A welcome sign of spring’s return are the posters announcing the opening of weekly farmers’ markets. To find out what makes these markets so appealing, I asked Orcas Island Farmers’ Market manager Charly Robinson and Lopez Farmers’ Market facilitator Nancy Bingham. Fresh produce is one draw, they said. Local arts and crafts are another. But, Charly and Nancy both emphasized, the biggest attraction is the sense of connection and community that the markets provide.
“At the beginning of the season, people are really excited to see new produce,” Charly told me, describing the lines that form at the farmers’ stalls. “Food sells out in the first hour in early spring.” “Tell people to get there early,” Nancy added, sharing a friend’s advice. “And tell them to be patient because the lines for the produce can be fairly long. But for something that is fresh picked that day there is no comparison.”
“There is so much variety at the farmers’ market,” Charly continued, an observation echoed by a Lopez shopper who advised: “expect the unexpected. Horse Drawn Farms will have purple cauliflower, purple potatoes, all kinds of things you’ve never heard of.”
“The farmers all love to cook as well as grow food,” Charly added, pointing out that the market is a great place for shoppers to learn from farmers “how to cook fava beans, what to do with kale. One of the great things about a farmers’ market is the interaction between the farmers and the customers.”
And just as you can talk with the farmer who grows the produce, you can talk with the artists and crafters who are selling original work in fiber, fabric, wood, clay, glass, stone and metal. Clothing, table linens, jewelry, pottery, sculpture, toys as well as herbal and soap products are all starting points for conversations. As Nancy said, “You get to have a conversation with the person who actually did it.”
Looking at the market as a whole, Charly reflected: “It’s more than just the goods that are available there. It’s a really special place in its own right. It’s a place where people exchange information. If you want to know what’s going on in town that week, go to the market. Farmers’ market is a really great place for people to reconnect.” “It’s like the well.” Nancy added. “It’s the center, and way more than just buying and selling.”
Describing the Lopez Farmers’ market scene, Nancy said, “Shoppers take their time, they walk around. There’s a feeling of spaciousness. There’s no feeling of rush and pressure. It’s friendly. Each week, in the moments before the market opens, manager Virginia Palmer figures out which vendors will be there and redesigns the market to eliminate empty spaces and create this very homey, carefully constructed place.”
Turning to why they took on their jobs, Charly, who has interned at several Orcas farms said, “Managing the farmers’ market is a really great opportunity for me to help support people who have taken a lot of time to teach me.”
Nancy, who sells her pottery at the Lopez Farmers’ Market, remembers: “I would be so happy by the end of Saturday. Everything about it was good for me. And I could see that it was good for people, good for Lopez. So I decided to be on the board because I like to stand behind things I believe in. I believe it is probably one of the best things we have here: the market gives to the community and community gives back to the market. It’s a very positive thing.”
The Lopez Farmers’ Market is open May 16 to September 5, 10-2, in Lopez Village.
The Orcas Island Farmers’ Market is open from 10am to 3pm every Saturday from May 1 through October in Eastsound. http://www.orcasislandfarmersmarket.org
The San Juan Farmers’ market is open outdoors April 25 to mid-October, 10-1 in the Courthouse Parking Lot. http://www.sjifarmersmarket.com/ Their market manager was unavailable for this column interview.
