FARMER'S MARKET: Cornucopia of food, fun

Vendors, customers make Gardens Park a new marketplace

No matter if they were young or old, tired or energized, nearly everyone at the Gardens Park, 10401 Gardens Park Drive, was chowing down on roasted sweet corn this afternoon. The occasion was the official opening of the latest Farmer's Market, sponsored in part by Summerlin. It was held March 12.

"This is great," said Patti Boyette, a stay-at-home mom. "We live just across the street and this way we get fresh vegetables and fruit. We just love it."

Melinda Gass, a catering manager who lives within half a mile of the park, came to the park two weeks ago to see what was offered. Mostly, she said, she found crafts.

"It wasn't my expectation," she said. "There was only, like, one person selling fruit and vegetables."

This day, however, there were more than a dozen booths and some vendors using just folding tables. Most of them were selling produce. There was also a larger, though not overwhelming, crowd.

It was later learned the small start was a mixture of a soft opening and the lack of available produce because of the recent cold snap. No cold snap this day. People were in shorts and light tops.

As for produce, there were displays of nuts, honey, apples, oranges, Mexican squash, avocados, pickling cucumbers, red onions and eggplant. Going quickly were pints of huge red strawberries. There were also canned honey and fruit preserves. One table had round-top loaves of specialty breads in interesting flavors like jalapeno, lemon sage, Vienna coffee and walnut cranberry. Next to him, the cookie man made short work of any intentions of dieting.

Besides a balloon artist and masks for kids, Summerlin sent characters to occupy little tots. There was a furry Elmo, hard to miss with his red suit, Summerlin Sam and Dorothy and the straw man.

A disc jockey played great music and cranked up an Aretha Franklin tune asking for a little respect. He eventually lured a group of about 20 people into doing the "Electric Slide." Later, he handed over the microphone for brave souls to embarrass themselves with karaoke.

Ginger and Steve Johnson, the liaison between the Farmer's Market and the agriculture department, kicked off the opening by offering their "Ears to You" roasted corn free of charge.

"People don't know about us yet," Ginger said of the manageable turnout. "They have to learn what a strawberry from a field tastes like. Or eat a tomato that doesn't taste like a box."

She added that the Farmer's Markets are supported solely by the community. It's not something that draws tourists.

The Farmer's Market is planned as a weekly event that will be held each Tuesday from 3 to 7 p.m. It is sponsored and organized by the Las Vegas Farmers' Market in cooperation with the Summerlin Council, the nonprofit arm of the Summerlin Community Association. Gardens Park is located near Town Center Drive and Desert Inn Road.

The other area Farmer's Markets is held on Wednesdays at Bruce Trent Park, on the corner of Rampart Boulevard and Vegas Drive, just outside Summerlin.

Visit the Web site www.lasvegasfarmersmarket.com for more information.


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