background is as much in social services as it is
in horticulture.”
Before coming to Fort Pierce in 2007, Seibenick lived for 18
years in Hawaii, where he ran a landscaping business. He also
helped establish a teaching farm for the Merimed Foundation.
After clearing a 12-acre parcel, Seibenick developed field crops,
a fish farm, a hydroponic farm and an aqua farm. “I worked
with highly troubled teens who were just out of incarceration,”
he says. “They thrived in the farming environment.”
As market manager, Seibenick works with more than 65
vendors and helps greet 4,000 - 5,000 people who visit the market
each Saturday. He relies on Matt Hurley, who volunteers
his time as Seibenick’s right-hand man, to help the vendors
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