Variety is the spice at Market Square Farmers Market
Butchers and bakers and candlestick makers, florists and farmers and honeybee charmers — all of those and more sell their wares at the Market Square Farmers Market on Saturdays. Though it claims Market Square, the market has long outgrown its britches, actually stretching down Union Avenue to Gay Street and across Market to Clinch.
I snatched up sweet corn and kale on my most recent foray through the market, but here are a few of the vendors on hand who tempted us with other sorts of goods.
The Oak Ridge Bird Man sells small bird feeders created on a 3D printer that can hang on your window for up-close observation. He also sells some delicious-looking suet to put in it; it looks good enough to spread on toast. I purchased one and hung it from a nail on the outside of my deck. The squirrel who got there first enjoyed the treat immensely.
Dandy Candy of Friendsville tempted my friend and I with samples of delicious homemade caramels, and of course we bit! She offers them in seven flavors from vanilla and sea salt to butter rum and apple. Didn’t sample them all, but I wanted to.
I left the house without breakfast, and the folks at Bake That Dough in Knoxville filled the hole quite nicely with a tasty cheddar and chives biscuit. That was just one of several baked goods they had ready for serving. Lots of shoppers took advantage of the abundance.
We did not indulge in the sweets coming out of the Sugar Queen Creamery booth, but we wanted to. They were selling both ice cream and baked goods that looked delicious. I wondered if the ice cream would withstand shoppers’ trip back to their cars and home because it was so hot, but it would make heavenly soup.
Voting has officially begun for the 2023 America’s Farmers Market Celebration; if you’d like to support the Market Square Farmers Market as it stacks up against markets across the country, you can cast your vote for it here.