Holland farmers market opens, will continue through summer

Fresh vegetables, baked goods and handmade crafts filled the first Holland farmers market at Holland United Methodist Church, turning a church lot into a neighborhood buying place with a set summer schedule behind it. The market opened June 5 and is slated to keep running through September, giving Holland residents a recurring option for local food and small-scale shopping.

The church’s market schedule calls for events on the first and third Fridays of each month from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Dates listed for 2026 include June 5 and 19, July 3, 17 and 31, August 7 and 21, and September 4. Organizers were seeking farm food vendors, craft vendors and baking vendors, and market organizer Elizabeth Wertman handled the call for participants.

That mix matters in a town like Holland, where a regular market can function as more than a place to browse. It gives nearby residents a place to buy fresh items, support local makers and connect with neighbors without leaving town for a larger commercial center. The church said it hoped the market would become “another pillar event” for Holland, a sign that the goal is not a one-day promotion but a dependable part of the town’s summer routine.

Holland’s own town website puts the market in a community of 644 people, according to the 2020 Census, with an agricultural base and a cluster of basic services that includes an elementary school, daycare center, medical and dental clinic, volunteer fire department, branch bank and large community park. That profile helps explain why a small, recurring market can matter locally: it adds another place to spend food dollars close to home while reinforcing the town’s small-scale commercial life.

The broader county picture gives that local role additional weight. Dubois County’s population was 43,637 in the 2020 Census and was estimated at 44,016 in July 2025, a reminder that Holland sits inside a larger market area even if it remains smaller than Jasper or Huntingburg. Holland’s history page says the town was settled by German immigrants in the late 1830s and platted by Henry Kunz in 1859, giving the new market a setting shaped by agriculture and local enterprise. For Holland, the test this summer is straightforward: whether a Friday-evening market can become a lasting habit for shoppers and sellers alike.