By Melissa Payne

[email protected]

The Student Activities Board has sponsored Kentucky Week for many years in hopes of bringing awareness to UK students about Kentucky culture.

According to their website SAB hopes to bring art, music, sports and more to campus throughout the week with events like the Farmer’s MarCat and Craft Fair, PRHBTN Street Art Exhibit, Big Blue Commonwealth and a Houndmouth concert.

The Farmer’s MarCat and Craft Fair kicks off the week Monday, starting at 10 a.m. on the Student Center patio.

Both events offer homemade crafts to support local businesses and allows students to learn more about sustainability, according to the SAB website.

“The MarCat is a place to walk through and get introduced to Kentucky,” said James Collard, a biology junior who is the SAB director of engaging issues and coordinator of the Farmer’s MarCat.

“A smaller-scale [farmer’s market] for students is a good opportunity to learn about where your food comes from,” said Olivia Senter, an integrated strategic communications sophomore and SAB director of public relations.

Senter explains that students will have an opportunity to talk to local vendors and learn about the process of making their products, from seed to their kitchen table. While visiting the booths throughout the market, students can purchase local products like honey, produce, soaps and art.

Collard said that although vendors may vary leading up to the event, a popular vendor at the MarCat year after year is Berries on Bryan Station.

“I am going to be selling some of my organic vegetables, watermelon, tomatoes, spinach, varieties of squash, triple berry jam and pickled okra,” said Erik Walles, a farm owner at Berries on Bryan Station.

However, each year the SAB wants to add new businesses to their vendor list for students to enjoy, said Collard.

This year will be Ann Wilkinson’s first year as a vendor at the Farmers MarCat, and she will be bringing her locally grown honey.

“I am excited to bring a market directly to the students,” said Wilkinson, who is a beekeeper at the Garden of Aromas and Zumbidos. “I was going to keep it simple by bringing raw unfiltered honey and coned honey.”

This year will be the second year that the SAB will integrate a craft fair and Farmers MarCat together.

“I am expecting a really good year,” Collard said.  “We started to contact vendors early. In the past it’s been a few hundred students who have attended.”

Kentucky week begins on Monday with the Farmers MarCat and Craft Fair from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Student Center Patio and ends on Thursday with a Houndmouth concert at the Kentucky Theater.