A couple of months after closing, the Haleiwa Farmers Market is getting ready to reopen Thursday at a new location, the Pikake Pavilion and nearby lawn in Waimea Valley.
The agreement, signed Thursday, allows the market to operate from 3 to 7 p.m. Thursdays.
"We’re excited because we love Waimea," said market co-owner Pamela Boyer.
Boyer said the market will open with about 50 vendors and include produce, dinner items, beer and wine, and seating, along with entertainment.
"We’re hoping local people will stop by on their way home," she said.
The property, owned by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, is operated by the nonprofit Hi‘ipaka LLC.
Hi‘ipaka Executive Director Richard Pezzulo said the market ties into the nonprofit’s goal of supporting local farmers and improving relations with the community.
He said the market’s lease is a three-month trial.
Hi‘ipaka offers cultural demonstrations and events during the week, including guided hikes on trails in Waimea Valley.
Boyer said the number of vendors is growing with each day, but estimates about 50 percent of the booths will be operated by farmers, and the remainder by artisans and food vendors.
She said she is hoping it will continue to spawn new enterprises.
Boyer said the former market created jobs for about 250 people and included 65 businesses.
She said many vendors lost about 50 percent of their revenue when it closed in early June.
The market operated on Sundays for about three years at a triangular parcel at the junction of Kamehameha Highway and Joseph P. Leong Highway, known as the Haleiwa bypass road.
The state Department of Transportation, which held the lease on the land on a month-to-month basis, shut down the activity due to liability issues.
