Garden-fresh flowers, like these spider mums, are available at the Faribault Farmers’ Market, open now on Saturday mornings from 7 a.m. – noon in Central Park.
SHOPPING AT A FARMERS’ MARKET is not simply about shopping for garden-fresh produce, home-baked goods, handcrafted items and more. It’s about the experience. That much I’ve learned in my many years of frequenting the Faribault Farmers’ Market on Saturday mornings.
Musicians perform at the recent Faribault Farmers’ Market Family Day while shoppers visit the market.
A Minnesota item crafted by Becker Woodcraft LLC.
Vegetables are in abundance.
The experience is one of community—of coming together, of connecting, of appreciating this place and the people committed to sharing their products.
My friend Al sells his flowers and produce.
Old-fashioned zinnias grown by Al.
One of the youngest vendors from 3 Glad Girls sells gladiolus.
My local farmers’ market offers opportunities to chat with vendors like Kelly of The Giant’s House Bakery, Al with his ever-brilliant bouquets of my favorite zinnias, Denny with whatever creative treat he concocts (like chocolate-dipped jalapenos), Tiffany of Graise Farm with her duck eggs…
Heirloom tomato.
One of the more unusual items for sale, agates displayed in a bowl of water.
I often pause and chat with friends who are also seeking locally-grown/baked/crafted food/goods. Pumpkins. Kolacky. Homemade jams and jellies. Cookies. Bouquets of flowers. Jewelry and art.
A bouncy house provides fun for the kids during Family Day.
A musician plays the flute during Family Day.
The goats were a popular Family Day draw.
Meet the goat.
Milk the goat.
When the Faribault Farmers’ Market hosted Family Day a few Saturdays ago, I was pleased to see Central Park crowded with young families enjoying the extras of fun activities, informational booths, music and farm animals up-close.
Kids make fruit and vegetable prints during Family Day.
The atmosphere felt festive and spirited with a prevailing sense of community. More than ever today, we need to reclaim and maintain that feeling, that sense of connection that brings us together. We need one another. Whether we live in town or the country. Your local farmer’s market is a good place to start building community.
TELL ME: Do you shop farmers’ markets? If yes, what do you buy? Tell me also about your experiences.
© Copyright 2019 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
I love our Farmer’s Market as well. It is very similar to yours with lots of bonus items including the Fungi Guy who has tons of mushrooms, my friend Beth’s son who carves spoons, a kettle corn vendor and always live music. They also have a program where you can buy items and donate them to the local shelters for use in their kitchens and food programs. They are the best places to connect with local friends and I always walk away with some great items for myself and for gifts. Love your market for the same reasons –a great place to gather and support local folks.
Oh, I would love the Fungi Guy because I love mushrooms. I like the program your market offers to buy and donate to local shelters. What a great idea.
Wish I was going through Faribault on a Sat morning… I love that MN wood cut out that Becker did! I think it would look perfect in The Cedar Journal office. Hint hint to all my friends.😊
I love that MN art, too.
Hi Audrey – Thank you so much for writing this article and taking such beautiful photos at the Faribault Farmers’ Market during the Family Day event. The Faribault Farmers’ Market has come to mean so much to me and to our farm. It has introduced us to so many people in our community and opened our eyes to many wonderful foods and crafts produced right here in our region. There’s so much more that could be done to make this truly a community event and I hope to be a part of that as we grow into the future.
You are welcome, Tiffany. I truly appreciate all you and Andy are doing to promote the market and locally-grown. Your enthusiasm and ideas are generating a movement in our region which, as you note, can grow. Thank you for your hard work and efforts. You are making a difference.
Thank you for writing the terrific words and snapping some great pictures. Love this day!
Thank you, Joshua. And thank you for appreciating the Faribault Farmer’s Market Family Day. I appreciate everyone who makes this event happen each September.
My wife and I go to the Shakopee farmers market where we live. It’s a small affair, my wife looks for and desires fresh vegetables and fruit, I’m an apple pie and chocolate chip cookie connoisseur myself.
Edward, thank you for valuing and shopping at your local farmers’ market in Shakopee. I appreciate your humor, pointing out the differences in what you and your wife buy.
Beautiful flowers. We have a small farmers market with fresh veggies and crafts. It’s always fun to walk through and you can’t beat garden fresh veggies. Last week I sent the kids over with a grocery list and I pile of change so they could practice purchasing without help. They came home with everything on my list!
What a great idea to send your kids to shop at the farmers’ market.
Thanks for taking such great pictures of this fun event! Our family thoroughly enjoyed talking about all things dairy goats with the community…and our goats Taffy and Opal loved all the attention. Can’t wait to do it again next year!
Sarah, thank you for bringing your goats. They were a hit.
Thanks for sharing these Josh! Beautiful!