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Summer is here and it's time to spend a beautiful weekend morning exploring the vivid colors and wonderful aromas that are a Farmers' Market. My mom used to bring me to the Larimer County Farmers' Market when we first moved to Fort Collins. Those Saturday mornings helped me love fruit and vegetables. Like most kids, I didn't want to eat vegetables, but you just can't help sampling them as you walk around. Plus the vendors made them sound so tasty! The Farmers' Market also made me fall in love with sunflowers. I remember this booth with beautiful large sunflowers that were so deep and rich in color. They didn't look like any sunflower I had every seen before. They truly looked like something out of a painting, and so began my love affair with flowers and gardening. Now, 20 years later, I still look forward to the spring when the Farmers' Markets set up shop in parking lots all over town. What's even better is that I can take my son to walk around and hope that perhaps he'll find a little of that excitement and relaxation that I found so many years ago.
There are a number of markets in Larimer County. These include the Larimer County Farmers' Market, located in the Oak Street parking lot on Remington Street between Oak and Olive in Old Town Fort Collins. It's open Saturdays July 7th to October 13th from 8am to 12 Noon. The market is operated by Larimer County Master Gardener volunteers, who are also available to answer your gardening questions!
The Drake Road Farmers' Market, located at 802 Drake Road, is open Saturdays April 21st to October 13th from 10am to 1pm. The Fort Collins Farmers' Market, located on the southwest corner of Harmony and Lemay, is open Wednesdays and Sundays, June 16th to October, from 11am to 3pm. The Loveland Farmers' Market is located in the Hobby Lobby parking lot, on the corner of Hwy 287 and Orchard. The hours are 11am-3pm, May through October. There are also markets in Estes Park (located at 470 Prospect Village Drive, open Thursdays from 8am-12:30pm, from June 7 through September 27) and Berthoud (3rd and Mountain Ave., Thursdays, 3pm-7pm, June 21 through October 11).
This season the Larimer County Farmers' Market will be accepting debit cards and Colorado Quest EBT cards to purchase Market Bucks and food stamps, respectively. The Colorado Farmers Market Association (CFMA) received a USDA grant that has enabled several markets in Colorado to obtain the necessary equipment needed to process debit and EBT cards. This opens opportunities for individuals who were not able to afford to shop at farmers' markets, as well as increases revenue for the Colorado Farmers. It truly is a win/win situation for everyone involved. To find a market that accepts EBT transactions, visit coloradofarmers.org/find_a_market.htm
So jump into the car this weekend and head down to one of your local farmers' markets and make some beautiful memories of your own. Happy shopping!
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