Heat prompting St. Norbert Farmers’ Market to close early on Saturday

St. Norbert Farmers' Market during COVID-19 virus. (Source: Marilyn Firth)

WINNIPEG — All of Manitoba remains under a heat warning, and temperatures are expected to hit a high of 35 degrees Celsius on Saturday.

The heat warning has prompted St. Norbert Farmers’ Market to make a change to its operating hours to help keep people safe.

On Saturday, the market will run from 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. due to the heat, closing one hour earlier than usual.

“Closing early will allow our market vendors to get to a cool space before the full heat of the day comes on, and free up our farmers to get back to their farms a little earlier in the day,” the market said in a statement.

It is only the second time in 34 years the market has closed early. The last time was in 2014 due to rain and hail.

The market is encouraging people to come out before the heat hits, saying the pandemic has also hit vendors at the market hard.

Manitoba public health orders now allow 25 per cent capacity at the farmers’ market, but the market said they are seeing lower visitor numbers than in 2020, when COVID-19 restrictions were first implemented.