MARSHALL — For the third year, the Marshall Area Farmers Market will offer entertainment on Saturdays along with the weekly displays of fruits, vegetables, meats, homemade goods and other items for sale through October.

Performances by various artists will take place Saturdays from 9-11 a.m. starting this Saturday and going through Sept. 21, at 200 S. A St., the parking lot between the YMCA and Schwan’s, in Marshall.

“We have had a positive response from the public,” said Sunny Ruthchild, the Market project director.

Some performances are returning from previous years and some are new to the Farmers Market. Ruthchild said she elicited feedback from market-goers on what acts they like and what would they like to see at the market.

“A lot of people said they would like more country music,” she said.

Kicking things off will be Pete and Ross and Ralph.

“Everyone knows Pete (Lothringer) and Ross (Anderson) and love them and then there is Ralph (Hepola),” said Ruthchild. “Ralph is a symphonic tuba player and is coming all the way from Missouri because he wants to play jazz with them.”

Next Saturday, on July 27, the Red Hat Gypsies, comprised of Sue Schreier, James VanderWaal and Rick Johnson, will play and sing swing, gypsy jazz and ragtime. They say dance is not only welcome, but expected. Schreier plays piano, VanderWaal mandolin and Johnson plays bass.

On Aug. 3, Charlie Roth will play guitar and sing blues and country.

“He has played in Europe and up and down the Mississippi River,” said Ruthchild. “He’s really good. We’re lucky to have him.”

A highlight of the season, Ruthchild said, will be PUSH (Project Uniting Southwest Hmong), young people who will demonstrate their culture through dance and music. The Aug. 10 performance is coordinated by Khou Lor.

“They will wear traditional dress,” she said.

On Aug. 17, there will be a special activity geared toward children 5-12. Starting at 9 a.m., Darwin Dyce and Oak Kelsey will help children create art, make a rhythm instrument and learn a song or two which they will then perform for the Farmers Market crowd.

Mad Rhymes will be the featured performance Aug. 24. This is billed as “poetry with contagious rhythm and humor.”

Anna DeGraff will play and sing the blues and jazz Aug. 31as well as “laid back arrangements of pop.”

Kindred Spirits play Sept. 7. Peter Lothringer on guitar, Darwin Dyce on flute and Emily Hoffman on vocals will perform jazz and the blues.

Rick Johnson and the Redwood River Boys will play Sept. 14 a mix of classic country and current hits.

Finishing up the performance season Sept. 21 will be Neon Gypsy, a husband-and-wife team who play pop hits on acoustic guitar and percussion. Neon Gypsy is a returning act from last year.

Summer performances at the Marshall Farmers Market are courtesy of sponsors: Jana Reilly Home Team at Keller Williams Realty, Jill Jerzak at Homeowners Financial Group, and the Southwest Minnesota Arts Council with funding made possible by the voters of Minnesota thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.