It’s getting to the point where no one will have a reason not to come to downtown Ironton on Saturday during the Farmers Market and market manager Sam Heighton said that is precisely the point.

“I see some new faces every time,” Heighton said, “and that’s the goal: Get new faces downtown and keep them coming back.”

Members of Ironton In Bloom served free bologna and tomato sandwiches. Across the street at the Transit Center the “Senior Citizens Craft Store” unveiled its first promotion, which is giving away $100 “Ironton Bucks” that can be spent at certain downtown businesses.

“The promotion has definitely brought people in and kept us busy,” Bonnie Fitzpatrick, senior citizen crafter, said. “Everybody seems interested in it. I don’t know anyone who couldn’t use a hundred dollars.”

All one must do to register is visit the Senior Craft Store and get a ticket. Each visit to the store earns another ticket. Drawing for the winner is at noon on Saturday, Oct. 25, at the Farmers Market.

The Transit Café will now be open on Farmers Market Saturdays as well.

The Yvonne DeKay Dancers entertained and those who participated in The Great “I”Town Scavenger Hunt turned in item-finding forms.

“We’ve had a great response from businesses who are participating (in the scavenger hunt),” Jon Ferguson, executive director of Ironton aLive, said. “About 80 or 90 percent of people who have turned in forms today are nontraditional customers who haven’t been to the market before.”

No matter what one’s interested in, Heighton said, people being downtown is the ultimate goal.

“Everything we do is to bring a crowd in,” Heighton said.

Fresh fruit and vegetables given away at the market, such as Saturday’s tomatoes, is donated by the vendors.

Pumpkins, squash and gourds are also abundant at the market.

The Farmers Market is open 7 a.m.-3 p.m. on Second Street in downtown Ironton. It is a project of Ironton aLive and is sponsored by Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital.