The downtown outdoor market season rolled out gently Saturday morning with the 2019 debut of the Penticton Farmer's Market in the 100 block of Main Street. And for a number of reasons, it was the ideal time to get out there and meet your local farmers and artisans.
For starters, the weather was fantastic. Spring had indeed sprung. But more importantly, the adjacent Downtown Community Market in the 200 and 300 blocks of Main won't fire up for another couple weeks. So the crowds - and the parking - were far easier to brave than they'll be later in the year.
Katherine Harris is the brand new market manager, and she was on the scene along with assistant manager Carla Hick and volunteer Lynne Jones to chat with the vendors and the visitors to ensure the new season gets off on the right foot.
"It was a super late start to spring," she said, "so some of our vendors are a little late getting started."
"A lot of out farmers have stock from last season, or grow things in greenhouses to start off with then transplant it when the weather gets nice, but with the late snow everything's a little late. Some of them won't be here 'til next week or the week after."
Harris may be new to the position, but she's a veteran of the popular event. "Erin Trainer was running the market for the previous six seasons. But I've been working in collaboration with her for the past few years, helping out whenever she needed an extra hand."
"So when she stepped down, I moved in. It's been great. I was born and raised here and I know a lot of the vendors already."
And she's a big fan of the market's overriding stipulation - that all produce, baked goods, and merchandise must be made or grown locally by the vendor selling it. "I have a lot of respect for the fact that you come down here and buy your produce and you get to know the people behind it, and that they're making it their livelihood, and really care about it too."
With the comparatively light vendor turnout and the absence of the Downtown Community Market next door, Saturday's launch had a distinctly casual vibe. Sellers had more time to chat, and visitors took the opportunity to delve in a little deeper.
Arguably the busiest booths were those involving (gasp!) alcohol.
Grant Stevely at the Dubh Glas Distillery tent regularly dispensed his Noteworthy Gin to a happy crowd of a dozen or more. Ditto with the equally comedic Mike Nagy at the Tin Whistle setup just down the road.
Neil Terry, better known locally as "The Stickman," said he's been displaying and selling his selection of carvings at the Penticton Farmer's Market for the past seven years.
"I really like this market because everything has to be handmade or significantly altered by the artisan who's selling it."
One of The Stickman's most distinctive works Saturday was an elongated head carved from the wood of a fir tree. "It's actually a chunk of fir, scrap wood from the sawmill here in town at P&E Lumber."
"Pretty much everything I have is found wood or driftwood. Same thing with my carved signs - they're cutoff slabs from the sawmill. This one I started with a chainsaw and finished off with gouges and chisels."
A bit later at the "What the Fungus" kiosk, we bore witness to some of the wildest looking edible mushrooms we've ever seen. And all around us were the smells and the sights and the sounds we've waited all winter to once again experience.
The Penticton Farmer's Market runs every Saturday from now to the end of October. It'll be a solo gig again next weekend, then on May 4th the Downtown Community Market joins in for full-on market-mania throughout the spring, summer, and fall.
