Farmers’ markets blanketing the South Hills
Just as the weather is starting to cooperate, local farmers markets are – please pardon the expression – springing into action.
Throughout the summer and into the fall, at least one market will be open most days of the week, giving South Hills residents plenty of opportunities to support local farms, businesses and nonprofit organizations.

Plenty of dinner offerings will be available at the Upper St. Clair Rotary Farmers Market.
May 17 marks the opening of the Upper St. Clair Rotary Farmers Market, which will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursdays in the south parking lot of Westminster Presbyterian Church, 2040 Washington Road. A full lot of vendors, including food trucks, will be complemented by some type of entertainment each week, from musicians to the likes of balloon artists and face painters to delight the youngsters in the crowd.
“We’re really trying to make it family-oriented,” Danielle Gosnell, who chairs this year’s market, said. “We have something for everyone. We have different types of foods: pizza and barbecue and gyros, something for everyone in the family.”
She is a member of the Rotary Club of Upper St. Clair-Bethel Park (Breakfast), which runs the annual event as a fundraiser for its philanthropic giving. The club is providing courtesy vendor spots to nonprofit organizations, including SHOP@USC, a student-business at Upper St. Clair High School featuring high-quality products made with machinery such as a laser engraver and direct-to-garment printer.

Harry Funk / The Almanac
Harry Funk / The Almanac
Patty, left, and Joanna Seaman represent Seaman Family Farm of Industry, Beaver County, on opening day of the Mt. Lebanon Uptown Farmers’ Market.
Members of the Bethel Park Historical Society will be on hand to provide information about the renovation of the Schoolhouse Arts and History Center on South Park Road. And members of the Bethel Park Lions Club – Gosnell is this year’s club president – are selling brooms and trash bags as part of their fundraising activities.
The following day, the Original Farmers Market continues, starting at 5:30 p.m. at 151 Parks Road in South Fayette Township, just off Route 50.
The market is open Fridays until the start of June, when it expands to including Mondays and Wednesdays through September. In October and November, the schedule shifts to Mondays and Fridays.
With a roof covering the open-air market, it operates rain or shine throughout the growing season, with some year-round products available as the market winds down in the fall.

Harry Funk / The Almanac
David Long and John Mackin perform during opening day of the Mt. Lebanon Uptown Farmers Market.
On Saturday, the Mt. Lebanon Uptown Farmers’ Market is set up in the heart of the Washington Road business district from 9 a.m. to noon. Along with an assortment of items available each week, the Mackin Band will provide entertainment, specializing in bluegrass, on the second Saturday of each month.
This year marks a new location for the Bethel Park Farmers Market, open from 3 to 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Sept. 25 in South Park VIP parking lot, off Corrigan Drive near the ice skating rink. The market, open rain or shine, features a wide selection of fresh produce, quality meats and chicken, prepared foods, snacks, garden plants, flowers and more.
Starting May 23, the Peters Township Farmers Market takes place every Wednesday from 3 to 7 p.m. at St. David’s Episcopal Church, 905 E. McMurray Road. A ministry of the church, the Market is designed to provide a place for neighbors to meet and relate while they shop for locally grown food and enjoy entertainment.
Also on Wednesdays, the Original Mt. Lebanon Farmer’s Market, started by the Mt. Lebanon Lions Club three decades ago, is held from 4 to 7 p.m. each week starting June 6 and running through the end of October. The site is Mt. Lebanon United Lutheran Church , 975 Washington Road.

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