South Pacific voyages hooked Boulder director on outdoor markets.

• Author: Taylor, Mike
• Position: Small

Mark Menagh was first drawn to outdoor produce markets about 15 years ago after he sold his interest in two California medical-device startups and spent the next 10 years sailing the South Pacific.

"If you wanted to find out what was going on--like where the local dance was and where to find it--you went to the open-air market," he says. "The islands are small communities, and the open-air market was where everything was done."

So when Menagh decided that 10 years of sailing was enough, he returned to the United States shortly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 in New York and sold his boat. He sat down and decided where he wanted to live.

Boulder was a candidate. To find out what was happening in the city, he did what he'd done every time he docked at a different South Pacific island: headed down to the market--the Boulder County Farmers' Market, now in its 23rd year on 13th Street downtown and 25th year overall. Menagh was smitten.

"I was blown away by the central part of the community here in Boulder and how exciting it was and how everybody really loved the market," says Menagh, 53.

He began volunteering at the market, moved up to assistant manager, up to manager and now is executive director.

Michele and Chris Burke, longtime small farmers in the area, were running the Boulder County Farmers' Market when Menagh happened upon it. After directing the Boulder markets for seven years they've moved on to found Colorado Fresh Markets, which oversees the Cherry Creek, Stapleton and City Park markets in Denver.

The Boulder County Farmers' Market is held downtown on Saturdays and Wednesdays, from April to November. It also holds a market Saturdays at the Boulder County Fairgrounds in Longmont. For late harvests and stored vegetables there are two winter markets--one in mid-November and another in mid-December.

There are an estimated 100 farmers' markets throughout the state. A distinguishing characteristic of the Boulder events is that they're "growers-only," meaning they allow only direct sales--no re-sales of produce bought from wholesalers or brokers. Menagh says his market represents 88 farmers and another 47 value-added food producers--makers of prepared foods. The market is member-owned; vendors pay the association 5 percent to 6 percent of their gross sales.

Sales at the downtown Boulder market have grown about 37 percent in the last two years and have doubled at the Longmont...