A cool and slightly damp morning didn’t diminish the excitement for the opening day of the second season of the Maple Valley Farmers Market on Saturday, June 19.

More than 40 vendors, some new and many returning from 2009, lined the playground at Rock Creek Elementary in Maple Valley. Smells of breakfast burritos, soup and other savory foods mixed with the aroma of breads, cookies, biscotti and kettle corn.

Sandy and Bruce Carr, owners of Cougar Mountain Kettle Corn Company, were excited to be at the market.

“We’re rookies,” Sandy Carr said. “We thought this would just be a blast to do. We liked (the Maple Valley Farmers Market) because it was a relatively new market.”

There was a certain appeal “to be part of a market’s growth,” Sandy Carr added.

For now, making kettle corn and selling at the market “is just a hobby” for the pair, who both work as police officers. It may become a second career, though, after they retire.

The kettle corn stall was just about 15 feet away from the canopy under which the Maple Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra performed.

In that spot, explained Market Board Member Mary Jane Glaser, there will be a different entertainer every week “and it’s a fabulous line up.”

Glaser also thanked Tahoma School District Superintended Mike Maryanski, whom she said had been supportive of the market from the beginning.

“When we first approached the Tahoma School District about partnership… Mike’s response was, ‘It’s a no brainer,'” Glaser said.

Kim Emmons, a member of the Market Board, added the support didn’t end with the school district.

“We are forever indebted to our city,” Emmons said. “From day one, they embraced the market. This year we are also incredibly humbled by the number of business sponsors.”

Victoria Laise Jonas, president of the Market Board, said that like the idea it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a group effort to make a farmers market successful.

“With months of preparation and help from many, many community volunteers,” Jonas said. “It takes a community and community support to sustain a market.”