The market will host a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony at the market August 2. The fun begins at 7:30 a.m.

The Convenience Street market will be a pedestrian-only U-shaped market, fronting onto Highway 20. Parking will be available courtesy of the Smithville Foodland and CIBC parking lot.

The Smithville Pizzeria and Kalinka Sports will provide washroom facilities for market vendors.

The market committee is excited to follow through on its mission statement at the downtown site, which is as follows:

To establish and maintain a Farmers' Market to provide local producers with fresh quality farm products as well as handmade goods from local artists and craftspeople, to strengthen the ties between rural and urban communities and effectively create an atmosphere that fosters community stewardship and local economic development.

For the past four years, faithful vendors have been setting up at the Smithville Fairgrounds.

However, the site was set too far back from the road, and the market lacked the ability to draw patrons off Highway 20.

Ald. Mary Dinga said the market's steering committee could have saved a large amount of work if the message would have got out sooner that council was OK with downtown sites other than the CIBC lot.

Tomorrow, it will be market as usual at the fairgrounds site for the final time.