SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) - The GreenHaven Pocket Farmers Market will open its fourth season on Sunday, April 6 with a special opening ceremony featuring Sacramento City Councilmember Richard “Rick” Jennings. 

The Celtic Charms Band will also be there and will be providing musical entertainment. 

The Scots have a folk song that proclaims, “It’s nice to get up in the mornin’ when the sun begins to shine, at four or five or six o’clock in the good old summertime.” The Celtic Charms Band will be playing at the grand opening of the GreenHaven Pocket Farmers Market, but no one will have to get up at four or five or six o’clock to enjoy them.

However, if you want to attend the opening ceremony with Councilman Jennings, you need to be present by 9 a.m. 

Councilman Jennings played for the Oakland Raiders when they won their first Super Bowl, Super Bowl XI which was played on Jan. 9, 1977, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. That season, Jennings averaged 26.1 yards on 16 kick returns for the eventual Super Bowl champions.

Vic Cima, the general manager of the GreenHaven Pocket Farmers Market, noted, “To this day, Rick bleeds Silver and Black and wears his Super Bowl ring proudly.” Jennings will need to leave the opening ceremony by 9:30 a.m. to attend church.

In June 2014, Jennings was elected to the Sacramento City Council to represent District 7. In addition to his service on the City Council, Councilman Jennings has served as the chief executive officer of the Center for Fathers and Families for 25 years, a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening families and building stronger communities.

Jennings, as a City Council member, worked with Vic Cima and an Elks Lodge committee to form the farmers market to build a stronger community.

Cima said they greatly appreciated the help they received from the very beginning from Councilman Jennings and his chief of staff, Dennis Rogers, and their success in providing funding to cover the startup costs of the farmers market.

Councilman Jennings might have to leave by 9:30 a.m., but Cima wants to make sure everyone knows the market will remain open until 1 p.m., with the Celtic Charms Band still providing their unique style of entertainment.

The Celtic Charms Band was founded by Christina Newport in 2023 and plays Irish and Scottish music.

They are a local Sacramento band, and Newport says, “We enjoy giving a little history on some of the songs we perform and enjoy teaching about Celtic culture.” They also play Scandinavian folk music as well as songs from the 1960s and ’70s.

The GreenHaven Pocket Farmers Market is changing days of operation from Saturdays to Sundays because the event organizers can offer a better product to their customers on Sundays. The organizers will be doubling the amount of fresh-picked fruits and vegetables for the market’s fourth season.

The farmers market organizers also decided Sundays would be a better day for families to have more time to shop, and the farmers market would coincide with the Elks Lodge Sunday breakfast. 

Glen Smith, chair of the Elks Lodge No. 6 Sunday Breakfast, claims, “It’s the best value in town: omelets made to order, pancakes, French toast, waffles, toast, fried rice, biscuits and gravy, hash browns, and two pieces of bacon or sausage.”

Smith also noted that customers get one glass of orange or tomato juice and unlimited coffee. 

Smith said, “And I know it’s hard to believe, but all of that, with tax and gratuity included, is only $15. Come one, come all to the Elks Lodge on most Sundays from 8:30 to 11 a.m. Enjoy the food and enjoy the company of others.”

Robert “Rob” Moore, who will be the Elks Lodge’s new president starting April 1, said, “Besides enjoying a great breakfast, it’s a great time to take a tour of the Lodge and learn about the benefits of being a member.” Moore, who graduated from Kennedy High in 1991, says he is surprised that community members don’t know the lodge has a full athletic department with handball courts and an indoor swimming pool.

Smith also suggested that Elk members and non-members attend the market and learn how they can win a free Sunday breakfast.

For more information on the GreenHaven Pocket Farmers Market events and vendors visit the website at ghpfarmersmarket.com.