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<p>Would it be a good idea to &#8230;</p><p>&#8230; offer a farmers market each weekend in Wilkes-Barre? How about a flea market? Is there a suitable site for both to be held at the same time?</p><p>In a recent poll of the Times Leader&#8217;s online readers, we asked the following question: &#8220;If Wilkes-Barre offered these events every weekend, which would you be most likely to attend?&#8221; Five responses from which to choose were provided.</p><p>&#8220;Year-round farmers market&#8221; proved to be the most popular option, selected by 33 percent of respondents.</p><p>Twenty-one percent of respondents found &#8220;flea market&#8221; most appealing. Fourteen percent were drawn to &#8220;outdoor concert series.&#8221; And a mere 3 percent answered &#8220;children&#8217;s activities on the River Common.&#8221;</p><p>Twenty-nine percent of respondents chose &#8220;I don&#8217;t go there.&#8221; Keep in mind, however, the poll is accessible to online users around the globe, so it&#8217;s not clear if those respondents were area residents who deliberately snub Luzerne County&#8217;s largest city or people who don&#8217;t live nearby.</p><p>Area growers understandably might balk at any attempt to expand the city&#8217;s current Farmers Market, held Thursdays on Public Square during the heart of the growing season. A prior attempt to duplicate the event&#8217;s success with a Saturday morning market didn&#8217;t last.</p><p>Since then, however, downtown Wilkes-Barre has experienced an uptick in new housing &#8211; with an influx of apartment and condo dwellers who presumably get hungry. Plus, what&#8217;s to stop an enterprising soul from establishing an indoor or partially sheltered market that goes beyond fresh produce to include, for instance, eggs, salsas, meats, cheeses, pastries, jellies and other goodies?</p><p>We&#8217;re not suggesting anyone plunk down money for this enterprise based on our survey results. But a weekend farmers market and/or flea market might be worth further analysis; and either apparently stands to fare better than a children&#8217;s festival.</p><p>What recurring event could be a big draw in the city? Give us your feedback by sending a letter to the editor or posting comments to this editorial at timesleader.com.</p><p>Likewise, tell us your ideas for improving the community and making area residents&#8217; lives better. Maybe we&#8217;ll spotlight your suggestion in a future editorial and ask readers, &#8220;Would it be a good idea to &#8230;&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">In a recent poll of the Times Leader&#8217;s online readers, we asked the following question: &#8216;If Wilkes-Barre offered these events every weekend, which would you be most likely to attend? Of five responses from which to choose, the most popular option proved to be &#8216;year-round farmers market.&#8217; </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_Market.jpg</photo0><caption0>In a recent poll of the Times Leader&#8217;s online readers, we asked the following question: &#8216;If Wilkes-Barre offered these events every weekend, which would you be most likely to attend? Of five responses from which to choose, the most popular option proved to be &#8216;year-round farmers market.&#8217; </caption0><photoCredit0>Times Leader file photo | Aimee Dilger </photoCredit0></div></div>

Our Opinion: Could year-round farmers market fly in Wilkes-Barre?