Boyce Farmers Market brings artists closer to Fredericton community

Courtney Johnson is a vendor and pottery artist who works at the Boyce Farmers Market every Saturday. (Jennifer Williams/AQ)

Long before most Fredericton residents have had their first cup of coffee, vendors at the Boyce Farmers Market are already working. 

Each Saturday at 7 a.m., the market is alive with the smell of fresh bread, the colour of local produce and the buzz of artists and small businesses setting up their stalls.

Courtney Johnson, pottery artist, runs  Courtney Johnson Ceramics. She has been selling at the market for only one summer, but her connection to the market traces back to her childhood. 

“I’ve known about the Boyce Market since I was a child,” said Johnson. “It’s such a community event. People know it, trust it and keep coming back.” 

Johnson discovered pottery about 15 years ago, after working as a bartender. A friend introduced her to ceramics and the craft quickly took hold.

She later studied at the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design (NBCCD) and graduated more than a decade ago.  

“Half the time I’m here, I’m socializing,” she said. “Coming and doing this helps me feel like I’m still part of the community.”

The Boyce Market is also known as a destination for visitors. Johnson said it gives her the chance to reach people who wouldn’t otherwise encounter her work.

Leather vendor Beth Toron shares the same sentiment. Toron and her husband have been running Northern Lights Leather at the market for 50 years. 

“It used to be quite small. Back in the late ’70s, more immigrants started to come in and we started to get good ethnic food. That’s when it really took off,” said Toron. 

Toron, who immigrated from Pennsylvania, first joined the market when it was in decline.

“We asked if we could come and they said, ‘I guess we’ll let the hippies in,’” she said with a laugh. 

Northern Lights Leather, based out of the countryside, was born out of a need to find a steady income. In the early years, Toron and her husband relied on craft shows, but the market quickly became essential.

“We live out in the country and wanted something we could do back there,” she said. “The market was always an option.” 

Now in retirement, the couple continues to sell their handmade leather goods each week to supplement their income. 

“We don’t do as many craft shows anymore, but the market keeps us going,” said Toron.

Over the years, Northern Lights Leather has developed a safe system, setting up early each Saturday in the same permanent stall.

Toron said she’s proud of the quality of the work they produce. 

“I stand behind my product. I know it’s a good product and I know it’s durable,” she said. “And we’ve been in business for 50 years. There must be something going on.” 

Like Johnson, Toron said the Boyce Market is less about competition and more about collaboration.

Vendors benefit from the flow of people, whether they’re locals or tourists drawn to one of Fredericton’s best-known institutions. 

“You just want people to be here and to be coming,” said Johnson.“The more the merrier.”

From longtime vendors to newcomers, the market remains a space where creativity meets community — where small businesses get the visibility and support they depend on.