By Yonah Lempert Luecken
Special to the Homer Independent Press

The Homer Farmers Market has been a local fixture since 1999, and the annual zucchini car races held last Saturday have been a part of the fun for many years.

The late spring this year presented a challenge to hopeful growers of zucchini and other vegetables. Vendor Matt Young, from Hiding Birch Farm, said of the growing season, “It’s unpredictable, as always. I’ve never seen the same year twice . . . It was a hard, cold start, but it’s not so shabby now.”

The decorated zucchini cars were definitely not shabby at all as they whizzed down the slanted racetrack at breakneck, or break-zucchini, speeds. Robbi Mixon, director of the Homer Farmers Market from 2011 to 2021, delineated the few rules for entries in the speeding vegetable mayhem saying, “You have to make it. You have to decorate it.” 

Mixon said the idea for the races came from longtime Homer residents  Beth and Dave Schroer, who had seen similar races in the Lower 48. The Schroers helped to found the Homer Farmers Market, and lived in Homer for over 60 years. The date of the inaugural zucchini races was not able to be accurately determined, as this reporter was unable to find someone who knew exactly what year the races began. For now, that fact remains a lost part of the legend.

Farmers Market director Lauren Jerew, who took over from Mixon in 2021, said, “We really value having all families be able to participate. It’s a completely free event for kids. We provide the cars, and adult supervision for some of the craft materials.”

Toy cars were donated by individuals, local thrift shops and local retailer Ulmer’s Drug and Hardware. Support for the races also came from the Alaska Farm Bureau.

Regarding the racing, Jerew said, “It’s just really fun. People love to watch it and we’ve gotten lucky on this beautiful day.”

Race participants had about two hours to design and customize the donated vehicles with zucchini toppers.

Cars raced two at a time, with a team of medics attending to injured race cars and scraped or broken vegetables adorning them. Damaged cars were picked up and put on a stretcher to be carried off the course. Zucchini racing, like NASCAR, can be hazardous for participating vehicles.

Prior to the races, and before any cars were damaged, there was a parade of entrants around the market, led by this year’s Zucchini Queen, Emily Garrity, from market vendor Twitter Creek Gardens. 

“I’ve been a vendor here at the market for probably about 20 years, and I think each year they choose a different vendor to be the Zucchini Queen. So there’s not a lot of qualifications involved.” she said.

Whether qualifications were required or not, Garrity did a masterful job — zucchini scepter in hand — of leading the parade of hopeful youngsters as they surveyed the competition and basked in the enthusiasm of the crowd.

Speaking about the market in general, Garrity said, “It’s an incredible opportunity for both farmers and community members to come together and enjoy local produce and local crafts. And I think the Farmers Market does a really good job of ensuring that we have really quality products here. So, huge fan!” Regarding this year’s weather conditions, she said, “It’s been a better growing season than expected after such a cold spring.”

Scott Miller, who was selling carved and inlaid artwork at Wooden Diamonds, and has been a Farmers Market vendor since 2002, said that the zucchini races are a “great idea.  He enjoys selling at the market, and said, “You meet people from all over the world.” He also said he’s noticed that in recent years there have been fewer international tourists. Regarding the market overall he said, “I just love it. It’s just fun.”

Race announcer Joey Lothian spared some time for an interview in the hectic hour before the races began. He called the zucchini races “The World Series in the Farmers Market, more or less . . . This is the Big Game.” When asked what he likes about the races, Lothian said, “They’re always different, and they’re always fast, and they’re always fun. The medics are my favorite part, though.”

For those who were not at the market specifically for the annual zucchini car races, there were plenty of other things to see. Vendors sold artwork, yarn, many different types of foods, clothing, farm produce and much more. Local group Kenai Peninsula Votes was also at the market, making sure that people knew about the state primary, showing sample ballots and answering voting related questions.

Market director Jerew wanted to make sure people knew about the market’s benefits regarding the  Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. 

“This is a great place for people to come and spend their SNAP dollars. If someone uses SNAP to feed their families, if they come here, slide a card for up to $40, we match that one for one, and actually, this year, we’re also offering a $15 boost,” she said. 

For example, $40 on a Quest card turns into $90. Quest cards, similar to credit cards, are used to purchase eligible items under the SNAP program.

“And that keeps our money local. It supports our local farmers, too,” Jerew said. “People are getting really healthy food,” 

The Farmers Market will be open through the end of September from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays. With or without zucchini car races, it’s always a great time.