(Image courtesy @typewriteralley)
It takes time and effort to organize the rich soils, the birds, the bees, the seasons, and the farmers. Two years after its move into a larger, more flexible new home, the Capitol Hill Farmers Market is ready for an important change.
Starting next week, the market will expand to add Tuesday nights to its schedule along E Barbara Bailey Way.
The new midweek market will run 3 PM to 7 PM and continue through September 26th, the Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance announced this week.
The market will continue its year-round weekend schedule on Capitol Hill, Sundays from 11 AM to 3 PM.
CHS reported here on the spring 2021 debut of the market in its new home in the Capitol Hill Station plaza and on the city’s converted “festival street” that runs through.
In addition to the rest of the Hill, the market provides fresh produce and vendors for residents in the hundreds of new apartments that have opened above the light rail station.
The city designed the festival street as a one-way traffic route above the center of the underground light rail facility and through the development, plaza, and the AIDS Memorial Pathway. It is closed to vehicular traffic during the market and event hours and the market’s edges spill onto the station plaza.
The plaza has seen an increase in activity with businesses finally opening amid the surrounding housing. In May, popular Capitol Hill diner Glo’s debuted in its new location on the edge of the plaza.
The Capitol Hill Farmers Market officially went year-round in 2014 and has thrived since, regularly hosting local vendors from produce to prepared foods, craft brews, raw honey, and fresh-cut flowers.
Learn more at seattlefarmersmarkets.org/chfm.
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That’s good to hear.
Does anyone know why they are so fussy about not selling anything until 11AM on the dot? It’s a bit odd. Plus, isn’t 11AM a bit of a late start time for a farmer’s market?
Do you know where these farms are located? Hint: not in the city. They’re DRIVING into town to serve you. 3-4 hour drive sometimes for these folks. The farms aren’t on the Hill. LOL.
Obviously they’re not on the hill. I also very much doubt they are ALL three hours away, but whatever.
And that doesn’t answer why they sit around from 10AM to 11AM, with a line building, waiting to sell their wares. They are clearly ready before 11AM.
You have to follow the organizations rules or you will be removed from the market.
Pike Place opens at 9AM daily. The year round farmers market near me opens at 10 every weekend.
None of those vendors are coming from inside the city but they seem to make it work OK.
Be nice to people, especially those who support farmers markets.
Pike Place has been going for decades, Capitol Hill Farmers market is in a new location and growing in the past few years, is it really so important that you get something from the farmers market that has had the same hours for several years, outside of their normal hours?
It seems silly, but it’s an easy slippery slope–what’s stopping someone from just getting setup at 10am and start selling then while everyone else is just arriving and trying to get setup? Not really different from an indoor mall, just minus the locked doors to actually physically keep you out.
Plus, I imagine the license/permit they have covers exactly what period the street is shutdown for, and what times they are allowed to sell during that, and it’s not really worth an extra couple sales to potentially get into trouble.
I thought the U-District market started at 10:00 AM, which made it much more realistic to have go enjoy your Sunday (and not plan your day around visiting a farmer’s market — which I can’t I’m willing to do most Sundays)
U district starts at 9 AM.
The reason they ring the bell is because certain items are in high demand or sell out fast, and early people will rush in and them if they don’t limit that sort of thing. It’s a matter of fairness to the customers as well as the vendors.
Example, if Amazon prime day didn’t have an official starting time people would just buy in the late evening hours, the day before, and get the best stuff.
No selling before the posted opening time is a good rule. If one vendor started selling early, it would pressure the others to do likewise, ready or not. Trucks would still be coming in and out while people are shopping and the market would take on a rushed, unneighborly vibe akin to Pike Place. Take a deep breath, stroll around the park a time or two, it’ll be 11 before you know it. Promise.
Not to mention that Pike Place and UDistrict Markets are in business districts whereas this is right below apartment buildings, folks are getting ready and setting up pretty early already in these locations… People will really just find anything to complain about 🤷🏻♂️