Ten Years of the Padre Island Farmers Market: How It All Began

There was a season of our lives when we lived in Hawaii.

Every Thursday night, the town gathered at the farmers' market. Fresh produce. Handmade goods. Families everywhere. Kids are weaving between booths. Just good energy all around. You didn’t really have to text anyone to meet up. You just knew. We’ll see you at the market.

It felt like the heartbeat of the town.

When we moved to North Padre Island with three little boys, just 11 months, three, and five at the time, I felt that something was missing. Not in a negative way. The Island was beautiful. We loved it immediately.

But I kept thinking there was space for something more. Some kind of rhythm. Some kind of gathering place. Something that would bring families together in a simple, consistent way.

Not long after, when my boys were two, four, and six, I started making jewelry again and officially launched Tula Blue.

My neighbor and friend, Kelly DeNovellis, was starting her essential oil company. We began collaborating on essential oil lava rock Tula Blue necklaces and decided to try a few downtown farmers' markets together.

We loved them.

But after loading everything up, trucking it back across the bridge to the Island in the evening, unloading into our separate houses on Bluefish Street, and collapsing for a minute, we called each other.

Oh my gosh. Why don’t we just start a market here?

We had no idea how to start a farmers' market. No blueprint. No experience. No extra cash. 

We just knew we needed one.

Less than two months later, in March 2016, the first Padre Island Farmers Market launched.

And it was incredible.

We hosted it at Island Presbyterian Church in their beautiful atrium.

On busy days, the market spilled out into the parking lot. We chose every other Thursday. It literally followed my husband’s Halo Flight pilot schedule because that was the only way I could manage it with three little boys. It was scrappy, practical, and real.

Right after school, families would pour in. The ukulele group would play. Kids' activities popped up. Live music filled the space. Vendors lined up with produce, baked goods, handmade goods, and local creations.

It felt alive.

In the winter months, when it started getting darker earlier and the wind picked up, we moved indoors to the Briscoe King Pavilion. We figured it out as we went. That first year was scrappy and magical all at once.

Kelly moved to Dallas that December. Life shifts. Seasons change. But the market stayed.

I ran it until 2019, when our family moved to Austin. By then, it wasn’t just an idea anymore. It had become part of the Island’s rhythm. Vendors became friends. Families built routines around it. It was something people counted on.

And because of Debbie Noble, who has faithfully photographed nearly every market over the years, we have the images to prove it.

Most of the photos you’ve seen from this market are hers. Her lens has captured the joy, the growth, the community. That says everything about what this market has always been about.

Then COVID disrupted everything.

The market paused. The organizers at the time chose not to continue with a farmers' market and even removed the word “farmers” from our socials we had grown. For a moment, it felt like maybe that chapter had quietly closed.

But you don’t let something like that disappear.

After COVID, the Tula Blue team stepped up to keep it alive. Once a month. Boots on the ground. Organizing vendors. Finding food trucks. Setting signs out. Doing whatever it took. It wasn’t glamorous.

It was stewardship.

This past year marked another big shift. We moved to a new location at Whitecap Living.

More visibility. More space. A fresh energy and real room to grow.

While our typical indoor winter location is under construction, Padre Island Baptist Church graciously hosted us indoors.

That kind of support says everything about this community.

Ten years.

A full decade ago, this was just two neighbors on Bluefish Street with an idea. Today, it’s something bigger than any one person or business.

And that brings us to what’s next.

Ten years is a milestone. It’s time for the market to evolve.

For the first time in its history, the Padre Island Farmers’ Market will be led by a five-person community board rather than a single business.

I’ll be sitting in a founder advisory seat. Alongside me will be two vendors, a community liaison, and a market-experienced organizer with deep knowledge in this space.

This market cannot live inside one business any longer. It deserves more shared leadership. More energy. More vision.

And the very first decision this new board has made is this.

Once a month is too long between gatherings.

We’re going back to our original cadence - we will be coming together every 2nd & 4th Thursday of the month. 

Because this market was always meant to be part of the Island’s rhythm.

Our 10-year anniversary market is on March 19th from 4 to 7 PM at Whitecap Living.

If you’ve been with us since the atrium days…If you remember the ukulele group…If your kids ran between booths…If you’ve joined us at any point along the way…

We would love to see you there.

The farmers' market has always been about more than produce or vendors. It’s about connection. It’s about community. It’s about knowing that on a certain day of the week, we gather.

Ten years later, it still feels like the heartbeat of this Island.

And we’re just getting started.

To learn more, see upcoming market dates, and follow along as we step into this next chapter, visit the official Padre Island Farmers’ Market website.