Winter is turning into a second full season for the Westport Farmers' Market. The market moved into the three heated greenhouses at Gilbertie's Herbs & Garden Center on Thursday, Nov. 5. That's about two weeks earlier than it moved last year. The winter market will run every Thursday and the first Saturday of each month, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., through March 11, 2027.
Count the market days and the change is clear. The winter run spans 19 Thursdays and adds five Saturdays. The outdoor season at 50 Imperial Avenue ran from May 7 to Nov. 5, so the greenhouse season now has roughly 70 percent as many Thursdays as the summer one. The market's own staff describe the winter half as a full season.
A season that keeps moving earlier
Last fall the market moved indoors on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025, according to the Westport Journal. The paper also reported that the greenhouses got new heating and other upgrades for that season. This year the move came on Nov. 5, the same day the outdoor season ended on Imperial Avenue.
| Winter 2025–26 | Winter 2026–27 | |
|---|---|---|
| First indoor Thursday | Nov. 20, 2025 | Nov. 5, 2026 |
| Saturday markets | Monthly, starting Dec. 6 | First Saturday of each month, starting Nov. 7 |
| Last market date listed | Mar. 13, 2026 | Mar. 11, 2027 |
| Location | Gilbertie's, 7 Sylvan Lane | Gilbertie's, 7 Sylvan Lane |
Executive director Lori Cochran-Dougall told 06880 why the market doesn't take the winter off:
"Fresh, local food doesn't take a winter break — and neither do we. The winter market is one of my favorite things. There is something special about walking into those warm greenhouses on a cold morning, and watching the community gather around good food when the rest of the world has gone quiet."
The same post says the winter market "is not a scaled-back version of the summer season." The calendar backs that up: an earlier start than last year, and a Saturday market every month of the season.
Twenty years from a parking lot to a greenhouse
This is the market's 20th season. The Westport Journal reported in August that Paul Newman and chef Michel Nischan founded it in 2006, tied to their restaurant, The Dressing Room. The first market was held in the parking lot of the Westport Country Playhouse, with 14 vendors and about 500 customers. Today the outdoor season has more than 50 vendors and draws thousands of shoppers.
As the market grew into its own nonprofit, it added a dedicated winter market at Gilbertie's. Gilbertie's says Carrie Gilbertie helped develop that winter market in 2011. So the greenhouse tradition goes back at least 15 winters.
The setting fits the purpose. According to Gilbertie's, the business started in the early 1920s as a cut-flower farm and is now family-owned in its fourth generation. Today it grows microgreens, lettuces, arugula, spinach, Swiss chard, field vegetables and herbs. So the winter market sets up inside a working growing operation.
The Saturdays came from shoppers
The Saturday markets are the clearest sign that the winter season is growing because shoppers asked for it. When the market announced its 2025–26 season, 06880 reported that the once-a-month Saturday markets were added "in response to community feedback." The paper also listed kids' activities, music, food trucks and holiday pop-ups for that winter. The Westport Journal said the Saturday dates would include family-friendly activities alongside the food.
Last year there were four Saturdays, starting in December. This year the market runs on the first Saturday of every month in the season, and November gets one too. Under that schedule, these are the five dates:
| Month | First-Saturday market |
|---|---|
| November | Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026 |
| December | Saturday, Dec. 5, 2026 |
| January | Saturday, Jan. 2, 2027 |
| February | Saturday, Feb. 6, 2027 |
| March | Saturday, Mar. 6, 2027 |
These dates follow the market's published first-Saturday rule. It's a good idea to check them on westportfarmersmarket.com before you plan around one. The Jan. 2 market is the one most likely to sneak up on you, since it falls the day after New Year's.
If a weekday from 10 to 2 doesn't fit your schedule, these five Saturdays are your chance to shop the winter market.
Who sets up under the glass
In a post shown on its website, the market said it would reopen at Gilbertie's with "all your favorite vendors." The last weekly lineup before the move, from Oct. 27, shows the range of stalls shoppers have been seeing this fall. It isn't a confirmed winter roster, but it included:
- Farms and produce: Beaver Brook Farm, Fort Hill Farm, Hoadley Hills Farm, Hungry Reaper Farm, Ox Hollow Farm, Riverbank Farm, Woodland Farm, High Ridge Hydroponics and Seacoast Mushrooms
- Cheese and dairy: Cato Corner Creamery and Calf & Clover Creamery
- Seafood: Oceans 180
- Bread and baked goods: Wave Hill Breads, Kneads Bakery & Café, Badass Bagels and Fatto a Mano
- Prepared food and drinks: Boxcar Cantina, Bubble & Brew, Edgewise Kitchen, Farmers & Cooks, Herbaceous Catering, Nit Noi Provisions and Parlor
- Flowers, plants and more: Muddy Feet Flower Farm, Plantidote, Herbal Deva and Paul's Custom Pet Food
The market's vendor directory covers vegetables and greens, meat and eggs, fish and shellfish, cheese, mushrooms, bread, prepared food, coffee and tea, and pizza. The Thursday list changes from week to week, so the market's "Who's On Deck" post is the place to check whether a favorite cheese or fish stall will be in the greenhouse on a given morning.
Where the food goes after 2 p.m.
A longer winter season also means more weeks of the market's community work. In its 20th-season story, the Westport Journal described two partnerships. Students in the Staples High School Culinary Arts Program cook meals for the Gillespie Center using market ingredients. Food Rescue US collects fresh, unsold food from vendors and delivers it to people in need across Fairfield County.
The market also runs an initiative called Fueling Creativity. Each week it sends fresh farm ingredients to the Norwalk Art Space Café, which serves meals to students ages 9 to 18 alongside tutoring and art classes. The market describes the program as year-round. That's why the greenhouse Thursdays matter beyond Westport. Every week the market operates is another week of local food reaching those programs.
Planning around Thanksgiving week
Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, Nov. 26, this year. Last year the market closed on the holiday and held a pre-Thanksgiving market on Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025. The stalls carried produce, meats, desserts, flowers and pet food. If you shop the market for your holiday table, check the schedule for the week of Nov. 23 on westportfarmersmarket.com or the market's Instagram, @westportfarmersmarket, before you plan your shopping.
For every other week the routine holds. The market runs Thursdays and first Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the greenhouses at 7 Sylvan Lane, until March 11.
If you'd like to talk about the market, Westport life, or a move you're starting to plan, Linda Dunsmore is happy to meet. Schedule a personalized consultation, and we can begin with coffee and a loaf from the greenhouse.
