March 29, 2024

Browse Airport Farmers Market July 12

farmers market

St. Mary’s County Regional Airport will again host a farmers market in partnership with Historic Sotterley from 9 am to 1 pm July 12.

The July market will be held in the parking lot in front of the Captain Walter Francis Duke Terminal at 44200 Airport Road, California, MD. Airport Road intersects with Route 235 at the Wildewood shopping center and runs past the Wildewood office parks and the University System of Maryland at Southern Maryland before entering the airport.

Due to relaxed COVID-19 safety restrictions, the vendor booths will be spread out for walking shoppers in July. All shoppers are requested to wear masks and keep a social distance from others while in the market area. There is plenty of parking next to and adjacent to the Captain Walter Francis Duke Terminal.

This farmers market embraces and showcases the rural characteristics of Southern Maryland while highlighting the role that the region plays in developing air and space technologies. Perhaps the most unique characteristic of the Airport Farmers Markets is being able to fly in to shop. “Nowhere else can you fly your own plane in, buy local oysters, vegetables and wine, and then fly home,” says Allison Swint, St. Mary’s County Airport manager.

The July market will feature soft shell crabs, pork from free-range heritage pigs, local farmed oysters, vegetables and fruits, local honey, eggs, baked goods, shrimp, Kettle Corn, local winery and distillery offerings as well as two food trucks and a shaved ice stand. Something for everyone.

A full listing is available on Sotterley’s website as well as updates on their Facebook page.

Historic Sotterley has been instrumental in creating what is billed as the first fly-in farmers market in America. The markets have continued since, not withstanding a pandemic. The backdrop is the new Aviation Technology Park at St. Mary’s Airport with the county’s agriculture and aquaculture heritage on display. St. Mary’s County, the Mother County of Maryland, has the most oyster farms in the state. More than 23,000 acres are preserved for farmland. At the same time, the county has the highest concentration of high-tech jobs in the Washington, DC, region.

The campus, developed by S. Hunt Aero, boasts a growing number of aviation-related and technology companies joining the TechPort UAS Business Incubator and University of Maryland UAS Test Site. St. Mary’s County Regional Airport is the fastest growing general aviation airport in the state, says Ken Reed, principal of S. Hunt Aero.

“We love that we can be such an important part of connecting our region’s past to its present and even to its future with events like this,” says Historic Sotterley Executive Director Nancy Easterling. “Come out in the fresh air, buy some healthy produce, and watch the airplanes fly!”

For more information about the growing Aviation Technology Park at St. Mary’s County Regional Airport, contact Ken Reed, 44191 Airport Road, Suite C, California, MD 20619; Cell 301-904-9928, Email [email protected]. To learn more about S. Hunt Aero, visit its Leader member page.

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