Spring to Summer to Spring Again

As I write this on Wednesday, it feels positively summery outside - the temperature is 83 degrees and the heat index - HEAT INDEX! - is 87 degrees. Second week of May... or first week of July?

These few days of heat and relative dryness are temporary (we should be back into the 60s for highs by the time Saturday's Market arrives), but they're going to move things along pretty quickly on the produce front. You can still expect the usual spring things, like asparagus, spinach, rhubarb, lettuces, some fresh herbs, green onions, kale, chard, radishes, and sprouts. But maybe... just... maybe... we'll see some strawberries from southern Illinois at the Market in enough quantity that people arriving after 7 AM will be able to buy some. Strawberries!

Also, don't forget vegetable and flower plant starts. There will be a huge variety of plant starts available at the Market this weekend - especially tomato, pepper, and other vegetable starts. It's definitely time to get your garden on. Eevn if you don't garden, you can still pick up floral arrangements, hanging baskets, and other greenery at the Market. Add to this the baked goods, the prepared food (Veggie Trails is back this weekend, Fryer Tuck is in the house, the folks from Red Herring will be there, and a new BBQ joint will be joining us), the art and crafts, the community groups, and the performances, and you have a banner second Market of the season.

Speaking of community groups, please swing through and check them out - they're in the new Row One, facing you as you enter either of our main two entrances at the NW or SW ends of the Market. We plan  on having special events, performers, and possibly even seating out there as the season progresses - please come by, pay these groups a visit, and help create a true public square atmosphere!

Reminder: Animals, with the exception of service animals, are no longer allowed at Urbana's Market at the Square. Please leave your pet at home when coming to the Market. For more information on this policy please click here. For another explanation from a different source, please check out the News-Gazette's editorial here.

We had a banner week with many patrons using Market Scratch on Saturday - thanks! Market Scratch is just another way to pay at the Market, especially if you run out of cash. Market Scratch credit and debit tokens make excellent gift for the Market-goer in your life, too. Click the link above for more information.

This week: U-Cycle, Urbana's recycling program, will be on hand to answer questions about recycling all kinds of items. Courtney Rushforth, the program's coordinator, will be at the Market from 8 - noon to answer your questions.

Next week: Our first Sprouts at the Market event of the season will be held in partnership with the Illinois Master Gardeners. They'll be teaching kids about seeds and planting from 9 AM - 11 AM.

The 2011 Season Can't Come Fast Enough!

Man, what an off-season that was! In some ways it doesn't even feel like it's done with us yet... I mean, it'd be great to see the sun for two straight days, wouldn't it? But the rain has brought us big bursts of green.

The photos above were taken last spring, but it's a good representation of what you'll find to eat at the Market this time of year: green stuff. We'll have lots - asparagus is in season now, and it is GLORIOUS; there'll also be plenty of green leaves to choose from, like spinach, lettuce, chard, and kale; there'll be some green onions. We'll also have bedding plants and vegetable starts... and maybe even a few flowers. Vendors like Kleiss Produce, Blue Moon, Moore Family Farm, Meyer Produce, Tomahnous Farm, Cary's Garden of Eatin', Tiny Greens, Owens, Ropp's, and others will be out in force.

It won't all be green. There's a chance we'll have some strawberries from southern IL. Some rhubarb, I'm thinking. There will be, of course, farm-raised eggs and frozen meats and varieties of goat cheese and gelato. There will be baked goods and pastas. There will be FOOD. Finally.

Some important changes this season at the Market:

- Patrons are being asked to leave their pets at home - this includes dogs, cats, birds, ferrets, foxes, and other animals. The overarching reason for this is patron and animal safety - the Market is crowded, and we've experienced some close calls out there over the last three years that could have gone either way. If you bring your pet to the Market after May 7 (we're allowing this Saturday to be a grace day), you will be asked, very nicely, to have someone else watch your pet while you shop. For more information about this policy, please click here.

- Community groups have been relocated to Walnut Street, the street just to the west of the main Market site (for those familiar with the Market, it's the street behind Row One). The area they formerly occupied, the north side of the Market, will now be home to food vendors. Please take a swing by the community groups before you enter the Market - you can't miss 'em if you come in either of the two main entrances.

- Last year we introduced our credit/debit/LINK card acceptance system. It worked so well, we decided to keep it! We've renamed it "Market Scratch" (because our logo's a chicken, get it?) and are trying to get the word out about it. In short, it's another way for patrons to pay. Cash is still king with vendors, and checks are accepted by most, but if you've run out of the former or have forgotten the latter, Market Scratch can help. More information about how it works is here. Please stop by the City tent to ask questions or see it in action.

This weekend we'll have the Urbana Free Library out for a visit, weather permitting. Speaking of, the Market is being featured in their display case near the library's eastern exit. Go by and see! And speaking of weather, click here or here for weather forecasts, and remember: Your umbrella is your friend!

