Ballard Farmers Market

The Ballard Farmers Market operates every Sunday from 10 AM to 3 PM and offers extensive fresh vegetable and fruit choices, along with organic soaps, locally-made wines, jewelry, honey, cheese, flowers, and more. Ballard Avenue starting at the old City Hall bell tower down to 22nd Avenue is closed off from cars during the Sunday Market.

On this past beautiful, sunny, warm Sunday, Ballard Avenue was packed with Seattle folk and the air richly intermixed with the aroma of flowers, herbs, crepes, fresh-baked bread, and soaps. The Ballard Farmers Market has been operating since 1999, when it split off from the Fremont Farmers Market.

On a previous trip to the Ballard Farmers Market, I found a pair of hand-painted porcelain earrings with a very Dutch Delft pottery look for only $10, along with a large bouquet of fresh flowers, gigantic snap peas, and some berry cider made by Rockridge Orchards in Enumclaw, Washington. This past Sunday, the ripe, sweet cherries were hard to pass up, so I bought a pound of those.

Hungry for lunch and a chance to enjoy the sunshine, we meandered our way south on Ballard Avenue, where we found a new restaurant (opened early 2008) called the Ballard Loft, with outdoor seating and many satisfied-looking patrons. The menu specialty was a variety of hot dogs and bratwursts, but I settled on the BBQ pork sandwich. It came with a fresh salad, side of coleslaw, and the hearty BBQ pork sandwich with a touch of horseradish and topped with pepperocinis. I enjoyed the food, but I think the warm sunshine and feel of a laid-back Sunday afternoon was more enjoyable.

The Ballard Farmer's market is a fun way to spend an afternoon and with so many restaurants and cafes around, it's easy to find something delicious to eat. Though I am interested to return to the Market on a cold, rainy December day to see how many Ballardites come out to enjoy the Market when the weather is not quite so nice.

Some other neighborhood Farmers Markets:
Fremont, Sundays 10-5 (summer hours)
Wallingford, May through September, Wednesdays 3-7 PM
Madrona, May through September, Fridays 3-7 PM
Queen Anne, June through September, Thursdays 3-7 PM

Fresh veggies galore!
The wall of an old brick building next to the Ballard Loft. Elgin Watches were some of the first American-made wrist watches sold in the United States. Founded in 1864, Elgin made watches until the 1960s (http://elginwatches.org/). Thanks to J. for taking this photo.