The Kalispell Farmers Market has found a new home and will open today in the north parking lot at Flathead Valley Community College.

The hours will be from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. every Saturday through Oct. 19.

The longstanding market lost its lease at Kalispell Center Mall, and its board of directors has been scrambling to find a new location for the popular event. The first two farmers markets of the season had to be canceled during the search for a new site.

“We hope this to be our forever home,” board member Carol Bunting said of the FVCC location, which offers much more space for both vendors and customers.

“It’s been fast and furious, lots of phone calls and meetings,” she said. “This is exciting; this is a positive move.”

About 200 vendors sell their produce and handcrafted products throughout the season, and Bunting expects even more vendors with the added space.

The college campus has 175 parking spaces for customers, who no longer will have to compete with mall shoppers for parking. Restrooms will be available inside the college.

Bunting said the farmers market organization will pay $2,000 for use of the FVCC space, while other property owners in Kalispell were asking $400 a day to rent asphalt space.

“This is a win-win,” Bunting said. “The college has a new ag program and this is community-based.”

Board members met Thursday night with vendors anxious to kick off the season. It was a standing-room-only crowd, Bunting said.

The Kalispell Farmers Market has been a mainstay at the west end of Kalispell Center Mall since 1987. The mall recently was sold by Red Lion Hotels Corp. to Woodbury Strategic Partners and Goodale & Barbieri Co. of Spokane for $11.6 million.

The new owners will resurface the west-end parking lot at the mall this summer, which prompted the farmers market to have to relocate.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.