Ah Thursdays. It’s the day the Downtown Farmers Market sets up for the afternoon in the lot kitty-corner from my office. As soon as I see the tents begin to pop up over the hedges, I start to get a bit excited, perhaps a bit distracted, even.
The Farmers Market means fresh everything. When it first opened in May, I was excited to see my favorite cookie baker there. This is her first year at the market. Each week, I look forward to that one cookie. It seems to keep me sane. (Is it working?) But don’t stop there, a number of vendors sell enticing, homemade baked goods, from banana bread to fudge to pies.
As the season has progressed, it feels like the Market is in full swing. Tables are loaded down with fresh fruits and vegetables. And I don’t just mean zucchini or blackberries. One merchant has fresh, dark green, lovely, leafy lettuce, with bunches bigger than my head! Sweet onions that are, according to my 18-year-old niece, as big as your brain. Juicy berries of all kinds join cherries and other fruit just waiting to come home with me and be eaten. Or sliced into cereal. Or put on ice cream. Or baked into a dessert confection of my own.
A few vendors carry arts and crafts, from beaded jewelry to paintings. Handmade soaps and repurposed planters and lovely potted plants may also be found at the Market.
But the best part about the market? Seeing the community out dancing to the live music, enjoying the Oregon sunshine and warmth, supporting each other and their local vendors.
You gotta love it, Lebanon.