The Market staff is really looking forward to seeing the Market filled with patrons once again. Next week - more information about our Sprouts program and other special programming you can look forward to, another food update, and more!

Final Day

No, I'm not talking about the Apocalypse - I'm talking about the last day of Urbana's Market at the Square for the 2010 season. Because, wow - it's tomorrow.

I hope everyone had a great time visiting the Market this season. I hope you tried some new-to-you fruits and vegetables. If you have kids who came to a Sprouts at the Market event, I hope they had a great time and learned something. I hope you met up with friends and made new ones. I hope you found out a little more about where your food and flowers come from, about who makes your bread and makes your earrings or takes the photos you love or knits the scarves or makes the soap.

We have lots of things in the planning stages for next year's Market. We're always interested in your feedback - please drop us a line sometime and tell us what you'd like to see. Otherwise, there may be a few postings from time to time here on the blog. Check in every once in awhile and see what we're up to... and thank you so, so much for your support of the Market this season. We'll see you May 7, 2011.

REMINDER: the Urbana Business Association's Holiday Market starts next weekend in Lincoln Square Mall - it's like the Market, only indoors and with more of a holiday theme. They go Saturdays, November 13 - December 18, from 8 AM - 1 PM. Please contact the UBA at 217-344-3872 for more information.

Market at the Square/Scare

Halloween is just about upon us, readers. I imagine that by the time Saturday arrives, many of you (or the youngsters in your life) will be wanting to take that costume out for a test run. May I suggest dressing up for this weekend's Market? From 9 AM - noon, we'll have treats from Common Ground, candy, and possibly some apple cider to celebrate Market at the Scare. Costumes are encouraged. We'll take your photo. Some of the vendors bring candy and cookies to hand out to kids in costumes. And... the weather will be the best we've had on Halloween weekend in recent memory. What's not to like?

Also this weekend: Art at the Market from 8 AM - noon! It's the last installment for the 2010 season. This month we've got local artist Jessica Roberts - she's conducting a "plantable paper-making" workshop that's open to patrons of all ages, and is completely free. Many thanks to Urbana's Public Arts Program for sponsoring these very popular events this season, and we hope to work with them again in 2011.

One other special event this Saturday - we have Professor May Berenbaum of the Entomology Department at the University of Illinois coming in to sign copies of her new book, Honey, I'm Homemade, from 9 AM - 11 AM. We'll have copies of the book for sale for $20, tax included (that's more than a couple bucks off the list price), PLUS Prof. Berenbaum will sign your book! We'll also have information about every honey vendor at the Market this Saturday at Prof. Berenbaum's table. Check 'em out - they may have samples to try and/or cool things to look at. Bees are awesome! Honey is yum! Lay in your winter supply!

One of our growers, Jon Cherniss of Blue Moon Farm, mentioned in a recent email update that it's not about what's in season - it's about what isn't? There's more fresh food available now than ever - make sure you shop all four rows of the Market (yep, 4 - we shrink it down when vendor attendance starts to dip) to see everything that's available. Recommended fruits and vegetables: carrots and other root vegetables (we saw some daikon radishes that were as long as a 4 year-old kid's leg), salad greens, apples, squashes. There may be a few tomatoes straggling in, but with the forecast hard freeze on Thursday night, it's iffy. Fret not - there's also plenty of goat cheese, eggs, and meat to round out those veggie/fruit purchases.

All in all, we couldn't ask for a better weekend for the next-to-last Market of the season. Looking forward to seeing everyone out there!

I Said Orange

Okay, procrastinators. It's time.


There is no better time than right now to get your Halloween pumpkins for jack-o-lanterning, and there is no better place to procure them than Urbana's Market at the Square. The traditional pumpkins for carving are abundant, but growers also offer more... unusual permutations of pumpkin in all different colors and shapes and sizes. Get a little weird with your decorations this season!

Also, it's worth mentioning that the fall produce is absolutely gorgeous this season. The greens are incredibly lush, the carrots are beyond sweet, the potatoes and sweet potatoes have incredible depth of flavor, the scent of apples on the breeze is incredible...

The weather is not forecast to be very cooperative for this weekend, but I'm going to be an optimist and say that we'll dodge those raindrops. Here's one reason why - our final Sprouts at the Market event is scheduled for this weekend, and we're really excited about it. This event will be co-presented with the Eastern Illinois Foodbank as they close out their annual Food For Families activities, and the goal here is to teach kids ages 3-8 a little about food insecurity in our area and what they can do to help. As with other Sprouts activities, there will be several tables throughout the Market kids can visit, sample locally-grown fruits and vegetables, and learn a thing or two about local food and our food system. We do ask that everyone sign in at the main Sprouts tent, which will be next to the City tent at the northwest entrance to the Market. The event is totally free and goes from 9 AM - 11 AM.

