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Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Farmers Markets Like Theatre

Keeping your eyes open at the Farmers Markets
by Charlie Leck

I'm pretty familiar with a number of the Farmers Markets in our area...

St Paul Farmers Market
Minneapolis Farmers Market
Midtown Farmers Market (Minneapolis)
Mill City Farmers Market (Minneapolis)
Excelsior Farmers Market (Excelsior)

The markets listed above vary in size and style a great deal. The first two are more serious about matters, much the larger, and very businesslike in character. The Midtown Market is very neighborhood conscious and designed in character to appeal to the people who live in south Minneapolis and the Corcoran neighborhood. The Mill City Market, tucked in between the Mill City Museum and the Guthrie Theater is more artful and yuppie than the others (you'll find lots of chocolate, jams, life-elongating ingestants and short cake, along with the fresh produce of the moment). The Excelsior Farmers Market is a good example of a suburban approach to this whole business. It has an easier pace and there's lots of chatting that often extends across the street to the Latte shop. You'll meet some pretty impressive dogs as well.

There's so much going on at these markets that it's just a joy to be an observer, watching the comings and goings of both the vendors and the buyers. And, at a number of the markets there are also entertainers.

These markets, all of them in their own way, are a photographer's delight. The range of color one see is sometimes boggling, especially as the season moves along. At mid-summer, every produce stand offers a study in mother nature's beauty. In the city, the people are variegated as well, presenting a sampling of all the colors of the world's inhabitants.

You can also learn a great deal if you wish. Perpend upon it! Ask a young lady how she makes her maple syrup and you are in for a delightful tour through the process. The same is true for the fellow who sells his honey and so too the the lady offering organic bison meat. Just ask the lovely creatures from Two Pony Farms, down at the Midtown Market, how many heirloom tomato varieties there are, and you're in for another lesson in history and agronomy.

One sees many unique and creative ways of carrying children
about; and little ones don't get much more beautiful than this one.

Entertainers come in all sorts and varieties (and assorted quality,
too).

Faithful customers reappear after a long winter's hibernation.
They're glad to see us and we're glad to see them. It will take lots
of conversation to catch up.

The range of sight and sound at a Farmers Market is pretty spectacular -- even empyrean. The process has become an important institution in Minnesota and just about every community across the state now offers a Farmers Market of some type and size during the growing months.