Oregon Coast TODAY **Randell Bonner sell a wide variety of canned goods, produce and fresh squeezed lemonade at his Everfree Farm booth.**

TOLEDO — The village of tents surrounded by the deep green of forestland near the Yaquina River create a market that is the best of both worlds — a small, friendly community of vendors offering a wide variety of handmade goods.

The Toledo Waterfront Market is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursdays.

Melissa Roberts, a mother and lifelong Toledo resident, is dedicated to using fresh and natural ingredients in the food products she sells. As a mom, she finds it incredibly important to feed her children quality food and her booth at the Toledo market is a result of this.

“The products I create and sell are made with homegrown ingredients that I would be proud to serve to my kids,” she said.

Roberts has been a vendor at the market for four years and a loyal customer since her daughters were young.

“Some of the long-time vendors remember me hiking down to the market with one baby in a stroller and the other strapped to my back,” she said. “I’ve never missed one.”

Roberts’ chocolate crinkle cookies sprinkled with powdered sugar are a customer favorite. Her infused vinegars are flavored with herbs, fruits and flowers grown in her garden, great for salads and vegetables, and her Cowboy Candy is a fitting name for her signature candied jalapenos.

“Nasturtium and raspberry vinegars are coming soon,” she said.

Roberts loves how the market is made up of people from all walks of life coming together to share their passions.

“Customers can be sure that vendors wouldn’t sell a product if they wouldn’t use it themselves,” she said.

Oregon Coast TODAY **Wayne Christian took up wood turning 10 years ago after retiring from teaching and sells his work each Thursday at the Toledo Waterfront Market.**

While the vendors are the heart of the market, none of it would be possible without the work of the Toledo Chamber of Commerce executive director Kathy Crane, who has been running the operation for seven years.

“My favorite part about running a market like this one is getting to interact with the vendors,” she said. “All this is really for them.”

Each week customers have the chance to enter a free raffle to win prizes, including donations by vendors and gift certificates to local restaurants.

“People often wonder why the market is on a Thursday,” Crane said. “We chose this day in order to work with other coastal markets and give customers a chance to visit them without having to choose between one or the other.”

Florence has a market on Tuesdays, Waldport on Wednesdays, Newport and Gleneden Beach on Saturdays, then in Yachats and Lincoln City on Sundays.

Variety of vendors

Randell and Gavin Bonner sell a wide variety of canned goods, produce and fresh squeezed lemonade at their Everfree Farm booth.

The family grows their own produce and raises chickens, turkeys and rabbits for meat and eggs. They also partner with local and Willamette Valley farmers to offer a selection of products and support others through their sales.

“Produce is hard to grow on this side of the coast,” Randell Bonner said. “I mean, you can’t grow lettuce in the sand. People here deserve access to fresh food and this market gives them a chance to buy it.”

Bonner enjoys the small community feel of the market.

“I’ve participated in larger markets and they’re just not the same,” he said.

White Cat Studios combines the passions of Wayne and Gail Christian. Wayne Christian took up wood turning 10 years ago after retiring from teaching and uses walnut, maple and apple wood to create bowls, boxes and candle holders.

“There is a great woodturning community here in Toledo,” he said. “The Oregon Coast Turners group meets once a week and we create together.”

He uses a traditional lathe to smooth and shape his work and fills any imperfections with chrysocolla rock, adding a unique twist to his products.

Gail Christian makes a variety of baked goods.

“I love to bake for my grandkids and now that there aren’t as many people at home I bring my creations to the market,” she said. “I use family recipes and cookbooks and try different things until I figure out what works best.”

Gail Christian also makes traditional chocolate covered strawberries in cake form — strawberry cake with a chocolate frosting.

“I think that the Toledo market gives locals something to look forward to each week,” she said. “We recognize weekly customers and worry about the elderly when they aren’t there. The market community is like a family.”