A sure sign that spring is on its way is the annual return of downtown’s Turlock Certified Farmers Market.
And with temperatures hovering around 70 degrees for last Saturday’s season opener, who could argue?
Customers were out in full force, taking advantage of the sunshine, and stopping to browse at the nearly three dozen vendor booths that lined Main Street, selling a plethora of goodies.
Fifteen additional vendors are expected to turn out later this month, bringing the total to 49, with a dozen of those — Four Seasons Microgreens, Tegner Mill (locally grown and milled wheat flower), Charlie G Treats (toffee), Wild Willow Dog Treats, Goselog (Filipino rice bowls and lumpia), Dumbyworld (crafts), Vintage Farm Suds (custom soaps), Makeropolis (crafts), Brook’s Dipped Delights (dipped apples), The Empanada Lady, Fontana Farms, Five and Two Flower Farm, and Sakura Ramen — making their Turlock debuts.
Before even reaching the technical parameters of downtown on Saturday, shoppers could hear the dulcet tones of the Turlock Jazz Collective, featuring Jesse Alvarez on guitar, Scott Elia on drums, Ben Leonard on bass, and Bob Rasmussen on trumpet.
Just across the street was the Way of Life Farms booth, where Jake and Sandy Brannan were selling naturally farmed, soy-free, non-GMO eggs from pasture-raised chickens — $9 for a dozen eggs, and $20 for a flat of 30. They also sell a variety of seasonal fruit.
“If the price of eggs goes up to $100, we’ll still sell for $9 and $30,” said Brannan, a licensed pest control advisor. “If the price of eggs drops to $3, we’ll still sell for $9 and $30. That’s what we need to make it work, and that’s where we’ll stay.
“We have a flock of about 880 right now that we’re switching out. We’ll have about 1,300 ready to produce around October.”
Further down Main Street one could find Nayelli’s Cute Creations, where 13-year-old Nayelli Moreno, who attends Connecting Waters Charter School, sold her crocheted merchandise.
“I’ve been crocheting for just over a year,” said Moreno. “And I’ve done the Turlock Farmers Market just a few times.”
TCFM Director Nick Schuller encourages budding entrepreneurs like Moreno to give the market a try.
“If we have the space, we’ll gladly set up a booth for a kid that wants to come out and sell their merchandise,” said Schuller. “We don’t charge them. I’ll even provide them with a tent, if they need one.”
The Farmers Market is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. each Saturday.
