Farmers Market
Our town of Sammamish has a small Wednesday night Farmers Market that runs from early May through late September. I’m not sure what it is about this simple weekly event, but my kids and I LOVE going each week. Issaquah, the town next door, has a Saturday market that we’ve gone to as well. But something is different about the Wednesday market. Maybe it’s because it’s smaller, or it’s because we always seem to run into someone we know, or maybe it’s the fact that going gives me the night off from cooking dinner! Whatever it is, this summer weeknight event is one of our favorite things. Read on for how we specifically do the Sammamish Farmers Market, but also for some tips on visiting any local Farmers Market.
General Itinerary:
3:30 – Arrive at Farmers Market and park in Commons Parking spots (if busy, I like parking next door at Mary Queen of Peace – there’s a nice little path behind Arbor School that gets you over to the Commons and helps avoid busy 228th)
3:30-3:45 – Load up stroller, lather up kids with sunscreen, get them geared-up for the skate park
3:45-4:45 – Skate park and playground, or library and playground if the skate park isn’t your thing
4:45-5:15 – Wander through market – buy produce, fruit to enjoy with dinner, and dinner itself
5:15-5:45 – Dinner on the lawn, listening to live music, kids play in grass
5:45 – Wander back into market for a dessert treat
6:15 – Head home
Bring:
Stroller for toddlers – typically, when my kids hit about age 3 or 3.5 I’ll let them walk in the market – but until then, it’s so much better to have them strapped into a stroller. I can look at the stands and produce knowing they’re safely tied down
Picnic Blanket
Cash – most stands take credit card, but you never know. Plus I let the kids each have $5 for their dessert – nice little summer math lesson when we figure out how much change they’ll get
Scooters, Balance Bikes, Helmets and Wrist/Elbow/Knee pads for skate park
Sunscreen and Hats
Soccer ball or football for using on the grass, basketball for playground (but the hoop is at full height…)
Zip loc bags for leftovers
Extra bag (like a reusable grocery bag) for purchases at the market
Wet wipes, wet wipes, wet wipes
Water Bottles
Note: I store the majority of this stuff in my “Farmers Market Bag” and keep it at the ready in the back of my car. It sits next to my “Swimming Pool Bag” and my “Extra Snacks, Sunscreen, and Water Bag”
Don’t Bring:
The Dog – most Farmers Markets won’t allow dogs, but even if they do, why do that to yourself!?!
Lawn Chairs – you can if there’s someone in your party that needs one, but generally most people just sit on the grass
Weather:
The Sammamish Farmers Market is at the Sammamish Commons, a newer area with younger trees. Translation: not a ton of shade. The shade is decent in the grassy area where we eat dinner, but the skate park, playground, and pavilion area are in direct sunlight. I honestly don’t go to the market on days higher than 80 degrees. If you’re looking for me, I’ll be at the pool
Details:
I have 3 boys. Our outings sometimes feel super chaotic. I love when I find an activity that subscribes to my preferred motto of “Keep it Simple”. Something about an afternoon at the Farmers Market hits this perfectly for us. Now don’t get me wrong, we’re still bringing plenty of chaos to the market. A fellow boy mom and I once burst into laughter watching our boys wrestling in the grass while a mom and two girls sat calmly in the background, eating their picnic dinner (mess free), watching our sons in shock! But maybe that’s why I like the market: it’s a low key, somewhat cultural event where my boys can still be themselves.
Our Sammamish Farmers Market doesn’t technically start until 4:00, but we usually get there a bit early and hit up the playground and skate park before we wander into the market itself. Now if you have kids who scoot or balance bike and you haven’t taken them to a skate park, get to it! It’s so much fun. If you are new to this, I’d suggest going at a really off time for your first visit. There are a couple of layers to learning how to navigate a skate park:
Step 1: being able to go up and down the slopes and hills within the park itself
Step 2: strong peripheral vision skills so you don’t run into anyone!
Once you’re comfortable with your kids ability to handle themselves, going at a slightly busier time is a little less frightening. I like to add another layer of safety by covering every inch of my children’s bodies in some kind of pad: wrists, elbows, knees, heads (of course). They are definitely the only children there with this much protection… but they haven’t noticed this fact and I’m just not interested in a broken wrist during summer… knock on wood…
Now this particular skate park is very friendly to young kids, especially on the southern side of the park. Not all skate parks are. In Sammamish, there are definitely older kids (and even grown ups) in the mix too, but everyone finds a way to share the park. My 3-year-old tares it up on his balance bike. Even my 1.5-year-old will go out on his little bike if it’s not too crowded.
There’s a small little playground just next to the skate park and a basketball hoop that will keep my kids entertained for about 15 minutes. We also like to head into the library, use the potty, and grab some books to read on our picnic blanket after dinner.
Around 4:45 we’ll wander through the market, look at the stands, grab some produce, and decide what everyone wants for dinner. The Sammamish Farmers Market does their made-to-order food via food trucks. We normally go for the pizza at Pompeii Wood Fired Pizza. Be sure to grab extra napkins, extra plates, and knives for additional ‘kid-cuts’. This is a time where having that stroller is handy – I just pile everything on top of my BOB and we head to the shaded grass on the west side of the City Hall Plaza. There’s usually live music in this area as well.
I’m pretty casual with the kids and their eating – if they want to get up and run around for a bit, that’s fine. We sort of follow the “eat 3 bites, run 3 laps, eat 3 bites, run 3 laps…” approach to dinner. If I have some new library books to read I can usually get them to sit still a bit longer.
After a while we’ll wander back into the market. Sometimes there’s a fun kids activity to check out, like a petting farm, craft project, or truck to climb on. I give the kids each $5 to pick out a dessert.
Last summer we took our talents to the Wallingford Farmers Market at Meridian Park and had a really great time. There’s no skate park, but the playground is much more substantial. One drawback: there were a lot of campers from the Good Shepherd Center that weren’t very well chaperoned, I felt like I had to really keep an extra close eye on my kids.
But overall, I used the same approach and packed the same gear for this Market visit, and it was definitely a success. So hopefully this information will prove to be helpful when you take your kids to your local Farmers Market. Or maybe come to Sammamish and have a bit of an adventure to ours!
Links:
Sammamish Farmers Market: http://www.sammamishfarmersmarket.org/
Sammamish Library: https://kcls.org/locations/1534/
Wallingford Farmers Market: http://www.sfmamarkets.com/visit-wallingford-farmers-market
Destination Address:
Sammamish Farmers Market: 801 228th Ave SE, Sammamish, WA 98074
