(6/21) North county farmers will have a new sales outlet when the Emmitsburg Farmers Market opens next Fri-day.

Those who helped to bring the venture to town are happy that 10 area vendors will offer locally produced agricultural goods, including vegetables, dairy products, emu and lamb meats, honey, fruit, baked goods, spun yarns and cut flowers.

The market will require that sale goods be locally produced, meaning they must come from Washington, Frederick and Car-roll counties in Maryland, or Franklin and Adams counties in Pennsylvania.

The market will be open 3-7:30 p.m. each Friday through Oct. 22.

Jan Staiger, who headed up the town's Farmers Market Committee, and town planner Mike Lucas said Friday they're excited about the market's prospects. It will be held in vacant space along South Seton Avenue, just a block or so from the town square, marked by a large sign.

"We've never had a town farmers market before unless you go way, way back with the days of having markets selling produce at the square," Mr. Lucas said.

Although Ms. Staiger is not a farmer, she said helping to get the umarket started appealed to her for several reasons.

"This was a really good thing to benefit the town, with no ulterior motives," Ms. Staiger said. "It seems like this is a good way to integrate `old town' with `new town.' It's a good way to get inter-action between all sorts of people in town."

This year will be the market's trial period, but Mr. Lucas and Ms. Staiger already have big plans for next year's market.

Ms. Staiger said she hopes to recruit more area farmers to sell their goods here.

Mr. Lucas said next year the town hopes to offer the market in conjunction with its concert series at Memorial Park.

He envisions visitors coming to the area not just for the market, but for all of the town's other offerings.

"We're very hopeful that people who would be attracted to this will stop, stay a while, perhaps have dinner, do some shopping. We've got the antique mall right next door," he said.

Mr. Lucas said the market will be open during the town's "peak drive times. We've got plenty of space here. It's a very good site and we've got very good vendors."

Ms. Staiger said that beginning next year, the market will be able to offer goods for low-income seniors and WIC program recipients, providing a low-cost alternative to the grocery store for the area's low-income residents.

"This year, we really just wanted to get this off the ground and get a good start and sort of make the public aware that this is going to be happening," she said. "Next year, we'll get an earlier start and will, hopefully, be able to recruit more people."

"A lot of farmers around here have to go to Frederick or Silver Spring or Mount Airy to go to markets. There aren't a lot avail-able in this part of the county, so the response has generally been very positive," she said.

Set to sell in town this summer are: South Mountain Creamery of Middletown; Harvest Moon Farm of Frederick; Cat's Paw Farm of Union Bridge; Frederick's Stone Hearth Bakery; Old Orchard Emu of Sabillasville; Frugal Bee of Thurmont, John Kile of Taneytown, Barbara Allen's garden of Gettysburg, and the wind-borne farm of Fairfield.