A weekly farmers market is proposed to be held on Wednesday afternoons in the La Mirada Civic Center. The proposal was discussed at the City Council’s study session on August 10th with the council voting to move forward. The city staff feels it could be organized and opened to the public as early as October 2021.
The weekly farmers market would be held in the Civic Center Plaza and adjacent to the parking lot just east of the Library and south of the Resource Center (see map below) This location is ideal because it would be visible to City Hall and Library visitors. The location has adequate space for vendors to set up market stalls, sufficient vehicle parking for vendors and members of the public, and available public restrooms.
The Night Market at the Concerts operates for approximately eight weeks on Thursdays from 5 to 8:30 p.m. from late June to early August. Due to the popularity of the Night Market, a more permanent weekly farmers market has been suggested to operate in the community throughout the year. Since pairing the Night Market with the concert series has been key to its success, La Mirada city staff is proposing a similar synergy be created with the La Mirada Library to establish a customer base.
The proposal involved a weekly farmers market be held on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. when the Library’s children’s reading programs and activities are held. The Library’s Toddler Storytime program held on Wednesdays has approximately 50 children enrolled in the program. La Mirada Library staff has also offered to move its Thursday after-school programs to Wednesday to help enhance interest and attendance at the farmer’s market. An agreement between the City and the County would have to be executed because the parking lot is the jurisdiction of the County of Los Angeles.
Similar to the Night Market taking place during the City’s concert series, the City would contract with a farmers market organizer who would be responsible for booking and managing vendors. The organizer would also work with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to secure all required health permits, ensure vendors are compliant with Public Health requirements and be responsible for providing proof of insurance for its vendors to the City. An agreement with a farmers market organizer would include a provision that would give La Mirada businesses and vendors priority to participate in the proposed weekly event. La Mirada businesses and vendors would be subject to all the same applicable rules and fees the organizer places on non-La Mirada vendors.
Source: City of Mirada