Charlesgate Farmers Market transforms abandoned park into cherished tradition, supports local businesses

Less than 10 minutes from Boston University’s Charles River Campus, between the Back Bay, Kenmore and Fenway neighborhoods, is a small, unassuming park underneath the Bowker Overpass. For years, the space was underutilized — but now, each Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the park comes alive with food, music and community for the Charlesgate Farmers Market.

From June 22 to Oct. 12, the weekly market serves as a space for the community to enjoy live music and converse with their neighbors as they shop the week’s vendors.

Jon Sautter, a TV commercial producer from Fenway, said he and his wife go to the market “every week, rain or shine.” 

“This is the only place we shop,” Sautter said. “It’s not only [that] the level of quality of food is superior to the grocery store, even the Whole Foods, but it’s also the community that you find.”

Caroline Reeves, founder and director of Charlesgate Farmers Market, opened the market under the Muddy Water Initiative, an environmental advocacy and action group dedicated to keeping the Muddy River and surrounding areas clean.

Reeves said her goal with the project was to transform a dull, abandoned park into a vibrant community space.

“This space has been abandoned and [an] eyesore and a nuisance for the 30 years that I’ve been living here,” Reeves said. “It’s a real problem for our neighborhood, and I thought somebody needs to activate this space, and I thought, ‘We are that somebody.’”

Now in its second season, the Charlesgate Farmers Market has become a community staple. 

“It’s like a real big community event every Sunday, [and] it’s hard to find that in a lot of neighborhoods,” Sautter said.

The market has 29 vendors, who sell products ranging from fresh produce to dog treats. 

Dick’s Market Garden, a family-owned farm founded in 1944, with over 260 acres of land in Lunenburg, Massachusetts, is the only fresh produce vendor at the Charlesgate Farmers Market. 

John Mara, who helps run the farm from “behind the scenes,” said it grows more than 75 varieties of fruits and vegetables. 

Over 95% of what Dick’s sells at its farmstand is grown on the farm and generally picked fresh the day before it’s sold, Mara added. 

“It’s really a group that’s dedicated to attending on a weekly type of basis and [the person who manages the stand has] made sure he brings in the variety that we grow every single week, so people are seeing everything that is available,” he said. 

As one of the larger businesses at the Charlesgate Farmers Market, Mara said he hopes Dick’s Market Garden can help bring in business to the other vendors.

“We’re hoping that by being the large produce vendor, that people are coming and seeing what we have and then helping the other vendors out,” Mara said.

In addition to well-established businesses like Dick’s Market Garden, the market also hosts a variety of up-and-coming businesses. 

The Florist’s Daughter, a joint venture of Adelle Bonavire and her daughter, is in its first season with the market. 

Bonavire said she and her daughter have provided flowers for events such as weddings and baby showers, but the market has allowed them to branch out and bring more attention to their business.

“The people here are so nice,” Bonavire said. “The vendors change up all the time, so it’s good to meet new people, and everyone that comes through has just been super supportive.”

Wendy and Mark Donohue also own a small business featured at the market — a hydroponics company called Leaf Water Farms.

Hydroponics is a plant-growing technique that uses a water-based nutrient solution as an alternative to soil, yielding more crops while requiring less space and water.

The couple founded the business just a few months ago and have been selling microgreens and leaf lettuce at the market for two weeks.

Wendy said they found success offering samples to customers because many people are unfamiliar with microgreens. 

“You don’t know until you try it how good they are,” she said. “It feels really good when someone takes a little bite, and they’re like, ‘Oh wow, it tastes really good,’ and then they buy something.” 

For Bonavire, the ability to experience products with all five senses is a big appeal of farmers markets, she said.

“Everything today is so on-demand online,” Bonavire said. “I feel like the Farmers Market is just such a great way for people to sample things, buy things, talk to people [and] have a conversation.”

Reeves said she is ultimately proud that she and her team have been able to transform the park into a lively community space.

“When I drive by the market on a Sunday, and I see the colors, hear the music, you can see the people at the table, the dogs, I’m proud,” Reeves said. “I’m really genuinely proud that we have created a space that works for the neighborhood.”