PITTSTON — The Pittston City Farmers Market has a great impact on the community during the summer and fall months, but the person behind the scenes of is stepping away.
Mary Angelella, coordinator of the farmers market, has decided to relinquish the position she’s held since 2013.
The Harding resident said her decision was made so she can spend more time with family.
“I have new grandchildren and my mom is 95,” Angelella said. “So, I want to spend time with family.”
She said she’s not sure who will take over coordination of the event.
A 1970 Wyoming Area graduate, Angelella took on the position of farmers market coordinator because she wanted to do volunteer work with the city.
The volunteer position was suggested by former Main Street Manager Rose Randazzo.
“Rose mentioned to me that Maria Capolarella-Montante was stepping down from being coordinator and they needed a new coordinator,” Angelella said. “It had an interest for me because I know it’s a very hard job. I grew up on a farm… I see supporting out local farmer as being very important. It’s fresher food, more nutritious and I just thought the smaller farmer was important to give business to.”
Angelella works as a legal assistant with Randazzo’s law practice, Law Office at 39 in Pittston.
She said Randazzo played a huge role in helping her organize the farmers market because she was able to do farmers market work while working at the law office.
“What was also helpful was Rose offered to let me do some of the farmers market preparation and she let me use my work time to do a lot of the business I had to do,” Angelella said. “It took my personal time, but not as much if I had a different employer. I probably wouldn’t have taken the job if it wasn’t for her helping out.”
Angelella was responsible for many new things at the farmers market, including children’s day which went from being held once a year to once a month this past year.
“Because children are important, creating activities at the market was a priority for me,” she said. “I started with one children’s day to see how that went and it was very successful. I also had balloon sculpturing every week. I thought it was enjoyed by lots of kids and parents, and I increased it. This last season I had five markets with children activities. I saw that that really made a difference in making it more successful.”
Angelella also started the farmers market Facebook page and brought music to the event. She handled publicity by handing out flyers to businesses and speaking with the newspaper reporters.
Having grown up on a farm and having coordinated the farmers market, Angelella now has a greater appreciation for farmers.
“I think it helped me bring enthusiasm,” she said of her farming background. “That was the one thing I brought with me as coordinator was enthusiasm for the farmers and understanding for how hard they have to work and how merciful they are to the weather.”
