The Columbia Heights Community Marketplace, Ward 8 Farmers Market, and Mt. Rainier Farmers Market all kick off their seasons this Saturday, June 5. Two of these markets are setting up their tents for the first time. All three markets offer both local food and a community focus.
The brand new Columbia Heights Community Marketplace will light up the new plaza at 14th Street and Park Road NW. Organizers made local foods a keystone of this weekly event, bringing in fresh produce, eggs, dairy products, meat, or baked goods that the vendors grew, raised, or prepared within 150 miles of Washington.
But that’s not all.
“[T]he Columbia Heights Community Marketplace will act as a place for local community members, organizations, and artists to come together and celebrate the diverse cultures and activities present in this neighborhood,” a press release declares, explaining that the scene is "more than a farmers market."
The “more” includes live music, dance, yoga and tai chi classes, and cooking demonstrations. The Columbia Heights Community Marketplace’s Youth Market Program combines educational activities to show neighborhood youngsters where their food comes from with opportunities to intern with nearby farms, bakeries, and vendors.
As the crowning touch, the inaugural market will unite Mayor Adrian Fenty, D.C. Council Chair Vincent Gray, and Council members Jim Graham and Kwame Brown when they kick off the opening ceremonies. Come at 11 a.m. to see these sometimes contentious figures share a stage.
The Ward 8 market, located in the heart of Congress Heights, has a social justice mission to serve the community east of the Anacostia River. As it has for the past 11 years, this market will bring fruits and vegetables to a part of D.C. where many residents do their food shopping at corner stores, where fresh foods make up just one percent of the inventory. This year, shoppers can also find herbs and plants at the farmers market, all sourced from no further than Pennsylvania and Maryland.
The market will be held every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the parking lot of the old Congress Heights School at 500 Alabama Ave. SE, near the Anacostia and Congress Heights Metro stations on the green line. The market will expand this year to include a weekday afternoon market, starting on June 8. That arm of the market will operate from the parking lot of the United Medical Center at 1310 Southern Ave. SE near the Southern Avenue Metro station on the green line. The market will run each Tuesday from 3 to 7 p.m. For the days in between, the farmers market organizers plan to continue to provide excess produce to corner store owners, who then agree to sell it at a fair price.
Right on the line between D.C. and Maryland, the Mt. Rainier Farmers Market will open for the first time this Saturday on the 3200 block of Rhode Island Avenue (NE on the D.C. side). It will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. each week. Though long known for establishments like the non-profit grocery store Glut and and the Mt. Rainier Bike Co-op, this neighborhood has yet to host a farmers market. Residents can now look to their own backyard for local produce, baked goods, bread, grass-fed meat, ice cream, tea, and coffee.
Opening day will feature live music, free tote bags, and balloons for the kids. The market’s website features community health news and links, including a weekly health tip and a guide to eating healthfully on a budget.
If you can’t make it to all three markets on the first day, not to worry. Each runs every week through the fall. The Ward 8 Saturday market runs through November 20 and the Tuesday market continues through October 26. The Mt. Rainier market also lasts through November 20. The Columbia Heights Community Marketplace does not list an ending date, but with so much community involvement, it’s sure to endure for a while.
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