It'd be really cool if you could stop by McD's and pick me up a Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese.

Four donut peaches, garlic dills from Dr. Pickle and some Broccoli Rabe please pups. Thanks.

bring back some happy memories - have fun pup! Yay!

Ooh, I'll have one of all, please. Except the kids. and maybe the dogs.

Blueberries and fresh cut flowers, please and thank you.

Actually, I think I'll just come with you! I love farmers' markets, and it's such a lovely day. I can't think of anyone I'd rather go with. *grabs shopping bags*

oooh yeah pups. some bread, some wine, and some organic lamb please.

... some organic lamb please.
How could lamb be anything but organic?
</pet peeve whinge>

Fresh sugar snap peas and a fiddle-playing busker.

oh fine, dg. You know what I mean. One that hasn't been dosed up with crap. One that tastes good.

Yeah, I knew what you meant (not as stupid as I look) - it just annoys me when people differentiate food that is grown using synthetic aids as "non-organic" even more than when people brag that food was grown "without chemicals" after dosing it with all sorts of concoctions. Just because it doesn't come out of a test tube doesn't mean it has no chemicals in it.

Corn, please. Thanks.

*chats with growers, noshes on free samples, buys odd beans and goat cheese, picks up pamphlets*

I'd also like some silicon based lamb please, nothing organic.

Pamphlets?

What kinda commie growers' markets you got up there?

Oh man, my farmers' market is filled with pamphlets. Yes on Q. No on R. Save feral cats. Vote for Rob Roy. Buy the paper. US out of Iraq.

You have to run the pamphlet gauntlet before you ever get to the fruit and veg.

FWIW, I watched toddlers dancing to a bluegrass band for 2 hours, and it was the most fun I've had in a long time. Also, there was this little boy trying to feed a popsicle to a little girl that he didn't know. It was very cute.

And I fell in love with another's dog. But I always do that. Sigh.

They have a commie farmers market in my neighborhood too. All the stalls with fresh basil were selling it for the exact same price. I subverted their paradigm by purchasing it from the stall whose basil bushels were noticably larger than everyone else's, and complimented the vendors on offering a better value than their competition. lol.

One of the worst things about Britain joining the EU is that we no longer get New Zealand lamb in our butchers, gaspode. Welsh spring lamb is lovely, but horrendously expensive. Whatever is sold in most supermarkets is fatty and tasteless. I don't think those lambs have grown up eating grass next to their mummies on a hillside somewhere.

Yes, I have a request: I'd like to see photos of these farmers markets y'all are talking about, because I'm now realizing that what I'm picturing must be all wrong.

I was imagining mobile or temporary things with booths and tables... and just... vegetables. Where we live, there is a huge, permanent, outdoor (and partially covered) market area downtown that sells everything, from fresh fish, meat, vegetables, bread, spices, etc., to household items and cheapie clothes from Taiwan or China, and it's dotted with little tavernas throughout. Here's one typical stall:

≡ Click to see image ≡

I live right in the middle of this area (not accidentally - I concentrated all my apartment searching efforts here) so this is my normal shopping experience; I only go to the supermarkets very rarely for the few items I can't find at the market, but for people in all the various neighobrhoods that aren't that near the market, there are these travelling markets that will show up in their neighborhood one day a week, and they just set out their tables (or, sometimes, even just spread out a sheet) on the sidewalks and sell vegetables, herbs, and maybe spices, and teas.

Then there's also a huge, sprawling one-day market area (they call it "The Russian Market", and it meets on Wednesdays), that sets up one day a week downtown next to the Rotunda (a church dating from 306 AD), and sells pretty much everything imaginable. Here a pic of a small section of it (click for big version):

≡ Click to see image ≡

So, what are your Farmers Markets like? Are they open every day in one permanent location and sell lots more than vegetables? Do they move around? Open only on weekends, and kind of like a "county fair" atmosphere? Do tell, please!

OUrs is open Saturday, eight AM to one PM, and it's a temporary setup on the municipal building lawn. The growers and food-producers themselves are the salespeople. It's run by a group called Seacoast Growers Association. it has meats, honey, cheeses, soaps/cosmetics, and produce (of course). There's a musician playing usually, and pamphlets galore! It's the best place to promote a cause or an event because it's so crowded each week. They sometimes have a cooking demo about using the seasonal produce, too, which is nice.

Lovely! Thanks for that, Miko. I'd love to see photos if you go and happen to feel like shooting.

I'll try to remember that, taz!