Seattle farmers markets expand for summer season
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People look at bouquets at the Columbia City farmers market on Wednesday. Photo: Melissa Santos/Axios
Grab your favorite oversized tote — it's farmers market season in Seattle.
Why it matters: Summer markets are starting up this month in several Seattle neighborhoods, offering more options for shopping local (not to mention spotting cute dogs).
Zoom in: This week, the Columbia City Farmers Market switched from a monthly to a weekly schedule, drawing hundreds of people outside Wednesday afternoon.
- The Madrona Farmers Market opens next Friday, while the Wallingford Farmers Market kicks off toward the end of the month.
Another wave of market openings comes next month when the Phinney, Magnolia and Lake City farmers markets launch their seasons, and the year-round Capitol Hill Farmers Market expands to Tuesdays.
- The South Lake Union Saturday Market opens for the season on June 7, with a weekend preview May 16-17.
What they're saying: Katherine Boury of Neighborhood Farmers Markets, which runs seven markets in Seattle, told Axios that the markets offer not only "fresh, local food," but also important spaces for community connection.
- "They bring people together. They bring neighbors together," Boury told Axios.
- Market shoppers can talk to farmers directly about how to cook and store different kinds of seasonal produce — "things you wouldn't necessarily be able to ask in other circumstances," Boury said.
Between the lines: Many markets will also see increased programming this summer.
- The Phinney farmers market, for instance, will expand a children's program it piloted last summer called POP Club, in which kids taste produce and do hands-on activities at the market, Boury said.
- And the Fremont Sunday Market — which opened for the summer season in early April — has extended its footprint onto Canal Street, offering more vendors and a larger food court than before.
What's next: Look for events like cherry tastings at multiple markets in July and zucchini races — in which kids make race cars out of the popular summer squash — in August.