MISSOULA — Southgate Mall was busy over the weekend for the opening day of the Missoula Valley Winter Market.
The market, which previously operated out of the Missoula Senior Citizens Center, moved into the old Lucky’s location in the mall this year, providing a much more spacious setup.
A total of 50 vendors were represented on Saturday, selling everything from vegetables, to sweets, to crafts and Montana themed items.
The market will be open every Saturday from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Saturdays until mid-April. They’ll also open their doors on Wednesday nights starting this week.
"But you know what, the market is just such a big part of the community, especially the winter market. You know in the summer, there's a lot of tourists and it's locals and tourists at the summer market,” market manager Franco Salazar said.
“I feel like the winter markets a lot more of just the local Missoula community, and just having, you know, being able to open, I think it's just really big for the community just to have that access food access for everybody,” he added.
The Missoula Valley Winter Market vendors accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program dollars.
