NORWICH — The beloved weekend market, Saturdays in the Park with Chobani, has returned for it's sixth year. For six Saturdays in a row, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., local merchants and artisans set up shop in West Park to sell their products.

The event runs for six weeks, with this year’s last market landing on Saturday, October 30. The first market was last weekend, Saturday, September 25. Norwich B.I.D. Executive Committee Member and Saturday in the Park organizer Mindy Chawgo said this year's season was off to a great start.

"Normally our first one is always a little under, you know, people showing up and coming, but it was packed. It was so nice. So I think people are finally getting used to and accustomed to having something like this in Norwich," said Chawgo. "It was great, and the weather was beautiful, and we had a ton more vendors this year than we did in the past."

This week, the crowds kept coming to browse locally-made products such as candles, honey, clothing, home decor, flowers and produce, baked goods, and more. Local organizations were also set up in the park, such as the Chenango County SPCA, Catholic Charities, the Chenango County Historical Society, and more. Visitors were also able to enjoy the musical stylings of local performer Grady Thompson while they shopped.

There is a big emphasis on keeping products local, according to Chawgo. She said she wanted to make sure local artisans were supported and not needing to travel to other events to be able to sell their products.

"Our main focus is those local artisans that have no other venue to participate in. You know, they need to have things like this that people plan so that they can be there for those holidays, or those last minute birthday gifts, you know things like that," she said. "So we give them a venue locally to be here. Not that we don't support the other communities, it's just that there's so much talent here that we don't want to double up on things because if you have too many of one thing then it's not profitable for anybody."

Chawgo said Saturdays in the Park began as a way to provide a venue closer to home for these local vendors, after B.I.D. members realized they were leaving Norwich every weekend to attend farmer's markets elsewhere.

"The B.I.D., which is the Business Improvement District, we were all sitting around talking about how all of us left the community. We were all leaving on a Saturday morning to go elsewhere. To go to Hamilton, to go to Oxford, to get the same items that we have in Norwich," she explained. "You forget how many talented people are here, from restaurants, from people that just work out of their home or have an Etsy shop. So we're like, gosh I think we can pull something together."

She said the first year was sponsored by NBT Bank, but after the first year she was approached by Chobani who wanted to be involved with the events.

"Chobani approached us and said that their belief was feeding their community, and healthy kids, and obesity, and things like that. And they wanted to see how they could be a part of it. So we kind of pitched our thoughts to them and what we wanted, and because they're a part of the community they wanted to always be here. So they started backing all the sponsors, and believed that nobody should have to pay to be here, that they could sponsor the whole event, and anything that I needed," said Chawgo.

So, for five years now, Chobani has been a major part of the Saturday markets. Each week there is a Chobani truck set up in the park, handing out free cups of yogurt.

"This is their fifth year of being here with us. We're so lucky. And they don't give it a second thought. It's never me approaching them, it's always them approaching me," Chawgo added. "They've always supported us, it's been amazing."

Saturdays in the Park has only grown over the years, and Chawgo said she thinks a big draw is the homey feel the markets give to visitors.

"Last weekend somebody said to me, when they were walking around that this event just felt like home. And I think that's what people will feel when they come here, I think they'll feel that they're at home. And it's not a pressure [that] you have to buy something, but it's more of, this is where I can get everything I need for fall, or I can support my local community," she explained. "We're supporting their lifestyle by making our lifestyle more joyous and by getting things from them. So I think if people come down here they'll feel at home, and that's what I really want people to feel, to feel comfortable."