ROME TOWNSHIP — The Lawrence County Agricultural Society is sponsoring a series of Saturday farmers markets at the Lawrence County Fairgrounds.

The first market will take place this Saturday and each Saturday until Oct. 25 with the exception of the Lawrence County Fair week. The idea behind the market is raising money to maintain the fairgrounds.

“The fairgrounds are very costly to keep up,” said Kathy Whitley, who first proposed the idea for a market. “It’s especially costly during the summer, and we hope that the market will help us offset the cost.”

Another deciding factor in putting on the market is providing residents of eastern Lawrence County with an opportunity to buy and sell goods locally.

“The fairgrounds are wonderful grounds,” Whitley said. “But, I felt like they were under utilized so I proposed the Saturday market. There isn’t anything like this, on that end of the county and I think it will be a great place for people to buy local products.”

The market will be open from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. and more than 20 vendors will be on hand this Saturday.

“We are still looking for more vendors,” Whitley said. “We have 22 for the first week but we would love to have more. The vending cost is $10 for a 12-foot space.”

Anyone interested in becoming a vendor, can contact 740-360-2919 for more information.