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Morning market merriment: Gardeners
ready for new round of summer sales
By Dana Ivins
May 5, 2009 | Imagine yourself on a summer Saturday
morning. Eating your usual cereal, watching the normal
shows that seem to get worse each week. Wasting away
in the overused couch cushions until one o'clock begs
you to get in the shower. Time to begin living what's
left of your day.
Meanwhile, the Cache Valley Gardeners Market is just
winding down. From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays, growers,
artists, crafters, musicians and others will gather
to share their wares in Merlin Olsen Park from May 9
to Oct. 17.
Vendors and volunteers begin setup early, putting
up shade canopies, tables and product displays before
locals arrive.
Young kids carry buckets of surplus vegetables from
the back of the family suburban. Handmade jewelry is
hung and arranged as vendors open their camping chairs
to hunker down for a morning of selling. One woman stays
up Friday nights to make bread pudding, but still manages
to smile as she presents the varieties to customers.
Many simply stroll the makeshift lanes of the market,
looking around and grabbing lunch. As they pass through
the park's tall trees, they take in the fresh air, live
music and tantalizing smells. A profusion of homegrown
fruits and vegetables make for healthy meals throughout
the week. Natural honey is sold in a variety of unique
flavors. Crumbly artisan breads and other baked goods
look appetizing, as do the sandwiches being assembled
across the grass.
The market is the go-to place for unique, eclectic
styles and multicultural flair. Some items include crocheted
articles, one-of-a-kind aprons, skirts, handmade jewelry
and foreign purses and handbags. Even infants can benefit
from nontraditional "onesies" and accessories for hair
and pacifiers. For the home, locally produced furniture,
cutting boards, photography, paintings and cut flowers
are available.
If organic is your thing, vendors have plenty of homemade
soaps, makeup and lip balms ensuring every face a very
natural glow. Becky Yeager and her company, The Spirit
Goat, have been involved with the market for nearly
a decade, selling handcrafted soaps and lotions made
from goat's milk.
Yeager said she's seen the market grow over the years
and has loved being a part of it. "It's a fun place
to be on a Saturday," she said, with its likeable "atmosphere,
people, and very social environment." Some USU students,
like Maria Eggers, a horticulture major, have only recently
discovered the market.
"There's fresh, really good food that's only there
for a season, so it's good to enjoy it while it lasts,"
said Eggers, "because [after that] it's back to canned
food."
When asked what she likes about the Gardeners Market,
Eggers replied, "It's not like the grocery store with
uppity, uptight moms with children. It's more chill."
And it sure beats summer reruns.
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