Madison's Northside Farmers' Market Season Starts May 2

One of the Northside’s favorite places to gather will soon be available once again. The Northside Farmers’ Market opens for the 2010 season on Sundays in May at 8:30 a.m. Think of it as our own community crossroads, a place where neighbors can gather -- to shop for fresh local foods, to enjoy offerings from interesting cultural groups and artists, and to just say ‘hi’ to friendly faces that you might not have seen since last season.

The core of the market is the wonderful foodstuffs provided by the vendors. This is the sixth season for the Northside Farmers’ Market and our maturity shows. We’ve more than the number of vendors at the market with more on a waiting list. That many vendors means many more choices for shoppers! Items for sale will include fresh, healthy and tasty fruits, vegetables, meats, eggs, bakery goods, cheeses and other dairy items. You can also enjoy Tuy’s just squeezed juices and smoothies and other “grab and munch” goodies. Enjoy hot pancakes, bacon, eggs and free coffee. Easy access and family friendly. Sunday mornings at the Northside Farmers Market 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The spice of the market is the weekly special event – there’s always something interesting planned! Sometimes it’s folks from one of the Northside community centers selling prepared hot foods like egg rolls or chili, or performing a cultural art like Hmong dancing. Other times it might be a musical group like the old time favorite Moldy Jam. The great line-ups continue for the 2010 season as well. Here are the offerings for May:

On May 2, opening day, enjoy freshly prepared Mexican food and taste a variety of salsas as a way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. At 11:00 a.m., kids can take a swing at the treasure-filled piñata.

May 9 is Mothers Day and all children who visit the market can take home a free plant or flower for Mom. More plants will be available on Sunday, May 16 when the Dane County Timebank hosts a plant exchange from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 pm. Bring your labeled perennials, seedlings, bulbs, houseplants or seeds to trade or sell for Timedollars. Non-Timebank members are welcome to trade plants. May 23 will be Farm Day at the market. Come delight in meeting a variety of farm animals right there at the market.

If you would like to become a volunteer, stop at the information table, contact nfmmanager@yahoo.com or (608) 217-9631 and at our website www.northsidefarmersmarket.org. And, as always, we will be accepting food stamps, just bring your Food Share card to the Market Info Booth, purchase $2 tokens with your card, and spend the tokens at any of our farmer's booths. The Northside Farmer’s Market happens every Sunday morning from 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., May to October at the Northside TownCenter, at the corner of Sherman and Northport, just across from Warner Park. Make the market your Sunday morning meeting spot.