Memorial Day weekend marks the annual start of the farmer's market here in town, the West River Farmers Market. One of some 75 markets in Vermont, 'ours' has 50 vendors set up on an idyllic triangle of shaded grassy park along the banks of the West River. I pedaled up on my grocery bike Saturday morning to do a little shopping, take some pictures*, and schmooze. * Dumbass parlor trick: I'd left my camera in a custom setting meant for nighttime/indoors and took a lot of unsalvageably blue pictures before realizing my mistake. Some of them made for fine duotones (quadtones, actually), though. Plenty of pictures in color after the jump.
Organic herb plants from Itsy-Bitsy Farm.
I can't find any reliable documentation, but to the best of my knowledge, this market was started in 1993 with 12 vendors, most of them craftspeople. As the market has grown, the balance has shifted towards agriculture and food, thanks in large part to the resurgence in small-scale farming and the growing interest in locally grown and produced foods.