The bounty at Urbana's Market at the Square. The 2010 market season opens on Saturday, May 1. Photo by Amy L. Hatch
by Amy L. Hatch
My favorite season in Chambana is just days away. No, not spring. No, not summer.
My favorite season is market season, and lucky for me — and everyone else in town, really — the Urbana Market at the Square opens on Saturday, May 1.
Chambanamoms.com sat down with Lisa Bralts-Kelly, the market’s director, for the skinny on the 2010 season.
Chambanamoms: What makes Urbana Market at the Square such a great place for families?
LBK: Urbana’s Market at the Square is the ultimate family destination — it’s free and open to the public, there are things to buy that you can eat, there are things to buy that aren’t edibles but are one-of-a-kind, it’s a place where friends run into each other, the people-watching is stellar — and that’s not even getting into the array of musical performers that visit us or the programming we offer for kids.
Sprouts at the Market is probably our most popular programming addition to the Market. We offer kids and their caregivers the chance to taste fresh fruits and vegetables grown right here in Illinois and kids can often meet the farmer who grew them.
Chambanamoms: What kind of produce can we expect in the months of May and June, pending any weather crisis?
LBK: The weather has been largely cooperative thus far, which is terrific. As long as we don’t have a freak freeze, there will be plenty of strawberries in May and June, as the asparagus wanes.
Greens will still be in abundant supply. There will be plenty of radishes, green onions, maybe some leeks, currants, gooseberries, and shallots. The end of June brings ample rewards — depending on weather, peaches, nectarines, and berries of all kinds will start to become available.
Chambanamoms: There’s so much talk about getting local food from the farm to the table these days. Why should we care about where our food comes from?
LBK: Eating food is something everyone does, and in my opinion, we should all know as much as possible about where it comes from and how it was produced, because those things affect our health, our environment, and our pocketbooks.
That’s why the Market is so awesome – it’s so easy to ask a farmer about their growing practices, or how far the produce is traveling to get to the Market, or what kinds of things the chicken or the beef or the goats eat.
Chambanamoms: What is different this year at the Market?
LBK: We’ll be having a couple additional Sprouts at the Market events. The extra events will be in May and October, and will focus on other part of the food system besides harvesting and eating. The nutrition/farm linkage/tasting events will be happening in June, July, August, and September.
We’re also starting a new informational campaign called “Eat Here,” which will educate eaters about the many benefits of shopping for and eating local foods. We have several new vendors — produce, prepared foods — I think the new vegetarian hot food vendor, Veggie Trails, will be really popular — and artisans.
Also of May 8, we’ll also be accepting credit, debit, and LINK cards, serving as the point of sale for the Market’s LINK or debit/credit tokens, which can be used anywhere in the Market. Just come to the City tent at the northwest entrance to the Market for more information or to use your plastic!
Chambanamoms: How many people come through the market each year?
LBK: Urbana’s Market at the Square is a busy place – last year we averaged almost 7,000 patrons visiting each weekend. Patron attendance at the Market has risen every year for the last five-plus years, and so has vendor attendance. Last season was the first season in the Market’s history where we had vendor waiting lists on some weekends.
Chambanamoms: Are there any festivities for the opening day?
LBK: Since we open the same day as the Illinois Marathon, which is an enormous event, we don’t have any festivities planned. We just want people, both local and visitors, to brave the traffic and delays and come out to support their local farmers, food producers, and artisans!
The Market at the Square is located in the parking lot of Lincoln Square Village at the corner of Illinois and Vine streets in Urbana. Hours of operation are: Saturdays, 7 a.m. to 12 p.m., rain or shine.
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