KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Nourish Knoxville’s Market Square Farmers’ Market is celebrating 20 years with the start of the 2023 season.

Visitors to the market will be able to celebrate the memories made and businesses grown at the market throughout the upcoming season with several new activities.

Visitors to downtown can find some of the “Market Square Farmers’ Market Originals” through a fun scavenger hunt. The “OG” businesses will display a colorful decal in the window during the month of May. People can then scan the QR code to learn about the businesses’ farmers market roots and register to win prizes.

People are also invited to send “Farmers’ Market Fan Mail” to thank vendors, share a favorite market memory or describe how the market has made a difference in their lives with an official mailbox in Market Square.

Drop off letters, poems, drawings and other tokens of appreciation at the official mailbox in Market Square, designed and painted by illustrator Paris Woodhull. Admirers also can submit fan mail online. (Photo: WATE)

Ellie Moore, the Chief Operating Officer for Nourish Knoxville, shared what other festivities will help start the season on it’s first Wednesday market.

“We’ll have Mayor Indya Kincannon down which is pretty exciting, she’s going to be giving us our 20th anniversary proclamation and kind of open up the market which will be really fun,” Moore said. “The Mabry-Hazen House Museum and the Knoxville History Project will be there on that Wednesday and Saturday to talk about the deep connection Market Square has to the Mabry and Hazen family.”

Moore went on to talk about what the 20th season means to them and why the atmosphere at the market is so contagious.

“It’s a really special place, it goes beyond a shopping experience,” she said. “You connect with your neighbors, you connect with these people who are growing your food, who are baking your bread, who are making these incredible crafts.”

The activities started Monday, May 1, with the first market of the 20th season set for Wednesday, May 3. Shoppers and sightseers are encouraged to share photos of their farmers’ market friends and finds on social media using #20yrsKnoxFarmersMarket.

The Market Square Farmers’ Market is open rain or shine very Wednesday and Saturday from May 3 to November 18, 2023. Wednesday markets are open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. while the Saturday markets are open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.