The Johnny Appleseed Visitors Center on Route 2 will launch its fall Farmers’ Market from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Sept. 4 with a family-oriented event.

    Operated by the Johnny Appleseed Trail Association, the Visitors Center located between Exits 35 and 34 on the westbound side of Route 2 has long been a welcome stop for travelers, offering refreshments, restrooms, ATM machines and a shop filled with interesting products, many of them made in North Central Massachusetts. The fall Farmers’ Market gives local farms and orchards a highly-visible outlet for their produce and visitors an opportunity to sample the bounty of the region.

    “In addition to welcoming travelers to the area, the Visitors Center supports local businesses,” said David McKeehan, president of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce and its affiliate, the Trail Association. “Unlike many highway visitor stops, the Johnny Appleseed Center really spotlights the farms, orchards, craftspeople and businesses along the Trail.”

    Items available for purchase in the center include honey and preserves from local farms, pastries and fudge from area businesses, jewelry and other handcrafts from local artisans and even history books about communities within the region.

    With harvest season in full swing, McKeehan said, it makes sense to give local farms and orchards the opportunity to make their produce available to the thousands of people traveling along Route 2 on fall weekends.

    Diane Burnette, director of the Visitors Center, said the opening market this Saturday will include appearances by costumed characters, including CoCo the parrot from the CoCo Key Water Resort in Fitchburg, who will greet children stopping by.

    “Although we have maps, brochures about local attractions and other items geared to visitors coming into the Johnny Appleseed region, our Center also has a lot to offer families who live nearby,” she said. “We hope these farmer market Saturdays will entice local residents, as well as tourists, to stop by the Center.”

    The Visitors Center is manned daily by a group of dedicated volunteers, most of them long-time residents of the area, who have a wealth of information about the communities and attractions in the region.

    The Farmers’ Markets will be held from 9 am to noon each Saturday through October 9.

    More information about the Johnny Appleseed Trail and the Visitors Center is available at appleseed.org.