Reston Farmers Market Opens this Saturday, April 26th

Photo courtesy of John Lovaas

Grab your canvas shopping bag and join other happy Restonians in welcoming the opening of our farmers market season this weekend! With 34 vendors this year, the market that will open Saturday is light years away from the day in 1998 when founder John Lovass opened it with 12 vendors. Not only are there more vendors, but the farmers’ production has increased and diversified dramatically. In the early days there were five or six varieties of apples and now there are over 40. Instead of three tomato choices there are over 25.

For more, here is John’s Market Story:

“I retired in the summer of 1994 after my wife Fran, and we returned from El Salvador where I served my final tour in the U.S.A.I.D Foreign Service. We settled in Reston.

We both worked part time, but I wanted to get involved in this special community. A friend introduced me to Reston Founder Robert E. Simon. Bob had also returned to Reston in the early 1990’s from New York where he lived after being fired by financial partner Golf Oil in 1967, the same year I joined the Foreign Service. We both were concerned about the direction of Reston and ran together successfully for seats on the Reston Association (RA) Board.

Photo courtesy of John Lovaas

At one RA Board meeting, Ms Debbie Sphrentz, with a group calling themselves the Friends of TOMATO (The Organic Market at Tall Oaks), wanted to start a farmers market in the Lake Anne Village Center. Sphrentz asked RA to help advertise and provide someone to manage it. I asked if they were looking for a paid person or a volunteer to manage the Market. Debbie said a volunteer would be fine. I raised my hand, and we had a deal.

At the time Lake Anne Village Center was like a ghost town on Saturdays. The Condominium Association welcomed the activity a farmers market would bring. FCPA sponsored a growing number of farmers markets and had a long list of applicants and had a long list of farmers, bakers, flower plant vendors, homemade food vendors for us to choose from. FCPA standards were high, and vendors had to be local (within a 125-mile radius) and had to produce whatever they sold.

Robert Simon and longtime Virginia Delegate Ken Plum, headlined a gala inauguration of the Reston Farmers Market on May 9, 1998. It was a lovely Saturday, and the turnout was great. Shoppers and vendors were happy.

Since then, the Market has been a success, lauded on many occasions as best in the county and one of the best in Metro Washington. The secrets to our success are an ideal location with amazing foot traffic, great care in our vendor selection, and tremendous community support.

Now, in 2025, the Market not only features diversified vendors, but the shoppers will also hear music every single week, thanks to Fran’s encouragement and organizational skill. Once again, the Market will be the place where people can come to meet neighbors and talk with people growing their food. Since the pandemic, the Market has added several new vendors. They are Coulter Farms, an outstanding certified organic dairy; Vale of the Blue Ridge, a genuine Virginia maple syrup producer; Cocoi’s Sweets, a Philippine baker with amazing donuts; Little Austria, featuring scrumptious strudels; Bun’d Up, with its unique bao bun sandwich; Roots and Shoots microgreens; Pasta Il gatto with an excellent fresh pastas; Authors Ice Cream, certified creamy tasting by yours truly; and Happy Creek goat cheese, to complement two fine cow cheese vendors. Now there is also a composting service (Future Acres Urban Farms) as an additional service to the community.

Photo courtesy of John Lovaas

The certified Fairfax Master Gardeners will provide advice to help make the best of your home gardens. Volunteer gleaners will return, taking unsold produce for the Cornerstones food pantry. Other volunteers manage the SNAP program, serving more needy neighbors than in any other County market.

After 26 years at the helm of the Market, I retired in 2024. Fran, with 20 years of experience, continues a management role along with Co-Managers Keith and Anne Strange who’ve partnered in the endeavor for many years. Ben Miller joined our crew a year ago, along with more community volunteers- Linda Fuller, Maureen Broderick and Meg Huffman.

The Market is fortunate to have May al Faruqi, the marvelous manager of the Lake Anne Crafts Market on the Plaza. As you can see, the Crafts Market is a perfect complement and makes the whole place feel like a grand bazaar on Saturday mornings.

If you need more info, go to our website www.restonfarmersmarket.com, managed by our wonderful webmaster volunteer, Sue Merk. Or join our Facebook page – Reston Farmers Market Group. See you at the Reston Farmers Market!”