A visit to the quaint Wakefield farmer's market

Wakefield is a quaint historical town in Quebec along the Gatineau River. This post is not about the town however not mentioning the red pedestrian Wakefield covered bridge, the Hull-Chelsea-Wakefield Railway, and the resting place of Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, would be a disservice. There are a lot of wonderful resources to learn more about this quaint town. My visit to this town was primarily for the Wakefield Farmers Market. This market was just as quaint as the town.

Wakefield Farmers Market Experience

While I had been to Wakefield the town many times growing up, I don’t recall going to the market. It seems the farmers market started in 1997 and has slowly grown over the years. The market is located outside a community center, Centre Wakefield La Peche. While there is a parking, it does seem to fill up. I ended up having to drive around the little town and parked about a 15-minute walk away. It was a beautiful walk along the Gatineau River. People were walking from all directions in the town towards the market. It was like people were flocking to the Wakefield Farmers Market. The market itself had this magnetic, warm, and welcoming vibe. It was great. I, we actually, Norm and I, entered from the back, between two vendor stalls. When we went through we entered into the center of a circle of vendors selling food, flowers, crafts, coffee, falafels, and more. I didn’t know where to start and just started walking around. We noticed that there were a lot of dogs and people. People were actually standing around chatting with one another. It almost felt like a meeting place for old friends giving a very different feeling and vibe from the other farmer’s markets I have been to. It felt more than just a market. It felt like a cocktail party! Norm got a lot of attention so we had a chance to stop and meet many people and dogs. As we did one walk around the circle of vendors selling everything from flowers, coffee, baked treats, pizza, vegetables, meat, crafts, jewelry, and so much more, there wasn’t one vendor selling dog treats. Despite there being no dog treat vendor we did leave the market with a big bag of vegetables and a necklace.

Wakefield, the town

On our walk back to the car we stopped for ice cream, bread at the local bakery, and dog treats at the local pet store. The scenery from the main road is fantastic…the Gatineau River with the hills surrounding it and people in their kayaks and canoes on the water. Very picturesque little town. We did a little hike to the covered bridge and then to the Fairbairn House.

A visit to the Wakefield Farmers Market is more than a visit to a market, it’s a visit to the entire town. A couple of things I would recommend and that I would do next time I visit the Wakefield Farmers Market,

First, I would arrive earlier so that I can get parking closer to the market.
I’d budget for a good half day or even the full day so that I visit the rest of the sites in the town comfortably. E.g. The covered bridge, a walk along the railway, a visit to the Fairbairn House
While there are places to eat and a number of patios on the main street, I would bring a bag lunch so that walking around seeing the rest of the town is easier.
If I had more time and didn’t bring Norm (corgi), renting a kayak or canoe and going on the river would be a nice treat and a different perspective of the town.

A visit to the Wakefield Farmers Market doesn’t and shouldn’t end at just the market. There is so much packed into this small town to see and do. Definitely worth the visit for a day and even a weekend.

Wakefield Farmers Market
Entrance to Wakefield Farmers Market
Ice Cream
Norm
Wakefield
Fairbairn House
Covered Bridge

Wakefield Farmers Market

Location: 38 Chemin de la Vallee de Wakefield, Wakefield, QC

Dates: May – Oct

Hours: Saturday, 9am – 1pm

Website: https://www.marchewakefieldmarket.ca/

References:

Wakefield: The Earliest Settlers, Outaouais Heritage Web Magazine, URL: http://outaouais.quebecheritageweb.com/article/wakefield-earliest-settlers
Wakefield Covered Bridge, Captial Gems, URL: http://www.capital38 Chemin de la Vallee de Wakefield, Wakefield, QCl
Hull, Chelsea, Wakefield Railway, Wikipedia, URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hull%E2%80%93Chelsea%E2%80%93Wakefield_Railway
Historic Wakefield, Belle de Nuit, URL: https://wakefieldinn.ca/historic-wakefield-quebec/

Author
Recent Posts

Lani and Norm

I enjoy learning and sharing that knowledge.Sharing has been in many forms over the years, as a teaching assistant, university lecturer, Pilates instructor, math tutor and just sharing with friends and family.Throughout, summarizing what I have learnt in words has always been there and continues to through blog posts, articles, video and the ever growing forms of content out there!