Scotsman Center bring together businesses for Morgan’s Farmers Market
Sep 17, 2024 08:52AM ● By Verlene Johnson
Attendance was strong for the Aug.17 Morgan Farmers Market.
Located on 10 acres in Mountain Green is a hidden gem on what was originally a brine shrimp company, Golden West Artemia. The facilities were remodeled as an equestrian facility and community center in 2017. With stable and amenities for housing performance horses, office and event spaces for lease, storage units with a collection of 150 secure self-storage units and RV parking.
Since opening, Scotsman has been home to a variety of small businesses. Currently part of the Scotsman Center campus are: Mountain Music Academy, owned by Morgan Thomas with a variety of music instructors; Drage Second Chance Ranch, owned by Jessie and Shawn Drage; Mountain Green Dance Company, owned by Scott and Sarah Trageser; On Hill Events, owned by Joe Coles; Sustainable Environments, owned by Kirk Miller; CG Show Stables, owned by Cammi Gustaveson; Horse Training by Jen Pagano and Jeremy Watt.
“Having the opportunity to see students from across the valley come in for voice lessons, piano lessons and guitar lessons has been amazing,” said Kennen Thompson, a music teacher for Mountain Music academy. Seeing students from all ages be excited about music gets me excited to teach in this valley.”
Scotsman Center is owned by a partnership of Morgan valley locals and is managed by Haley Johnson of Mountain Green. “The purpose of Scotsman is to serve the community by supporting small businesses and the development of our community’s youth by offering fun employment opportunities and housing various lessons in the arts, as offered by the businesses here,” said Johnson.
The Scotsman Center also hosts large events such as horse shows and clinics, dog agility shows by Golden Spike Dog Agility Club and The Living Nativity by Morgan Valley Church.
During the summer of 2022, the Scotsman Center held their farmers market. What started out as a few vendors from Morgan and Mountain Green has grown into many vendors from across the valley along with musical entertainment.
On Aug.17, the Scotsman Center hosted the first of two farmers market for the year. The second and final Morgan Farmers Market for 2024 will be held Sep. 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. located at 5859 Cottonwood Canyon Rd, Mountain Green.
Over the past three years, the Morgan Farmers Markets have positively impacted the community, attracting several hundreds of attendees and over 70 vendors. The markets also support the development of high-school-aged youth, involving them with planning, social media marketing, logistics and live musical performances.
In July 2024, Scotsman Center was awarded a Morgan County Small Business Grant to fund the development, improvement and awareness of the Morgan Farmers Markets. Funds will be used for improved signage and advertising, additional staffing, and equipment rentals that support fun and free activities for attendees to enjoy.
Organizers are actively working with Morgan County to create a proposal which would streamline the sign up and permitting process next year. This way vendors don't have to visit two registration sites.
“We strive to support vendors' small businesses by offering fun networking opportunities amidst family friendly activities,” said Johnson. “We hope visitors will enjoy the neighborhood-block-party feel of these events and will participate in transactions that help to fund Morgan Valley’s community.”
If you are interested in participating as a vendor at the Morgan Farmers Market at the Scotsman Center visit https://scotsmancenter.com/farmers-market. Registration deadline is Sept, 2. Late vendors will need special approval and a late fee will be applied.
The Scotsman Center is a proud recipient of a 2024 Morgan small business development grant and is using funds solely to support the growth of the farmers markets.