HURON — An opportunity for creativity to bloom for painters, market goers or anyone who appreciates a walk through the park, will be available at the Huron Farmer’s Market’s first “Painting in the Park,” event from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday at Campbell Park.
“This is the first time we’ve ever had a plein air event at the market,” explained Marketing Director for the Huron Farmer’s Market Allison Fisk. “Plein air is a French word which means painting outside. What we are hoping for is to attract more people to come enjoy the park and the Farmer’s Market.
Linda Durdle, an artist from Wessington Springs, plus artist and President of the Farmer’s Market Adam Fleischhacker will both be at the park painting.
“Linda has hosted a plein air event in De Smet, she is excited to come to Huron and participate,” Fisk explained. “Plus our local market president Adam is really talented. We’ve had good response from the community, there are some locals who have signed up to come out to paint with their kids.”

It was a combined idea of Fisk and Fleischhacker to host the outdoor painting event, as part of the community coming together to enjoy the beauty of the park and experience all the vendors that grow their own produce, bake or create homemade items.  
“We’re hoping to do the painting event once a month, my goal is to open up the market to more arts. Growing vegetables is a labor of love that a lot of skill and knowledge goes into, as well as baking, and art is the same way,” Fisk said. “I think there’s a lot of people who could benefit from having their artwork out in the public, and making connections with people because there are a lot of talented people in this area. They don’t know they have the outlet to be successful or sell their work, they can come and connect with people who have a love for art and recognize the beauty around them. That’s one of the reasons why we’re hosting it outside at one of our more historical landmarks, Campbell Park is beautiful, there are flowers, it is nicely taken care of and the library is right there. It’s a great place to just go walk around barefoot and have a picnic.”
The event is a celebration of art, community building and food Fisk explained, “those are my passions. It will be a fun day and I hope more people will come and join us.”
Fisk shared that creating memories for her is around food and family coming together, while art is about capturing the most beautiful moments, “I think food and art and very connected,” she added. “You get more of an experience if you come to the market and see things that aren’t your everyday products, the person who is selling product can tell you everything about it from the beginning to the end, and be reassured that whatever baked good or produce you are buying has been made by a person who loves it, they can tell you what the crop was like and it doesn’t end there, all of the people who sell produce know how to cook and they can tell you what to do with the produce. It’s the same with artwork, that they can tell you where they started the progression to the finished painting, it all comes together as a final product thats been crafted and cared for.”
To join in on the event is free, just show up with your own art supplies and enjoy. There will be finished products displayed at the Centre Plaza downtown after the event, for those who want to go and see the paintings. To sign up to have artwork displayed or for more information on the event and the market, contact Fisk at 350-8224, email huronfarmersmarket@gmail.com or visit the group’s Facebook page.  
“If you want to come paint, bring along your equipment, it’s free. It’s all about the labor of love, crafting what you see, come out and see what the artists see. See what this community really has to offer, the Farmer’s Market is the best place to go walk through and find something unique. We want people to get out and see the beauty of the park, what all the artisans and growers have to offer and what there really is in Huron.”