As the West Seattle Herald first told you, the West Seattle Farmer's Market will make a major move, as they take over the streets of the West Seattle Junction Sunday June 14.
information from wsjunction.org
Starting this Sunday and into the future, Fleurt (4536 California Ave SW) will extend their Sunday hours, opening at 10am and closing at 4pm.
Click! Design That Fits (4540 California Ave SW) will be offering special discounts on some of their favorite items during market hours. Beginning with the opening day celebrations on June 14th, look for the beet icons throughout the store which will indicate the sale items for that day. The specials will rotate each Sunday throughout the summer, and are only good during Farmer’s Market hours (10am – 2pm).
Click! has market trolleys, West Seattle canvas totes, and reusable produce bags.
Click! will also be extending their hours. Starting this weekend, they will open an hour earlier, 10am to 7pm weekdays and 10am to 5pm weekends.
And these updates from WSJunction.org
1. There will be way more room to shop. Set up in the parking lot off SW Alaska Street since it began in 1999, the Market will grow from 16,000 square feet to 28,000 square feet on the street. “The current space has served us well, but we’ve just gotten too big,” said Wade Bennett from Rockridge Orchards, one of the first farmers at this market.
2. The expanded space makes room for 9 new vendors including Mariposa Farm, Left Foot Farm, Nelli Farm, Yellow Belly Farm, Starvation Alley and Seola Bee, which sells honey from hives kept in West Seattle.
3. For the first time ever, this market will have prepared food for sale, and the carefully curated cooks including Falafel Salam and Girls Gone BBQ have West Seattle roots. Loki will introduce its popular wild salmon sliders and hash featuring Olsen Farms potatoes. And the West Seattle Junction Association – big supporters of the Market and this move – are supplying some sidewalk cafe tables.
4. More than a dozen of the original market vendors will be making the move: Willie Green’s Organic Farm, Stoney Plains, Blong’s Garden, Holmquist Hazelnuts, Lee Lor Garden, Martin Family Orchards, Razey Orchards, Tonnemaker Family Orchards, Whistling Train Farm, Rockridge Orchards, Xai Cha, Youa Her and Small River.
5. This isn’t the first time the Market has set up on California. It made its first appearance on West Seattle’s main drag during Harvest Festival in 2012. “It looked beautiful and the community really loved it,” said Chris Curtis, executive director of the Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance. It’s been a regular date every Halloween weekend since, and that success planted the seed for this historic move.
6. Hurdles that had to be cleared included meeting with the city’s Department of Transportation, informing all the businesses that would be affected by the street closure and forking over hefty sums of money for new signs, street closure permits heavy duty barricades. “It’s not very glamorous, but this move is costing us about $21,000,” said Ms. Curtis.
7. There’s been unprecedented community support. “People love to come out and roam around when the streets are closed in West Seattle,” said Susan Melrose, executive director of the West Seattle Junction Association. “This move will help build on the vibrant feel, making it even more of a destination. It’s very exciting, and the businesses are very much looking forward to it.” Also, the organizers of the West Seattle Garden Tour have pledged a financial gift to help pay for some of the moving expenses.
8. This market will continue to reflect the unique West Seattle community with the regular presence of the Kiwanis Club, an organization that serves coffee to vendors as they set up, and the very popular Masters Gardeners, which draws crowds to its booth from spring to fall. Farmers also routinely make end of the day donations to the area food bank and nearby Senior Center.
9. One of the Market’s big boosters, the wine store called Bin 41, is in a perfect spot for shoppers to stop by after making their purchases and ask the knowledgeable staff about pairing recommendations.
10. Post-Market brunching will be even easier with the new set-up, as shoppers will be tempted by the sweet and savory scents coming from Junction faves like Easy Street Records Cafe, Jak’s Grill, Bakery Nouveau, Ma’Ono Fried Chicken and many more
Original post March 17
In a major expansion for the West Seattle Farmers Market, it will expand to take over the block on California Ave SW between Oregon Street and Alaska Street starting June 14.
A big party on the opening day is planned with live music, activities for children, giveaways and more still being planned.
The market, one of the most successful in the Seattle area, has been operating in the parking lot behind the Junction on 44th and Alaska ever since it was first established.
The move will mean that from a low of 30 vendors now it will expand to 50, have room for a performance and announcement space, room for the numerous non-profit organizations to educate and engage the public and more room for the Master Gardeners. Their presence at the West Seattle market has been their most successful.
Chris Curtis of SeattleFarmersmarkets.org said that they have been working with the City of Seattle and the West Seattle Junction Merchants Association on the plan for months. "It won't impact bus service much because most of the busses don't travel north south through the junction and the east west travel on Alaska won't be affected," she explained.
The METRO bus routes that serve the Junction and the Farmers Market are #21, 22, 37, 54, 55, 56, 57 and the Water Taxi.
Parking however will be forbidden on Sundays, and that includes those who might choose to leave their cars parked there overnight on Saturday. They will first be ticketed and then towed.
To alert drivers and others to the new status, new signs will go up notifying about the new hours of no parking on that block on Sunday, which will be 7am to 4pm. The market itself will still be open from 10am to 2pm.
Banners to further let people know are being discussed.
Last year more than 73,000 shoppers attended the West Seattle Farmers Market. That number is likely to go up with expanded offerings and more vendors. Through it all, the farmers continued their philanthropic practice of donations to the local food banks, giving away more than 9000 pounds of food in 2014.
For more information about the market including what's fresh and in season visit www.seattlefarmersmarket.org .
