Downtown Farmers Market St. George
Saturday, August 15, 2026 – December 26, 2026 · All day
Vernon Worthen Park, St. George
From a Parking Lot to Vernon Worthen Park
The Downtown Farmers Market started in 2007, when St. George resident Nicki Pace launched a small vendor gathering to celebrate downtown rather than the city's outskirts. It has run nearly every Saturday since, and it outgrew its original parking-lot footprint long ago -- it now spreads across the lawn at Vernon Worthen Park, in historic downtown St. George. Kat Puzey and Ashley Tiller later took the market over from Pace, keeping the goal she started with: a gathering built around what Washington and Iron County growers and makers actually produce, not what a distributor trucks in.
What a Saturday Looks Like
Tables line the park's shaded paths with locally grown produce, pasture-raised meat, raw cheese, fresh bread, and handmade goods -- soap, woodwork, jewelry, and art from the same two counties. Live music starts a short while after the market opens and carries through the morning, and the park's lawn and mature shade trees make it a place families linger rather than a quick in-and-out errand -- more than one regular treats it as a stop before or after a meal at one of the family-friendly restaurants nearby.
The Growing Season Behind the Tables
What's on the tables tracks Washington County's growing season, which is unusual for Utah. St. George sits at roughly 2,600 feet, low enough that Utah State University Extension counts more than six months of frost-free growing here, with the average last spring frost landing near the end of March. That stretch carries cool-season greens and early vegetables through spring, stone fruit and melons through the summer heat, and a fall turn toward winter squash and pomegranates. Washington County's warm, dry ground suits pomegranates well enough that growers here developed a heirloom variety of their own, the Dixie Sweet, traced to stock planted by early Latter-day Saint pioneers. The county also ranks among Utah's top three peach-producing counties, a crop that shows up on tables through mid and late summer.
The Market's Calendar
The schedule flips with the seasons: May through October it runs a shorter morning session timed to beat the desert heat; November through April it opens later and stretches into early afternoon instead. The market also takes an extended break at the end of the year, picking back up once the weather turns in late winter, and it steps aside for a handful of Saturdays the park itself needs for city races and events. It sits alongside George StreetFest as one of the recurring anchors of the downtown weekend calendar, though the two draw different crowds: StreetFest is an evening street party, the market a working Saturday morning.
Parking and Getting There
Vernon Worthen Park has its own parking lot at 300 South 400 East, and the surrounding downtown blocks carry additional street parking within an easy walk. Because the market shares the same few blocks as downtown shopping, regulars often park once and cover both on foot rather than moving the car between stops.
SNAP, Double Up Food Bucks, and Who It's For
The market processes SNAP/EBT benefits at an information booth near the entrance, converting a shopper's benefit balance into tokens usable at food vendors the same way cash works. It also runs a Double Up Food Bucks match, doubling SNAP dollars spent specifically on Utah-grown produce, up to a weekly cap -- a program aimed at making fresh food reachable for seniors, young families, and lower-income households. Combined with free admission, it draws a wider cross-section of the city than a typical retail Saturday; see the broader guide to St. George's farmers markets for how this one compares to the county's others.
Frequently asked questions
Why doesn't the market run every Saturday of the year?
Vernon Worthen Park doubles as the finish line for the St. George Marathon and hosts Ironman-related activities, so the market gives up its usual Saturday when either event claims the park. It also takes an extended break at the very end of the year before starting back up.
Does Double Up Food Bucks work the same as regular SNAP dollars at the market?
No. The Double Up match can only be spent on Utah-grown produce. A shopper's regular SNAP/EBT tokens cover the market's full range of eligible foods, including meat, eggs, honey, and baked goods, the same categories SNAP covers anywhere else.
Can I bring my dog?
Yes. Vernon Worthen Park is a public city park, and leashed dogs are welcome at the Saturday market -- a different situation from the park's larger festival days, when crowds and vehicle traffic make it a poor place to bring a pet.
Are vendors allowed to resell things they didn't grow or make themselves?
No. The market prohibits resale -- every vendor has to have grown, raised, baked, or made what's on their own table. Market ownership has described it as one of the only markets in the state that enforces that rule.
Is there fresh local produce at the market in the winter months?
Less of it. Washington County's frost-free stretch runs roughly from late March to the start of November, so the coldest Saturdays lean more heavily on meat, cheese, baked goods, and stored or preserved produce than on just-picked vegetables, which return in volume once the days lengthen again.
Is the market stroller- and wheelchair-accessible?
Yes. Vernon Worthen Park is a paved, ADA-accessible city park, and the market's paths and lawn are flat and wide enough for strollers and wheelchairs to move between the vendor tables.
Address
300 South 400 EastSt. George, UT 84770