NATCHEZ — Saturday marks the last opportunity to experience the Downtown Natchez Farmers Market — until fall that is.

Natchez Mayor Darryl Grennell announced that a fall farmers market would open Saturday, Oct. 7.

Grennell said the gap between the summer and fall markets is necessary to allow vendors to prepare.

“There will be a 30-day period where we will allow vendors to be able to get vegetables cultivated and catch up on the arts and things that they make,” Grennell said.

Beginning in June, downtown became a meeting place for local farmers, arts-and-crafts makers and everyday Natchezians. Consumers had a plethora of options from which to choose, including homegrown produce such as okra and heirloom tomatoes, seafood, meats, cheeses and a variety of crafts handmade by local artists.

Farmers market coordinator Eddie Burkes said the fall market would reopen every Saturday through Nov. 18. Burkes noted the Oct. 7 opening date is tentative and depends upon whether farmers are able to prepare their crops in time. The summer market was originally slated to open the first weekend of June, but Burkes said they had to push that date back two weeks because crops had been delayed by harsh weather.

Burkes called the summer market a huge success because of the participation of the community, vendors and sponsors of the market.

“The market has been a much greater success than we’ve anticipated,” Burkes said. “The reason is because of the support that the community has given this market.”

Entering this summer with “very little knowledge” about farmers markets, Burkes said this summer has been “a great learning process.”

Burkes said the summer market continued to grow with each successive week. On average, Burkes said the market had 38 vendors weekly, with 44 being the highest amount of vendors in any one week. The event never had less than 35 vendors, Burkes said.

Looking ahead, Burkes anticipates unique products as well as some additional events with the fall market. Visitors to the market will see different types of seasonal produce. Popular types of produce in the fall include sweet potatoes, pears, grapes, garlic and mushrooms.

Burkes also said he aims to have more activities throughout the course of fall market.

“Hopefully we’ll have more events for children to entice parents into visiting,” he said. “And more demonstrations on healthy foods and preparing healthy foods.”

Burkes added a special thank you to all the volunteers that have made the summer farmers market possible.