07/13/2024
Shawnee Kansas Farmer's Market is up and running this morning at Downtown Shawnee City Hall. (Nieman and Johnson Dr). If you've never been here, just avoid the areas marked off with the cones and yes you can go against the grain of one-way traffic in the parking lot for this event on Saturday mornings from May to october. There is plentiful parking here but you can also Park on Johnson Drive or right across the street to the right of the Top Shop.
Our free community Bookmobile is set up and ready for you. Come grab a book!! Personally, we think it's one of the best kept secrets in Johnson county... but hey that's just us.
Also... Bob is here!!!! If you are not familiar, he (and his father before him!) has been selling produce in this part of town for a lot of years! He is one of just a handful of remaining generational black farmers in the state of Kansas. And the general rule around here is: IF BOB HAS IT, IT IS IN SEASON IN KANSAS!! He plants everything in land he farms about 15 minutes away from here. Right now he has corn, watermelons, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, potatoes, beets, onions, and so much more. By the end of the month there will be a much larger volume coming from fields . If you want corn, come early because it often sells out before 10 or 11am. Much of what he's selling has only been out of the ground for about an hour! He sells nothing that he purchases from a distributor. It's ALL his homegrown produce. He also tells really great stories. Ask him about the Potato King of Edwardsville!!
Barry (with Apollo, the dog) is here... he also has nothing from a distributor. The only thing he sells that he doesn't grow are the peaches and he directly gets those from the farm where they grow in missouri. Everything else on his table is something he labored over in his yard over in Argentine. This is his gazillionth year farming small in this way and it works!
Bob and Barry are also both Veterans.... which reminds me to point out that this Market is special for a number of reasons including the fact that the people selling things here are veterans, retirees, teachers that are finally on summer break and trying to make a few extra dollars, AND kids with a business idea...
We are not a large market. And that's actually a good thing! A great thing, even. Our vendors have everything you are going to need to wake up your taste buds this week -- fresh baked bread, eggs, scallions, you name it.
As per usual, I just want to get a book in your hand and if it's within your means to do so, please... bring a donation for local pet shelters or leave a donation in the mailbox hanging on the bookmobile truck. You are also always welcome to bring donated books to help repopulate the book stock.
As you've seen in past years, I put those mailbox dollars in an account and then pay out checks directly to area shelters each year. I also use a small portion of the money to purchase books in categories that have maybe been neglected. For example, infant and toddler books are not often donated because they live a rough life. Small portion of those donations makes it possible for me to buy cases of those toddler appropriate board books when we need them. 100% of the remainder goes to the shelters.
We'll be here til noon!!!
