Readers pick Farmer's Market
Voted best weekend activity

By Dawn Jordan & Heather Meacham for The Columbian

Want a fun, family experience? According to a recent readers' poll the Farmers Market is the best ticket in town ­ and a free ticket at that.

For six months every year Clark County families head to downtown Vancouver to pick up fresh produce, sample locally made eats, and let the kids have fun. The market, held between Sixth and Eighth Streets at Esther Short Park, is open every Saturday and Sunday ­ from the first Saturday in April to the last Saturday in October. Hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sundays. In celebration of Christmas, the market also opens for the first three Saturdays of December.

Why is Farmers Market so popular? It has something for everyone.

"The Farmer's Market has been an excellent activity," says Tracy Reich, executive director of Vancouver's Downtown Association. "It brings families together."

For children, there's "Happi the Clown" who face paints anything a child's heart desires. There's Michael the balloon man, who molds balloons into swords and flowers and dinosaurs. There's the newly remodeled Esther Short Park and its swings, teeter totters, jungle gym and slides.

Twice a year there also is the children's market. Farmer's market staff provides canopies and tables for children to display and sell wares they have made or grown themselves.

"It is always a phenomenal success for the children," says Farmers Market manager Amy Blankenship.

In 1999, 27 children set up shop. The next children's market is Oct. 7, with 45 child vendors already enrolled. To sign up your child, call Patricia Turner at 735-9541, or the Vancouver Farmers Market office at 737-8298.

For adults, there are 95 to 100 fruit, vegetable, food and craft vendors to choose from each weekend. There are cherries, berries, peaches and plums. There are okra, zucchini, peppers and potatoes (try them in red, russet, white or purple). There are fresh salsas, barbecue sauces, roasted coffee beans and fresh-baked breads (made with everything from Durham to wheat). There are homemade soaps, personalized wooden signs, garden accents, handmade jewelry, and unique home décor. Everything available for sale at the market is either homemade or homegrown.

"You want it? We've got it!" says Blankenship.

Also for sale: fresh herbs such as cilantro, basil, fennel, thyme and rosemary; flowers such as long-stem roses or cut daisies; and garden-variety plants ready for transplant.

Salmon Creek-resident Sue Wall, a frequent market visitor, makes the market her main source for landscaping plants and vegetable garden starts. "We go there to get plants every year at the first of the summer," Wall says. "It has such good, healthy plants for the garden."

For food lovers, there are Oriental options, barbecued meats, hamburgers, hot dogs, sticky elephant ears, fresh doughnuts, and roasted chilies. For fancier fare, the market also runs a chef series, which already wrapped up for this year but will be back next summer. Chefs come from throughout the Northwest, from restaurants in Cannon Beach to restaurants in Seattle. Their goal is to show people how to cook gourmet, and cook with flair.

But wait! There's more.

For entertainment hounds, there are groups such as the Sweet Adelein's, an all-women choir; or the Fat Cats, a pop-rock band; or the Salmon Creek Marimba Band, a group of teachers from Salmon Creek area schools. Market coordinators are always on the lookout for new activities.

For holiday shoppers, Farmers Market boasts a two-year-old Christmas Market. Open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. the first three Saturdays in December, it's held at 210 E. 13th St. on the upper deck of downtown Vancouver's City Hall Parking Garage. Christmas carols add a festive note. Purchase fall fruit, such as apples and pears, and traditional holiday accessories such as trees and wreaths.

"They go incredibly fast," says Blankenship of the holiday items, "so buy one right away."

This Christmas Market wraps up Farmers Market activities for the year, but the market will be back at its summer location near Esther Short Park the first Saturday of April 2001. This year is the first year Farmers Market has been near Esther Short Park. Before, the outdoor Vancouver market stretched between Fifth and Broadway streets in downtown. The City of Vancouver worked with market coordinators to find the new location. Now, thanks to the nearby American Legion building, vendors also can rent space indoors.

"The market is wonderful," says Amy Vance, a six-year Vancouver resident and a regular market goer. "It's got a lot of high-quality items that aren't available in stores ­ like coffee and the best homemade barbecue sauce I've ever found. I wish the market were open year-round."