Saturdays May 25-Oct 12, Wednesdays May 29-Aug 28, 9am-1pm
West Main Street, Downtown Harbor Springs
Youth Programs
Young
Entre-
preneur
Market
Sprouts
Kids Zone
&
Kids Club
Kids
Days
Young Entrepreneur Program
The Young Entrepreneur Program is a free program that provides real-world selling opportunities to kids under 18. The program helps children gain important skills and knowledge about product development, customer interaction, pricing, and customer service. All products must be made by the entrepreneur(s). As we are not a cottage food law market, we try to stay away from any kids with food or drink stands.
We have hosted nearly one hundred children through the Young Entrepreneur Program and have loved witnessing their passion about creating something with their own two hands, become more confident speaking with adults, watch them improve on counting back change, be excited about earning their own money, set future goals, and much more.
The market provides all Young Entrepreneurs with a tent, weights, and a table free of charge. All other display equipment, signage, cash/change, and products are the responsibility of the young entrepreneur. Kids are eligible to participate up to once per month (except only 2 of the 3 peak months of June, July, August)
If accepted, the Market Master will be in contact with you to schedule dates. Also, please check your spam folder, often our emails from harborspringsfarmmarket@gmail.com go to spam...
See of our past Young Entrepreneurs Include...
Katey Reusable Bags: Katey helped inspire the start of this program. After a summer of being a Young Entrepreneur, she went on to become a full time vendor for several seasons!
Otto & Evie - tie dye
Bella Karr - earrings and decorated stones
Ellis - micro greens and catnip
Ethan and Jacob - photo transferred lake stones
Zoe Kaufman - decorated notebooks and tumblers
Elliott Matelski - Little Traverse Bay Candle Company
Aliviah - hand crocheted stuffed animals
Samantha - beach glass art
Brooks, Emme, & Will - recycled golf balls and handmade bracelets
Sierra Schlehuber - hand decorated hats
Kids Zone & Kids Club
Our organization believes in youth education. Creating a fun, inviting, and enjoyable experience for kids is very important to us. We host FREE Kids Activities daily at the yellow "Kids Zone" booth at the front of the market.
Complete a simple scavenger hunt to earn a stamp or color in a strawberry, chicken, flower, pumpkin or other fun coloring page.
Become a member of the Kids Club! This simple frequent shopper program is a fun way for kids to get excited about coming to the market and earn prizes. Plus Miss Hannah loves getting to learn names and get to know our youth members better. All that is required to join is writing their name on a card. Each trip to the market kids will visit the Kids Zone to color in the next circle. Cards are stored right at the market and prizes are awarded after coming to the market 5, 10, and 15 times. Last year we had over 100 members and gave out hundreds of dollars of prizes.
More Daily Activities
Down by the music, there is also a picnic table with a "Market Library," checkers, dominoes, outdoor games, and chalk!
Market Sprouts
Market Sprouts is an educational program. Kids are able to do a fun craft or activities while learning about nature, food, agriculture, and more. All kids who participate receive a $2 token to spend at the market!
Wednesdays in June and July
9:30-12:30
Past Activity Examples
- Paper Plate Gardens: Learn how different vegetables grow, and what parts of the plant we eat.
Color your plants and glue them to a paper plate in the way they grow.
- Pollinator Puppets: Create a pollinator puppet, practice transferring pollen. Learn about how
different plants pollinate and what animals are pollinators!
- Seed Art: Match seeds to plants and create an art piece with various seeds.
- Taste Testing: Sampling various fruits and vegetables and foods found at the market
Market Sprouts Instructors
We are looking for instructors for our Wednesday Market Sprouts Days! Instructors will be responsible for designing and running an educational activity at the market. Activity focus should be rooted in healthy living, agriculture, fresh food, etc.
Instructors are responsible for purchasing any additional supplies to support their activity. The market already has select supplies that can be used, please see the info sheet link. Instructors will be given a $50 stipend for successfully running their workshop and can be reimbursed for up to $50 in supplies.
Kids Days
The most fun days at market!! Bring the whole family for a great day of shopping, music, and lots of free activities!
Here are some of the activities offered on Kids Days...
- Bounce House: provided by the amazing Northern Michigan Bounce House
- Scavenger Hunts: all kids who complete a scavenger hunt earn a $2 token they can spend at the market, AND one lucky kiddo will also win a $20 Gift Certificate to Rocking Horse Toy Co.
- Coloring Pages: complete a coloring page and earn a stamp
- Sprouts for Sprouts: free plants for home gardens
- Taste Testing: taste all items at the tasting to earn another $2 token
- Crafts: enjoy umbrella or rock painting
- Face Painting: by the amazing Kari
- Story Time: enjoy stories by local authors
- Guests: Guests of the Market with special kids activities and programs
We hope these special Kids Day events help spread awareness on the offerings of our market and get families into the habit of attending the market with their kids, make healthy food choices as a family, better appreciate the importance of supporting small local businesses, all while enjoying their time together.