Since the Hyattsville farmers market was suspended last summer, the Riverdale Park Famers Market is now the oldest continuously running farmer’s market on the Route 1 corridor.

And unlike many area farmers markets which are only open for part of the season, the Riverdale Park Farmers Market is open year-round, which means January through December, rain or shine, you can purchase fresh, in-season meats and produce directly from farmers.

While it started in 1998, the Riverdale Park Farmers Market has only been open year-round for the past five years, experimenting with different vendors in the winter months and hosting a popular upcoming Festival of Lights.

Some of the groceries you can pick up this time of year: Turnips, carrots, kale, beets, mushrooms, onions, garlic, tatsoi, apples, baked goods, pastured pork, grass-fed beef, free-range chicken and eggs.

Rudolph Medicus from Cats Paw Organic Farm, who has been farming since 1982, says he has traveled an hour-and-a-half each way from Union Bridge, Md., to Riverdale Park every Thursday, rain or shine, for the last five years. “It’s a good enough market that you can justify the drive,” he told the Hyattsville Wire in an interview. Today he’s selling fresh, organic onions, and cabbage and beets among other in-season vegetables.

Beyond vegetables from Cats Paw Organic, the market also offers frozen meals, 2Fifty Texas BBQ, Indonesian food from Roy & Rt’s Kitchen and Garden and authentic Mexican food from various vendors including El Piquin.

“We have had apples, a baked goods provider and a meat vendor the whole time,” said market coordinator James Coleman. “We see the mission of providing local food to the local population as important.”

The annual Riverdale Park Festival of Lights and Holiday Market will be held at the market this Saturday from noon to 8 p.m., with local arts and crafts, multicultural santas, craft alcohol, and live local music from bands like the Wild Anacostias and Paint Branch Creek, as well as a trolley to see neighborhood holiday lights from 5:40 to 8 p.m. There will also be caroling and even a holiday tour of the Riversdale House Museum.

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