It's finally upon us: our last Market day of the 2017 season. Our last chance to buy produce without the little plastic stickers on it that have to be peeled off before you eat it or throw the remains in the yard waste.
Pick those Asian pears at Martin Family Orchards. Taste that tamale at La Panaderia. Stop resisting the roasted peanuts at Alvarez Organic Farms.
Or, if the rain can't extinguish your love and joy, buy that last bouquet. Thirty years ago, Vincent Van Gogh's Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers sold for $39.7 million, but you can grab your own (more perishable) version at a much more reasonable price.
$39.7 million, versus
The budget version
So come on down. Freeze a fruit pie from Adrienne's Cakes and Pies. Wangle some wine for that dinner you've been invited to. Hoard some honey for your tea and baked goods.
A book I've been reading lately (which I'll post on later), talks, among other things, about the evocative nature of food. We love the foods we love because of all the accoutrements: the pleasant memories of our first experience, the solid track record of endorphin release from carbs and sugar, the smells that take us back. For me, the Bellevue Farmers Market makes me think of time spent with my youngest child (my longtime sherpa), music, little kids sitting on curbs eating snacks, conversations struck up with farmers and vendors and other shoppers, friends I've run into, the triumphs of a shady parking spot in the heat of summer. All these sights and sounds and feelings come together when I choose and prepare food for friends and loved ones, and all these sights and sounds and feelings will be missed in the long off-season!
Thank you, Bellevue Farmers Market--farmers, vendors, musicians, staff, and volunteers--for another great season that enriches lives.
(And if you'd like to keep the party going a little longer, join the BFM for its end-of-season happy hour and fundraiser:
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26TH | 5-8PM | 520 BAR AND GRILL
10146 MAIN ST, BELLEVUE, WA 98004
You'll want a ticket, so click here for more info!)
