What once began as a place where farmers gathered to buy and sell their livestock, the St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market has grown to host over 400 local producers, growers and artisans each year and is now a beloved community meeting place in the Region of Waterloo. In 50 short years we have grown to become Canada’s largest year-round outdoor farmers’ market. 2025 marks the 50th year in operation for the St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market and we have plans to celebrate this milestone with our vendors, customers and the community but first we need your help. 

We are designing a commemorative installation at the Farmers’ Market that will tell the rich history of the market through a series of short vignettes or storyboards. We are in the final stages of piecing everything together and are looking for old photos, newspaper articles, memorabilia or even personal stories to help bring more context to the past 50 years. We have interviewed several people involved in the early days of the market and will be putting a request out to the general public for photos, stories and memorabilia. If there is someone you think played an integral role in shaping the Farmers’ Market or could help tell it’s history, we’d love to connect with them.