Provo Farmers Market

I was not too thrilled about the farmers market held in downtown Provo. It felt more like a swap meet because all craft projects people were trying to pawn off on others. In Oregon, where I am from, a farmers market is just what the name suggests, local farmers and produce growers coming together to sell their goods. It is a place where members of the community can support each other by buying healthy products that they would otherwise have purchased in grocery stores. Now don’t get me wrong, I thought the idea of Provo’s farmer market was great, it is just that I only saw maybe a handful of vendors actually selling goods that that were locally grown. All other vendors wanted to sell other products such as a Texas pulled pork sandwich or a knitted sweater. The atmosphere of the market was great though. Even though I did hear some vendor complaining of the market being slow on that particular day, it seemed that individuals who did show up were generally interested in what vendors had to sell. I have always though it is important for the community to support locally owned markets and stores and that is exactly what is occurring at this market in downtown Provo. What I also thought was neat about this particular market is the diverse group of individuals who attend the market as well as the vendors. You saw vendors selling Texas pulled sandwiches next to vendors selling Mexican food while other vendors were selling oriental foods. You also saw a mixed group of individuals supporting such vendors and really enjoying these foods from different cultures. The generosity of the vendors was also something that was special to the Provo farmers market. Many vendors wanted to offer free sample of their products to individuals just strolling by their tables. This generosity may also work to the benefit of the vendor so that you come back for more the following weeks. Now, my favorite part of going to the market was the car show that was going on right along side the swap meet. I grew up building dune buggies from old broken down Volkswagens and was enthralled by the upgrades that many of the Volkswagen had gone through to make them an even better vehicle. It was fun to converse with the owners of the vehicles, learn exactly what they had done to their VW’s , and share with them my own experience playing with Volkswagens as a kid. Every individual that I spoke to seemed to really care as well as didn’t mind answering questions that I had for them. The local band playing at the market was also a special touch. The music seemed to liven up the mood and turn the market into more than just a transaction between sellers and consumers. All and all, the market was an enjoyable experience. The mood of all individuals were light and everyone seemed to be as nice to each other as possible. This market is definitely an important function for the city of Provo. It is a place were community members can come together and support the causes of others who are trying to improve themselves or support another cause.