‘Gear Up and Come Out’: Skokie’s winter market returns to Main Street with double the vendors

Icy winds were blowing through Skokie last Sunday, but that wasn’t enough to stop more than 800 people from attending the inaugural Sunday of the village’s second annual winter farmer’s market series. 

Winter Market on Main officially returned on Jan. 11 with approximately 45 vendors selling everything from fresh vegetables to soups, tamales, artisan candles, dog treats, popcorn and more inside and outside The Storefront, 4051 Main St., and Soul Good Coffee, 4022 Main St.

The winter series — which will continue on Jan. 25, Feb. 1, Feb. 22, March 15, March 29, April 12 and April 26  — expanded this year to both sides of Main Street to accommodate twice the amount of vendors compared to 2025, said Jennifer Engel, the Skokie Farmers’ Market director. 

“It’s a community event. It is helping support local and regional farmers,” she said. “Folks don’t think of a lot of produce during the winter because of the fact we live in the Midwest, but there are fall and winter crops that the farmers do plan on and have prepared.” 

“So you’re going to see a lot of root vegetables, you’re going to see, as we get into the spring, a lot of herbs and lettuces and stuff that they can grow in their greenhouses, but also farm-fresh eggs, meat. It’s a way for the community to stay connected to their farmers,” Engel added. 

Each market day, the event will also offer one to two live performances from 9-11 a.m., and free kids activities, like face painting and balloon art. 

On Jan. 11, parents and children alike gathered around bonfires on Main Street as temperatures hovered around 30 degrees but felt like 15. Shoppers dawdled at the pop-up tents and shops, while a man with a guitar played familiar covers. 

“For me, it’s definitely uplifting because, you know, it’s hard times right now with everything going on. But coming out here and seeing people just walking around and sightseeing, it’s just very nice vibes and it’s a fun time,” Naulini Orozco, of Skokie, said on Jan. 11.

“And you get high-quality products, probably better than you’ll find at the grocery market, so it’s nice to do a little shopping,” added Elias Velez, a Skokie resident who attended the market with Orozco and was holding a bag of popcorn from the Kernel Dan’s Kettle Corn booth.

Engel noted a number of vendors sold out on Jan. 11; the Chicago eateries Tamales Express and Kleverbelly sold out of their respective tamales and sauerkraut products, and both of the farmers who attended sold out of eggs. 

Brian Thomson, who sells honey products with his wife Karen through their company Honey Lake Bee Company, said they saw more customers than they expected and value participating in Winter Market on Main as they get to serve people they haven’t seen since the summer. 

Barbara Rozny, owner of Maggie’s Munchies, a boutique dog-treat company, said the winter market offers a “great opportunity” for businesses to meet new customers, sustain themselves through the year and just get some fresh air, even if it’s cold out. 

“I equate it to construction workers, truck drivers, telephone men, anything construction-wise — they’re outside working,” Rozny said of attending the winter market. “It’s for a few hours, you know. Gear up and come out.”