I must admit, that I am a market kid. My love of a good Farmer’s Market stems from my childhood when we would pack up the truck every Sunday morning and head to the market. I’d help set up our booth, and then I’d get to wander the market all day and decide what I wanted to buy with the $10 I was given for helping out. Everyone at the market knows one another, and so I’d stop and say hello and give a good scratch to every market dog I met along the way.
When I learned that Newberg hosts its own Farmer’s Market, I decided I had to be there for opening day!
The Newberg Farmer’s Market is held on Wednesday afternoons from 1:30 pm to 6 pm in front of the Chehalem Cultural Center, which is right next to the City Library. I learned from one of the vendors, that the space where all of the tents are set up looked very different last year. Apparently, the whole front entrance to the Chehalem Cultural Center was remodeled over the last year in order to host the Farmer’s Market. What once was grass, benches, and some concrete paths, is now a hardscaped plaza with thoughtfully placed electrical outlets for vendors, and picnic tables for guests.
There was a great vendor turnout for the first market of the season, and I was impressed with the variety of booths. They had folks selling fruits and veggies, stationary, honey, wine, pastries, chocolates, jams, jewelry, homemade soap, tomato plants, flowers, and the list goes on and on.
The sounds of live folk music, the chatter of people, and a strong breeze made the plaza come alive. I talked to a few different vendors and everyone was excited about the upcoming season and the new market location. After checking out all of the different booths, I decided to pick up a few items for myself. I have a sweet tooth that won’t stop, so I purchased a caramel apple, some fresh strawberries, and mason jar of Dolce Farm & Orchards homemade fig jam.
The caramel apple was certainly an impulse buy, and I can’t even remember my last caramel apple, but wow was this apple amazing! The combination of a crisp granny smith with salty caramel, pecans, dark, and white chocolate was out of this world tasty. The Renaissance Man and I shared it when he got home from work, and we both were fighting for the last bite.
The Farmer’s Market is also located next to Rotary Centennial Park, which is great for families. I saw quite a few parents trade off watching their kids at the park while the other parent went and bought items at the market. The park is pretty impressive with several large play structures, artwork, benches, and tables.
This happy gecko sculpture was calling for me to stop and say hello. He looks pretty fashionable with my Newberg Farmer’s Market bag. Here’s to a summer full of fresh produce and goodies from the Newberg Farmer’s Market!
