The Oak Park Farmers Market, one of my favorite things in our community, is held on Saturdays, mid-May through October, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the parking lot of Pilgrim Church, 460 Lake St., one block west of Ridgeland Avenue.
When I asked Jack Carmody, the Farmers Market manager what his favorite thing about the market was, he said, “I personally love the fact that our market provides a space for people to build community and access fresh goods that may not be available to them otherwise. We have a space just outside our market for people to eat, relax, connect, and listen to live music.”
I totally agree. Going to the market is like gathering in a town square — visiting with old friends, people-watching, and buying produce that tastes so much better than anything I can buy at the supermarket.
Last year during the market season, I did monthly columns on various activities and vendors at the market. This season, I’ve been to the market every Saturday since it opened on May 18. I was pleased to see many vendors selling strawberries and learned that the mild winter provided early yields for different produce. Corn is not expected to be ready until mid-July, peaches not till late July/early August.
Many people linger at the northwest corner of the Pilgrim Church lot, enjoying the music. When I interviewed Ben Stark, a longtime member of the Farmers Market Band, he told me there are no try-outs; the musicians choose songs going in a circle with each member choosing a song to lead.
“Since each person has his or her own musical likes,” Ben said, “this leads to a large variety of songs.” The Farmers Market Band tends to concentrate on bluegrass, fiddle tunes (instrumentals from the British Isles, Appalachia and other parts of the U.S.) sometimes called “Americana” music. The main instruments are guitars, banjos, mandolins, and fiddles, but there are also accordions, ukuleles and harmonicas. The band plays near the line for the homemade donuts that benefit local organizations and listeners like me get to hear the music while inhaling the fragrance of freshly-made donuts.
Have you noticed the small Oak Park Township bus parked on Lake Street? According to Pamela Mahn, director of Oak Park Township Senior Services, “Oak Park and River Forest seniors and people with disabilities can reserve a curb-to-curb ride to and from Farmers Market. A seat in our comfortable township bus can be reserved by calling 24 hours to 7 days in advance at 708-383-4806. The suggested donation is $1 per ride per passenger.” She told me 298 rides were provided during the 2023 Farmers Market season.
Jack Carmody wanted me to remind our readers that there are a variety of coupons available for LINK users, matching each dollar they spend up to $25.
Special events to look forward to include the corn roast on Aug. 10, the pie bakeoff on Sept.7 and Stone Soup on Oct. 26, the last day of the Oak Park Farmers Market for this year.
I look forward to seeing you on Saturdays.
Joy Aaronson is an Oak Park resident who previously contributed to Chicago Parent and wrote the Kids’ World column for the former Logan Square Free Press.