The Market will look different this weekend. As we head toward the close of the season, vendor attendance drops, and we consolidate the Market in order to prevent gaps and to encourage people to shop the whole Market. We did our best to transpose Row 5 vendors into Row 4, but a few are in other places throughout the Market. If you're missing someone PLEASE ASK! Market staff are more than happy to help you locate your favorite vendors.

One more thing - don't forget that the Urbana Business Association's Holiday Market picks up on 11/13 where Market at the Square leaves off on 11/6. They'll be open inside Lincoln Square Mall from 8 AM - 1 PM through 12/18. Produce vendors, art and crafts folks, Santa Claus, music, and much more will be featured at this Market - it's so great to know that you'll be able to buy fresh, local food at this Market right up until the holidays.

Market geeks: Get your fill of 2008's and 2009's annual reports here!

Deeper Into Autumn

Pictured above are scenes from this past weekend's Market. Stuff to look for this weekend, in addition to what you see above - your Halloween jack-o-lantern, carrots of several colors, spinach (so sweet right now), kales, onions, sweet potatoes, squash, apples and pears... it's definitely fall.

I'm strapped for time, today, so I urge you to look at last week's entry to get more information about this weekend's Eat Here booth, and next weekend's Sprouts event (and UHS Orchestra event). On October 30th, we'll be hosting Market at the Scare (costumes encouraged!), the season's final installment of Art at the Market, and a book signing with Professor May Berenbaum of the University of Illinois. Her book is called Honey, I'm Homemade and is all about bees, honey, and cooking with honey. More information about the book signing and other activities forthcoming - it's a really cute book and we're thrilled to be working with the University of Illinois Press on this project.

Market Menu:

Home Stretch

After 3 seasons as the Market's Boss-Lady, I can safely say that it's the weather that always does it to me. It really stresses me out sometimes. Only occasionally deos the weather do me wrong, like it did last weekend when the heavens opened up while we were getting everything set up and lo, rain cameth down in buckets. At 6:15 AM, it was pouring, it was ridiculous, and all I could do, really, was laugh and hope that the rain left us, which it did (the significantly-less-stressful wind arrived shortly thereafter - another story for another time, perhaps). I have not wept this season.

This weekend, it looks like the weather is going to do me (and, by extension, YOU) right. I know, that's what they said last week, but this time I believe them. 84 unseasonably balmy degrees and sunny this Saturday, Market-lovers. It should be splendid. Soak it up, peeps, because we won't have this weather for too much longer.

So, let's talk about food for a few minutes. As you know, fall is here and the fall food has been in effect for a few weeks now, while summer stubbornly hangs on with its tomatoes and its peppers and its melons and its cucumbers. While all of those things will be findable this weekend, they are most definitely on the wane; fall produce is in firm control now. Notably, that produce includes fennel, broccoli, various cabbages, bok choi, winter squashes, apples, onions, potatoes, turnips, sweet potatoes, salad lettuces and other greens, spinach, kales and chard, carrots, and much more. After the heat of this summer and the occasional restrictions that can put on the menu (who turns on the oven when it's 95 degrees outside??), it's going to taste good to get down to the business of preparing pies, tarts, galettes, roasted vegetable dishes, soups, and more. I guarantee you the spread at the Market will serve to inspire. Come look!

As for stuff happening at the Market - this week we have U-Cycle, Urbana's recycling program, out to talk about all things recycling with a little bit of Landscape Recycling thrown in. She'll be there from 8-11:30 at the U-Cycle tent at the northwest entrance to the Market. Also, the University of Illinois' Physics Department (maybe even a couple of Nobel Prize-winners) will be on hand to provide Locally Grown Science. Bring your science questions to them in the Community Groups row between 8 AM and noon.

Next week, it's our final installment of Eat Here, our programming designed to educate consumers about the myriad benefits of shopping your farmers markets for locally-produced foods. Stop by the Eat Here tent, located at the northwest entrance to the Market, on 10/16 for more information.

Sprouts at the Market's last installment is happening 10/23, and is a collaboration between the Market and the Eastern Illinois Foodbank. Bring your Sprout to the Market that day to participate in a food-insecurity scavenger hunt and to try a few vegetables in season. more information about this event will be available soon, but mark your calenders for 10/23, 9-11 AM!

That same day, the Urbana High School String Orchestras will be playing at the Market, also from 9-11 AM. They'll be playing on Walnut Street, which is the barricaded area located just west of the Market.

The Market's final day is Saturday, November 6. Starting November 13, the Urbana Business Association starts hosting the Holiday Market inside Lincoln Square Mall. The Holiday Market will run from 11/13 - 12/18, 8 AM - 1 PM. Many of Market at the Square's vendors/growers participate in this market, so please check it out!

Lots going on as we close in on the end of our season - come visit while the weather's good and the produce is plentiful!