Above: Area Farmers Markets have all reopened or will within a week. (Photos L-R of Westborough’s from Facebook and Ashland’s by Beth Melo)
Farmers Market Season is here — including an Opening Day this afternoon in a neighboring town!
While Famers Markets offer a way to get fresh, local produce without growing it yourself, they tend to focus more on small businesses offering baked/prepared foods and artisan goods. Some add entertainment to make it a fun, family-friendly outing.
There aren’t any Farmers Markets currently offered in town. So, each year, I share the info on the markets a stone’s throw away.
Neighboring Farmers Markets
For more communal markets, you don’t have to drive far to find one. There are Farmers Markets three days per week in a bordering town. Below are the area options listed by day.
Thursdays:
Westborough Farmers Market – Open today! Thursdays from 2:00 – 6:00 pm, through October 9th at Bay State Commons, 100 Union St, Westborough.
Live music accompanies 20+ vendors selling prepared foods, gifts, and more. You can find the list each week (and a map of where to locate their booth) here. Plus, last year they launched a POP (Power of Produce) Club with samples and activities to help get kids interested in eating healthy foods.
Framingham Farmers’ Market – (Opening next week) Thursdays starting June 19th (no end date specified) from 3:00 – 7:00 pm on the Village Green/Center Common (60 Edgell Road & Vernon St), parking details here.
There will be musical and entertainment. And, in July and August, they’ll bring back their own POP (Power of Produce) Club for kids.
This year they aren’t specifying the number of vendors. (Last year they promoted farms and 75+ vendors but didn’t specify how many are there on any given week.) They are promoting 10 food trucks and at least 3 prepared food tents.
Saturdays:
Ashland Farmers Market – Opening this Saturday from 9:00 am – 1:00 pm, weekly through October 18th, at 125 Front Street. (Plus a special pre-Thanksgiving event on November 22nd.)
This year they are promoting about “80 unique vendors”. Some are weekly, but others rotate through. You can check out details using these links for their food vendors and Artisans. And there are special themes and performances each week throughout the summer that you can read about in calendar.
Marlborough Farmers Market – Opening this Saturday from 9:00 am – 1:00 pm, weekly through October 4th. It’s located behind Town Hall (which appears to be a parking lot off Weed Street).
The weekly event features produce from farms, a music tent, kids activity tent, specialty foods, alcohol, artisans, and more.
Sundays:
Eastleigh Farmers’ Market – Open Sundays at Eastleigh Farm, 1062 Edmands Rd, Framingham. (No times or dates are specified this year, but it is outdoors in the summer and in their refurbished barn off season.)
In addition to the farm’s own goods, vendors are “local artisans, farms, food purveyors and local organizations”.
Hopkinton Farmers Market – Already open Sundays from 1:00 – 5:00 pm through October 5th, on the Hopkinton Common (corner of Marathon Way and Ash St).
The website offers a link to a weekly list of which food vendors and artisans are scheduled to show, along with occasional musical acts.
Further Flung
There aren’t any nearby on Mondays or Fridays, but there are markets in secondary neighboring towns to fill the gaps on two other days of the week.
Tuesdays:
Hudson opens next week on June 17th (no end date listed) and runs from 3:30- 6:30 pm at Town Hall/78 Main Street.
Wednesdays:
Grafton runs from 2:00 – 6:00 pm June 18th (no end date listed) at Grafton Common.
