Written by: Jude Bokovoy

Saturdays in the spring are made to be spent at a farmers market. Why not shop local at the Independence Saturday Market? From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., fresh produce, crafts and baked goods are up for grabs. To make the day even more special, take a ride there on the Monmouth-Independence Trolley. The first market is in the parking lot of Umpqua Bank right next to the main four-way stop in downtown Independence. The second has a different schedule and can be found in front of the fountain at the Independence Riverfront Park. Below are vendor options from the first market on the first Saturday of May. Bringing cash is highly recommended. 

Vendors may include but are not limited to:

Lucky Crow Farm LLC — This may be a familiar name because of their other location at the Corvallis Farmers’ Market. They sell assorted plants from big beef tomato starts, to acorn winter squash.

table of (dis)contents — Pick up a custom cutting board made by hand, using traditional pre-industrial joinery methods.

BACKYARD BOUNTY — Make friends with the booth owners, Lester Todd and Connie Silverstien. One will find assorted pickled items, jams and a few plants. Because both are over the age of 80, it was explained that Silverstien’s granddaughter does all of the gardening and that the couple does all the pickling. When asking for a website, they simply replied that Todd has a flip phone, Silverstein has a smartphone and that neither of them have a computer, stating “we’re dinosaurs.”

Sunreach — One will discover an assortment of mushrooms personally grown in Falls City, Oregon. Even if mushrooms aren’t of interest, that doesn’t mean that one can’t stop to admire their beauty. 

Marti Sohn — Taking up two booths, one for winter crafts and the other for spring gardening, one can be sure to find a treasure. On the craft side there are tea cups made into candles from following a Martha Stewart craft book. On the other side, there is a variety of jams including blueberry, currant, jalapeno pepper jelly and pear butter. 

Other booths that can be found include: Randa’s Makings, EM’S TREATS N’ TRINKETS, Dysfunctional Kin Co., Seed To Bloom, Nyx Creature Shop and BIG POPPER KETTLE CORN.

Take the time to stop by and see for oneself. 

Contact the author at howllifestyle@mail.wou.edu