Farmers' Market

As the brilliant fall sun trickles down between crimson, copper and golden-colored leaves, some 3,000 visitors eager for fresh produce, live music and down-home fun stroll through the Bloomington Community Farmers' Market. Visitors will buy everything from ruby-red tomatoes to savory baked breads to colorful fall flowers -- not to mention hearty, plump pumpkins. \nThe Bloomington farmers' market runs May through October, Saturday mornings at the Showers Common on Eighth and Morton Streets. It's open early -- from 7 a.m. until noon -- so you better get up when the rooster crows. But this relatively short operating period doesn't mean locals must go without fresh fruits and veggies the rest of the year. For folks who can't get enough juicy Indiana watermelon or crunchy sweet corn, a Tuesday market runs from June through September, from 4 to 7 p.m.\nMore than Corn\nThe market doesn't limit itself to Indiana staple crops. It sells wild mushrooms, exotic cheeses and Bloomingfoods muffins, also. If you meander to the market's back row of vendors, you'll find an eye-popping treat in the display and goods of Susan Byers, a.k.a. "The Chile Woman." Byers, a petite, brown-haired woman dressed in a black outfit with peppers dotted over it, has gathered a small crowd, who've come to check out her assortment of red, green, yellow and orange hot peppers.\nShe has her own Web site, www.thechilewoman.com, where customers can order some of her goods, including her other equally red specialty-tomatoes.\nYou can also purchase gooey, thick honey. Becky and David Vadas own "Hoosier Honey" and sell other beeswax products like candles, lip balm and skin cream at the market. The couple boasts 200 beehives on their farm northeast of Bloomington. The buzz about their products is pretty loud, as 20 stores around the state sell their goods.\nSoft-spoken Becky Vadas enjoys the farmers' market. "It's a great way to interact with the public and to get our products out there," she says.\nEnergetic Entertainment\nEvery Saturday, the farmers' market features local entertainment, which ranges from bluegrass bands to theater groups. One morning, the Bloomington Quarry Morris dancers, dressed in black costumes with jingle bells attached to their legs, prance and skip English jigs to Celtic music. Nearby, "living statues" of various characters stand frozen -- until you drop change into the cups in front of them. Then, the statues begin to move and talk, much to the onlookers' pleasure. The human statues hail from Bloomington North High School's Advanced Acting class, and all proceeds will go towards the high school's theater program.\nA 28-Year Event\nThe farmers' market, which is sponsored by the City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation, has operated for 28 years. It first began in June 1975 in a parking lot next to the Third Street Park. It had only 23 vendors. The market relocated two more times, and in 1998 it moved to its current location at the Showers Common, where it currently boasts 75 vendors per season -- four of which have sold at the market all 28 years.\nThe market's produce is all locally grown, and most vendors pluck the produce the Friday before the market, ensuring extra freshness. \nRobin Hobson, the market's on-site coordinator, makes sure that farmers comply with the market's contract in which the primary rule is that vendors must grow what they display. Hobson and another Parks and Recreation representative inspect farms whose vendors are thought to be guilty of breaking the contract's rules. \nAn Increasingly Popular Pastime\nThe number of farmers' markets in the U.S. increased 63 percent from 1994 to 2000, reports the United States Department of Agriculture's Web site. According to the National Farmers' Market Directory, the U.S. contains more than 2,800 markets, sprinkled throughout all 50 states. Indiana boasts 57. Attendance at the Bloomington farmers' market has more than doubled since its 1998 move, Coordinator Marcia Veldman said. The market's organizers anticipate around 100,000 customers for the 2002 Saturday season alone. \nThe reason for such success is simple: People want fresh and enjoyable produce.\n"People have realized the market really has high-quality, good-tasting, fresh produce," Veldman said. "I think there's a lot more interest in culinary delight."\nHobson believes such is the result of people's interest in their food's origin. \n"The climate is very favorable to farmers' markets now," Hobson says. "People are a little more wary and a little more savvy about wanting to know where their food comes from."\nA Bright Future\nLittle doubt exists that the Bloomington Community market will continue to enjoy success. \nIronically, one of the market's on-going challenges is keeping it focused on its mission, Veldman said. She says the market is "a victim of our own success." Its prosperity has spurred many companies' interest in bringing their business to the market. The goal, she says, is to ensure the market stays a farmers' market.\nIU graduate student Amy Conner, who has visited the market several times, says it is a celebration of local resources and artistic talent.\n"The farmers' market is one example of how the people of Bloomington can enjoy one another and the fruits of the land.," Conner said.