"Most nearby markets, including Arts in the Park, operate during weekday afternoons or evenings," Forest Lake Park and Recreation Coordinator Kyle Young wrote in an email to the Forest Lake Times this summer. "For many individuals and families, those times can be difficult to fit into already busy schedules."
That gap is the reason Forest Lake got a Saturday morning farmers market in 2026, and this Saturday, Oct. 31, is its last day of the season. Starting the following week, Forest Lake still has a weekly market, but it's back on a weekday evening. For the four Tuesdays in November, it runs at American Legion Post 225 on West Broadway.
So the gap Young described is open again, at least until spring, and November's schedule works around it.
Why a Saturday Market Showed Up This Year
The City of Forest Lake Parks Department started the market in its first season, with a specific complaint about how the old setup worked. Arts in the Park, the summer event, has long included a farmers market section. Young told the Times that the event "no longer functions as a true farmers market and very few customers stop by solely to purchase fresh products." He said Arts in the Park is meant to be an evening where people stay for hours. A farmers market is somewhere you stop, shop, and leave.
So the city opened a separate one on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon at City Hall, running June 20 through Oct. 31. The Times article said the market launched small on purpose. After the first few weeks, Young said attendance had "exceeded expectations" and "there has already been significant interest from additional vendors looking to participate."
The season length is easier to judge against a nearby market. The same Times article covered the Scandia Farmers Market, now in its 15th year, which ran Wednesdays from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Scandia Community Center through Sept. 2. Forest Lake's Saturday market kept going for almost two months after Scandia closed. It was the only one of the two open on a weekend morning, and it lasted into the last week of October.
The Final Saturday, Oct. 31
The last market is this Saturday, Oct. 31, from 8 a.m. to noon at City Hall, 1408 Lake Street South. The Forest Lake Times pointed readers to an online vendor list for the market, which is worth checking before you go if you're shopping for something in particular.
It's also Halloween, so the market wraps up well before trick-or-treating starts. According to the Forest Lake Times community calendar, the Scandia Fire Department holds its free Safe Halloween from 5 to 7 p.m. that evening, with a trick-or-treat walking trail, a bounce house, activities, and food.
The city hasn't announced dates for a 2027 Saturday season. The only 2027 vendor application posted in the Parks form center is for Arts in the Park, with proposed dates of June 15 to Aug. 24.
Four Tuesday Evenings at Post 225
After Oct. 31, the weekly market moves to the Forest Lake American Legion, Post 225, at 355 West Broadway Ave. Its fall market began Tuesday, Sept. 29, and runs every Tuesday from 4 to 8:30 p.m. through Nov. 24. The Forest Lake Times calendar describes it as local vendors, bakers, artisans, and small businesses, along with food trucks and live music. Admission is free.
Counting from this Thursday, four market nights are left:
- Tuesday, Nov. 3
- Tuesday, Nov. 10
- Tuesday, Nov. 17
- Tuesday, Nov. 24, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving
The two markets fill different needs. The City Hall market was set up as a morning stop for fresh, locally grown and locally made products. The Legion market is a four-and-a-half-hour evening with music and food trucks, much closer to what Young said Arts in the Park had turned into. The last night falls two days before Thanksgiving, when a lot of households are already shopping for the holiday. It's the last weekly market night on Forest Lake's calendar until the city's Saturday market or Arts in the Park comes back.
Saturdays in November Belong to the Bookshop
With no market on Saturday mornings, the next Saturday event on Forest Lake's calendar is a book swap.
The Forest Lake Times community calendar lists New Moons Bookshop, at 1107 Scandia Trail N, holding a free book exchange on Saturday, Nov. 7, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Forest Lake Times reported that the store got off to a strong start after opening earlier this year, and listed its hours as Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The exchange takes up a full business day, so you can go in the morning or the afternoon.
The bookshop also has a midweek event the following week. Local author A.W. Powers leads a creative writing workshop there from 6 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 18. Combined with the Legion market the night before, that's two evening events in back-to-back days in the middle of November.
Where the Calendar Picks Up in December
Once the Legion market ends Nov. 24, the next community event on the Forest Lake Area Chamber of Commerce calendar is Hometown Holiday at Lakeside Memorial Park, 95 East Broadway Ave. The Chamber's event listing puts it on Friday, Dec. 4, with a tree lighting at 6:45 p.m. The Chamber's call for volunteers lists shifts from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. that day and describes Santa photos, a petting zoo, s'mores and warming stations, and entertainment. One summary on the Chamber's main calendar says "December 5th," so check the event listing before you go.
On Saturday, Dec. 19, VFW Post 4210 at 556 12th St. SW hosts Santa's Workshop from 10 a.m. to noon, according to the Chamber's community events listing. Apart from the Nov. 7 book exchange, it's the only Saturday-morning community event on this calendar after Oct. 31.
Here's the full schedule from this weekend through December:
- Saturday, Oct. 31, 8 a.m. to noon: Final Forest Lake Farmers Market of the season, City Hall, 1408 Lake Street South
- Tuesdays, Nov. 3, 10, 17 and 24, 4 to 8:30 p.m.: Fall market at American Legion Post 225, 355 West Broadway Ave.
- Saturday, Nov. 7, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.: Free book exchange, New Moons Bookshop, 1107 Scandia Trail N
- Wednesday, Nov. 18, 6 to 7 p.m.: Creative writing workshop with A.W. Powers, New Moons Bookshop
- Friday, Dec. 4, tree lighting at 6:45 p.m.: Hometown Holiday, Lakeside Memorial Park, 95 East Broadway Ave.
- Saturday, Dec. 19, 10 a.m. to noon: Santa's Workshop, VFW Post 4210, 556 12th St. SW
Between Oct. 31 and Dec. 19, Forest Lake's regular community events fall on Tuesday nights and a single Friday evening. The only Saturday events are the Nov. 7 book exchange and the Dec. 19 Santa's Workshop, which puts the season close to the weekday-afternoon-and-evening pattern Young described when the city opened its Saturday market in June.
We follow Forest Lake's community calendar as closely as we follow its home sales, because both affect what it's like to live a few blocks from City Hall or Lakeside Memorial Park. If you're wondering how your home fits into that picture going into winter, The Muske Team can help. Get your free home valuation, and we'll walk you through what's selling near you right now.
