In August 2023, the summer Brighton Farmers Market at Brighton High School had "no plans to move," according to RochesterFirst. Back then the story was the winter market getting a new building. Three seasons later, the summer market spent all of 2026 in the parking lot of the Golisano Institute for Business and Entrepreneurship at 150 Sawgrass Drive, which sits just off Westfall Road. Later this month the market moves indoors to the Winter Market Barn at 1435 Westfall Road.
That puts every Sunday market this year, outdoors and indoors, on Westfall Road or a short side street off it. The high school lot was the market's home for most of its history. Construction there made this year the first time the market's calendar has centered on the Westfall corridor, where the town bought land, restored a barn and built an addition specifically for the market.
Three outdoor Sundays left, then four indoors
As of this Thursday, three outdoor Sundays remain on the main-season calendar. After that the market heads indoors for the holiday stretch. The Town of Brighton's 2026 vendor application sets out the full year:
| Season | 2026 dates | Location | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early extended season, indoors | Jan. 4 to April 19, with no market April 5 | Winter Market Barn, 1435 Westfall Road | Sundays, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. |
| Main season, outdoors | April 26 to Nov. 22 | Golisano Institute, 150 Sawgrass Drive | Sundays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. |
| Late extended season, indoors | Nov. 29 to Dec. 20 | Winter Market Barn, 1435 Westfall Road | Sundays, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. |
The Town's Community Services Committee agenda for Sept. 16, 2026, also lists Nov. 29 as the day the market "returns to the Winter Market Barn, 1435 Westfall Road." The Sunday after Thanksgiving is the first indoor market, and the last is Dec. 20, the Sunday before Christmas.
Plans can shift, so before heading out on the 29th, check the Town of Brighton's farmers market page or brightonfarmersmarket.org.
Why the high school lot sat empty this year
The market's longtime home was the Brighton High School parking lot on Winton Road South. 13WHAM reported in April that the move came from construction of new athletic turf fields at the school. That work is still underway. The Brighton Central School District's construction schedule for Oct. 26 to Nov. 6 lists athletic field soil management, testing, excavation, light-pole bases and charging-station work.
The lot was already getting crowded before the turf project. In the market's annual report to a town committee, manager Sue Gardner Smith said 2024 was a record year for attendance and vendor sales. She also flagged an ongoing parking problem as more school athletic events landed on Sunday mornings. That report shows the town was already "working on getting the Westfall Site ready for 2026 Summer Market due to construction at BHS." The Golisano Institute ended up hosting the outdoor season. Town Supervisor Bill Moehle later called it the preferred alternate location in his March 2026 State of the Town address.
Either way, the plan always kept the market in the Westfall corridor. The town had already put money into it.
A barn the town finished for the market
The Winter Market Barn sits on land Historic Brighton identifies as the Buckland Farmstead. A 1930 aerial view of the farm shows a farmhouse, attached barns, an orchard and fields. Historic Brighton notes that most of the Buckland barns were demolished by 2004, and that the farm buildings' construction history and uses were never well recorded.
In August 2023, Moehle told RochesterFirst that the town had bought the land as part of the expanded Buckland Park and finished renovating the main barn the year before. Next came the addition. The town's 2022 bid notice described a 3,742-square-foot addition to the existing masonry barn, made up of two pieces:
- A connector that serves as the main entrance and links the old barn to the new structure.
- A market shed with a steel frame, daylight panel openings, and full heating, cooling, plumbing and sprinkler systems.
Before that, the winter market ran inside Brighton's Rec Center. Moehle also said the town would leave the surrounding meadow and wetlands as they were. Outside market season, the building would be open for rentals and community use. The town held an open house and ribbon cutting on Dec. 3, 2023, the first Sunday the market ran inside the new space, RochesterFirst reported.
The barn is used beyond the winter market, too. The Sept. 16 committee agenda listed the season's last Community Bike Ride, on Oct. 9, as starting at the Winter Farmers Market Barn.
What changes on Nov. 29
For anyone who has shopped the Sawgrass Drive lot since April, the switch is mostly about timing:
- The start time moves an hour later. Outdoor Sundays open at 9 a.m., and indoor Sundays open at 10 a.m. Both close at 1 p.m.
- The address changes, but the corridor stays the same. You leave the Golisano Institute lot just off Westfall Road for 1435 Westfall Road.
- The vendor rules stay the same. Sellers may sell only what they, a family member or an employee grew or produced, and resold items must show the farm that grew them.
- SNAP still works. Shoppers can use SNAP benefits to buy market tokens for eligible foods, according to 13WHAM.
Vendors sign up for this stretch separately. The town prices the main season alone at $600 and the main plus late season at $700. A seller who stops on Nov. 22 won't be at the barn. Expect the indoor lineup to be a subset of the outdoor one. Gardner Smith's report also mentioned winter vendors sometimes running out of fresh products before spring crops arrived.
At opening day this spring, Moehle described the market to WHEC as the only farmers market in town that runs year-round:
"All of our vendors are selling locally produced produce, vegetables, baked goods, and the like. Then we have the music, we've got Wamba Africa playing today. They are such a hit with kids and families."
The market's year, measured in Sundays and tokens
The district's community bulletin board lists more than 40 vendors at the outdoor market. Products include produce, baked goods, meats, eggs, maple products, honey, flowers, pasta, vegan and gluten-free foods, plants and coffee. In April 2025, CITY Magazine credited the Green Brighton Task Force with starting the market.
The town's own numbers show how much food assistance flows through the market. For 2024, the market reported more than $14,000 in SNAP sales. That was more than double the year before, and the SNAP bonus program doubled it again. Because the market runs year-round, it can be a regular weekly stop in December and the late-winter months, when many other outdoor markets in the region have closed for the season.
This fall the town also recognized the person behind those reports. The committee calendar listed Sept. 27 as Sue Gardner-Smith Day at the Brighton Farmers Market.
When the turf fields are finished, the summer market may go back to Winton Road South. The barn on Westfall Road will stay either way. It's a town-built space on park land, with its own entrance, heat and daylight panels, and it was designed so the market can keep running when it's too cold outside.
If you love Brighton for Sunday rituals like this one, I'd be glad to hear which vendors you plan to visit at the barn this winter, or to share what I know about the Westfall corridor and Buckland Park. Lalla Fitzpatrick is always happy to talk about the places that make Brighton feel like home. Let's Connect.
