By SABRINA BERNDT

Washington Daily News

BATH — Despite the heat, Santa Claus will be making an appearance, snow cone in hand, at the Bath Farmers’ Market on Saturday.

The Bath Farmers’ Market is celebrating Christmas in July from 8 a.m. to noon at the Old Bath High School gym on Harding Street. Looking for a way to vary the farmers’ market, the Bath High School Preservation group thought a Christmas celebration would be a fun opportunity to attract new visitors, while also offering a new experience for regulars.

“We wanted to draw interest to the market,” Bath High School Preservation Secretary Claudia Alligood said. “We also wanted to do something special for our regular customers to show our appreciation.”

The Christmas in July event will feature regular vendors, such as the Preservation’s produce and baked goods, as well as one-time vendors like Bill’s Hot Dogs and Kona Ice. Although the market will still offer everyday items and produce, according to Alligood, visitors should expect to start Christmas shopping early.

“We have multiple (vendors) who are doing their regular wares but are going to bring Christmas things as well,” Alligood said. “We are trying to do some things to make it a little special. … I learned today that an area farmer who grows peaches is planning to come and make peach ice cream for us.”

Along with special vendors, Santa Claus will also make an appearance at the event from 10 a.m. to noon.

The Bath Farmers’ Market began in the summer of 2018 as a fundraiser for the Bath High School Preservation. After a rainy first year, Bath allowed the Preservation to utilize the Bath High School gym as a home each Saturday. For a town without a proper grocery store, the Bath Farmers’ Market quickly became a necessity for locals.

“The main thing that this project was started for, in addition to being a fundraiser, it was intended as a community service, an outreach from our organization to our community,” Alligood said. “We do not have a full-service grocery store, so we thought that we could at least supply fresh produce for them.”

The Bath Farmers’ Market will be open every Saturday until Aug. 31, and the Preservation is always looking for a variety of vendors.

“We’d like to invite everyone to come, and we always have room for more vendors if people have stuff they would like to sell,” Alligood said.

For those interested in becoming a vendor for this Saturday’s event, call 252-702-9786 for more information.