"This farmers market is about relationships and the connections we make," Stephanie Ludlum told the Pauls Valley Democrat this month. She is president of the Southern Family Farmers Market, a new nonprofit that will open with a Christmas market at Train Depot Park on Saturday, Dec. 5.
That date puts the market in the same corner of town the City of Pauls Valley already uses for its December gatherings. The city has planned holiday evenings at the train depot area every Thursday night in December. The new market fills the Saturdays. That makes the depot the place to be two nights a week for most of the month, and on Saturday, Dec. 12, the market, the firefighters' chili supper and the community Christmas parade all happen downtown on the same evening.
The season starts somewhere else, though, with a weekend at the fairgrounds.
The season starts at the fairgrounds this Saturday
The first big holiday shopping day is two days after this post goes up. The Merry and Mingle Holiday Bazaar runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, at the Garvin County Fairgrounds. It is a fundraiser for the Garvin County Free Fair Royalty Program, and the money supports the young people who represent the county fair throughout the year.
Royalty Coordinator Tracie Mullendore told the Pauls Valley Democrat the bazaar is a "great opportunity to get some Christmas shopping done while supporting local vendors and the Garvin County Free Fair Royalty Program." In the same story, she said vendors were already calling about spaces and more spots were still open. Vendors can request an application from her at [email protected].
There's one more errand that weekend. The Pauls Valley Chamber of Commerce lists Nov. 22 as the deadline for its Christmas Cards to Our Troops drive, and cards go to Hinkle Printing. If your household writes cards over Thanksgiving week, you'll miss the deadline, so the bazaar weekend is the time to drop them off.
- Saturday, Nov. 21: Merry and Mingle Holiday Bazaar, Garvin County Fairgrounds, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Sunday, Nov. 22: Christmas Cards to Our Troops deadline, cards to Hinkle Printing
After that weekend, almost everything moves downtown to the depot.
Thursdays belong to the city, Saturdays to the market
The City of Pauls Valley has planned another series of holiday gatherings at the train depot area on Thursday nights in December. According to the Democrat's report on the city's plans, the evenings will include photos with Santa, music, kids' crafts and vendors. The tree lighting ceremony on Thursday, Dec. 3, kicks off the series.
Two days later, the Southern Family Farmers Market opens its Christmas market at Train Depot Park. It runs from 4 to 9 p.m. on three Saturdays: Dec. 5, 12 and 19.
Here are the first three weeks of December:
| Date | Day | At or near the depot |
|---|---|---|
| Dec. 3 | Thursday | City tree lighting ceremony and the first Thursday holiday evening |
| Dec. 5 | Saturday | Christmas market opens, 4 to 9 p.m., Train Depot Park |
| Dec. 10 | Thursday | City holiday evening: Santa photos, music, kids' crafts, vendors |
| Dec. 12 | Saturday | Christmas market, 4 to 9 p.m., plus the chili supper and the downtown parade |
| Dec. 17 | Thursday | City holiday evening |
| Dec. 19 | Saturday | Last Christmas market date, 4 to 9 p.m. |
Thursday nights are for photos with Santa and crafts for the kids, and Saturday nights are for the farmers, producers and ranchers the new market was built around. For a family that wants one of each, the week of Dec. 3 is the simplest, because the tree lighting and the market's opening night come just two days apart.
Why the market set up in the park, not under the pavilion
The market's location was a deliberate choice. Ludlum and vice president Amanda Rog started in April, Ludlum told the Democrat, by sending 100 emails to farmers, producers and ranchers and then meeting with them to hear what they wanted from a farmers market.
One thing they learned was that some vendors from an earlier Pauls Valley farmers market didn't like working under the train depot pavilion. The new market moved a few yards away to the depot park, where there's more room.
"I've been working on this 40 hours a week bringing this market together," Ludlum said in the same story. "So much goes into running a farmers market, starting with getting it established."
The market even has mascots: two goats named Farmer Mark and Farmer Kit. Put "Mark" and "Kit" together and you get "market."
The December dates are a preview. The regular market starts April 3, with hours from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays at the same park, and the city's Sept. 22 council agenda puts the start of those Saturday morning markets in 2027. That makes the three December Saturdays the evening version of something that will be a morning routine next spring. Ludlum told the Democrat the group plans educational programs on home gardening, crops and goats, and she wants the market to reach the whole area south of the Oklahoma City metro, not just Pauls Valley.
The market is still recruiting. "The more we have the better it is for the community," Ludlum said, and she added that the market will always be looking for more producers and farmers. If you raise, grow or make something around Garvin County, the December dates are a low-stakes way to test the idea before the spring season begins.
Saturday, Dec. 12, puts three events in one evening
The market's second Saturday is also the day of Pauls Valley's community Christmas parade, which will roll through downtown. Before the parade, the Pauls Valley Fire Department holds its annual chili supper fundraiser at the fire station at McClure and Walnut. The Democrat's community calendar lists the supper from 4 to 6 p.m.
Here's the order of the evening:
- 4 p.m. The chili supper opens at the fire station at McClure and Walnut, and the Christmas market opens at Train Depot Park.
- 6 p.m. The chili supper ends. The market keeps going until 9 p.m.
- After the supper. The community Christmas parade rolls through downtown.
Last year followed the same pattern on a Saturday. The chili supper ran from 4 to 6 p.m., and the parade started at 7:15 p.m., according to the Democrat's 2025 holiday roundup. The 2025 theme was "The Grinch of Who Valley."
This year, local children are being polled to choose the parade theme. If you have a child in town, they may already have a vote in what the floats look like on the 12th.
The new part this year is the market. In earlier years, the chili supper and the parade made up the evening. Now the market at the depot park stays open for five hours on the same Saturday, from the moment the supper opens at 4 p.m. until 9 p.m. That leaves a three-hour window at the market after the last bowl of chili is served at 6.
The Thursday crowd and the Saturday crowd are likely to overlap that week, too. The city's Dec. 10 evening and the Dec. 12 market fall in the same week, so that's the week to plan around if you want to see Santa, buy something from a local producer, eat chili for a good cause and watch a parade, all in one week.
Cross C Realty is based nearby in Purcell, and our agents spend a lot of time in Garvin County. To us, a new market recruiting area producers is good news for the whole county. If you're weighing a few acres near Pauls Valley and wondering where your eggs, beef or produce could be sold, or you want to know how in-town and acreage property around Pauls Valley is moving this season, Matthew Cunningham and the Cross C Realty team can help. Get Your Free Market Report and see this season's numbers for the area.
