Saturday Market, which is held every Saturday from early April to mid-October in downtown Washington, is moving to the Beaufort County Developmental Center on Saturday and June 16.

BCDC is located at 1534 W. Fifth St. (U.S. Highway 264).

This Saturday, the Summer Festival will use the space where the market is traditionally held for the PotashCorp-Aurora fossil dig; on June 16, an antique car show will use the space.

“We try to accommodate the other community programs which are important to Beaufort County,” said Beth Byrd, Washington Harbor District Alliance director.

WHDA runs the Saturday Market with the volunteer help of Tom Miller as market manager and Tina Leggett as alternate manager.

“The produce vendors and others who participate in the Saturday Market rely on the market to sell their goods. Last year, we cancelled the market that runs during the Summer Festival, but this year, Mark Batton, who runs the program that includes the BCDC Herb Shop, graciously offered the BCDC parking lot as an alternative,” Miller said.

BCDC’s mission is to empower people with developmental challenges through service alternatives that promote self-advocacy, self-reliance, self-direction, self-sufficiency and self-actualization. The Herb Shop enterprise includes a greenhouse and multiple garden beds, which were funded through the N.C. Division of Vocational Rehabilitation with American Reinvestment and Recovery Act funds. It provides the community with a resource to purchase herb plants and vegetable plants, fresh locally grown culinary herbs, vegetables and cut flowers as well as a horticultural training program for individuals with disabilities.

“Mark Batton from BCDC Herb Shop regularly participates at the weekly Saturday Markets,” said Miller. “His offer for an alternative space will satisfy the many Washington locals who regularly shop at the market and the vendors who rely on that income.”

For more information, call 252-947-1487 or go to www.whda.org and click on the Saturday Market link.