Repair Cafes coming to Summer Tuesday Farmers’ Market

The Cooperstown Repair Café series continues at the Summer Tuesday Cooperstown Farmers’ Market in Cooperstown. On July 22 and July 29, from 12 pm to 2 pm, members of the public can bring in a broken item for volunteer repair experts to evaluate and make small repairs. They also will offer advice on how to fix a variety of items. The repairs will be done free of charge, materials needed to fix items will be available to purchase. The Repair Café series is a collaborative program of Otsego 2000, which runs the Cooperstown Farmers’ Market, the Otsego County Conservation Association, and the Otsego Land Trust.

Each Cooperstown Repair Café will have a different focus. On Tuesday, July 22 from 12 pm to 2 pm, volunteer coaches will be evaluating and fixing computers, cellphones, small appliances, bicycles, and sewing projects. Free cellphone screen cleaning also will be offered. On Tuesday, July 29 from 12 pm to 2 pm, coaches will be on hand to fix sewing projects, clothing, bicycles, small appliances, and small pieces of furniture.  For sewing projects, bring a textile item that needs patching or darning. The sewing coach will offer advice on repurposing and visible mending techniques to try at home.

The repair cafés will be held during the Summer Tuesday Cooperstown Farmers’ Market, which runs from 12 pm to 4 pm and offers local produce, meats, cheese, maple syrup, native plants, birdhouses, jewelry, gifts, charcuterie, prepared foods, and made to order paninis and breakfast sandwiches. The Farmers’ Market is also open year-round on Saturdays, 9 am to 2 pm.  The Farmers’ Market is located at 101 Main Street in Pioneer Alley, Cooperstown.

“The Cooperstown Repair Café has been well received, and we have fixed dozens of items this year,” said Peg Odell, program and communications manager at Otsego 2000. “The volunteer repair coaches are wonderful to share their time and expertise. It’s great community event, and combining the Repair Café with the Farmers’ Market is a good fit.”   

The Repair Café concept was developed by Martine Postma in the Netherlands in 2009, and now there are more than 4,300 community-run Repair Cafés around the world. Repair Cafés build community and promote repairing items instead of throwing them out, thereby decreasing the number of items added to landfills every year.

For more information on the Cooperstown Repair Café, or to volunteer to be a repair coach, please see otsego2000.org/repaircafe or call 607/547-8881.