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Farmers Market Rocks Surf City, USA
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Lots of festivities at traditional Farmers Market
Ask any resident of Huntington Beach about what there is to say about the fresh picked, bottled, baked, popped and arranged "green groceries" at their unique Farmers Market and the answers are uniformly "Wow." So close to the Huntington Beach Pier, it adds a hearty dash of sea salt to the air. And always a nice breeze at your back.
A longtime event open on Friday afternoons in Huntington Beach come rain or shine.
Spotted examining a very plump, multi-floreted oh-so-perfect cauliflower, Kay Goddard, retired Cal State University Long Beach professor, says she is thrilled to see the growing number of organic vendors and their insistence on a solid green growth plan. As the current President of the Huntington Beach Shipley Center, she definitely knows natural approaches to gardening.
While the website and other info says the Farmers Market is held from Noon to 5 p.m., most fruit, veggie, and flower vendors were just setting up. Selling doesn't officially seem to start til 1 pm. Must be the "code." When I asked a vendor setting out large bottles of golden honey if he carried the actual honey "comb," not just the honey, he said yes but that he couldn't sell them to me until they officially opened. Cynthia Forsthoff a long time Huntington Beach resident and part-time photographer likes to watch the vendors set up for the colors, shapes, and forms, shadows, and light.
"This is what you see in France and Italy," Forsthoff adds. "Part of the magic. Watching them set out their produce one by one, lining them up just so, arranging them for greatest impact. The lines and stacks and arrangements are just stunning. There's so much to see here with or without a camera."
Al Swift and wife Gloria are picking through the apples and strawberries. They've been residents of the HB for over forty years. They remember it "When." Before, it seems to them, "pesticides, and worries of acid rain, and fertilizer run-offs." They both grew up picking apples and lemons from their parents own backyard trees. Al has proudly grown his own tomatoes for years.
Visiting Thelma Parks of Santa Monica definitely trumped the Swifts' nostalgia with her own. Parks grew up in Brisbane, Australia on the Brisbane River on a little spit of land called Kangaroo Point. Outside her bedroom window, she picked mangos. Her father, Frank, grew bananas, guava, kiwi, oranges, and lemons. And of course, she and her sister had horses to ride the then open pastures of Kangaroo Point. "Of course we had green grocers, too."
How does this compare? All agreed that the food is fresh, the low-key location blends well with the Pier crowd and Angelinos who drive for miles to buy delicious home baked dog treats from Huntington Beach entrepreneur Dawn McCormack, owner of Salt Water Licks. The name means "Ocean Kisses" in dog language, she confides. Something she picked up from her long time surfing right here on our beaches. More than just doggie treats, there are clothing for the pups, and tee-shirts with all the key dog lover commentary.
Several booths down is Simply Layered. The owner is just setting out her line of snack size banana and pumpkin spice breads, lemon bars, and the like. And she places an elaborate, exquisitely decorated cake on display to emphasize her artistry. Her ability to customize king size deserts for parties is growing strictly by word of mouth.
Public parking is slim. However the surf side metered lot is right there. It just fills up fast. Naturally there is Pacific Coast Highway Parking and adjacent side streets...and if you're willing to walk, the public City of HB parking structures.
According to a number of national publications, Huntington Beach's own little Farmer's Market has been voted "one of the most scenic outdoor markets in Southern California and especially in Orange County."
Location: Pier Plaza Parking lot, Beach Blvd and Main St, Huntington Beach, CA 92648
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