Organizer Quinn Renfandt said the intent was to mix a traditional farmers market scene with a downtown/brewery vibe to create something new that doesn’t take away from existing farmers markets.

The new farmers bazaar venue brings local farmers and makers to showcase and sell their products in a family friendly, evening setting. Renfandt said it provides a direct-to-consumer experience but brings a different cultural aspect. The recent outdoor bazaar at Atypical Brewery & Barrelworks featured live music by Max Patzner and 20 vendors, selling products from art to garden produce.

“We just want to do this maybe once a month throughout the summer, and say this is just a different way to do exactly what everyone else is doing,” Renfandt said. “It’s not just ‘come buy your things and leave.’ It’s ‘come hang out.’ It’s more like a farmers market party.”

An employee at Atypical Brewery and a farmers market grower, Renfandt also is vice president of the North Dakota Farmers Market and Growers Association.

Travis Gerjets with Prairie Sky Breads offers baked goods at the farmers bazaar July 31.

“It really comes down to offering opportunities for small businesses to have a venue to sell something. As someone that has been working with farmers markets since I was an intern here at one of the markets in 2020 I learned there’s an opportunity here to increase the overall traffic,” he said.

A farmers bazaar also poses a unique attraction to community visitors and increases the overall experience of their visit, he added. There’s even an opportunity for the farmers bazaar concept to spread to other communities in the state, he said.

“We’re reaching a new demographic, which we really, really like,” said Meghan Bullard, who with her husband, Jedidiah, set up a booth to market his art and their spiced honey products at the farmers bazaar. “We’re reaching people that never come to the farmers market.”

Shae Rodriguez of Nightshae Organics, who works for and shared a booth with the Refillery, said the farmers bazaar concept is an awesome one. It was providing exposure for the Refillery’s nontoxic cleaning and hygiene products and her holistic wellness coaching, she said.

Renfandt said the farmers bazaar is expected to grow in size as it catches on, with possible appearances elsewhere in downtown Minot.

Shae Rodriguez with Nightshae Organics and with Refillery describes the benefits of nontoxic cleaning products to a visit at the farmers bazaar July 31.