This morning was the first downtown farmers market for the summer. It was held at Third and Curry streets, in the city-owned parking lot right across the street from the new Bella Fiore Wines. The market was a little small, only taking up two rows of the parking lot, but there were a lot of people. A few vendors were selling fresh produce, and the others were selling coffee, chocolate, plants, and arts and crafts. There was even a band, playing live music.
There wasn’t a whole lot to do at the market, but there were some good fruits and veggies, and a good excuse to get out and go downtown. I can see the market getting bigger over the summer, especially later in the year as more crops become available.
This event is also the showcase for the new “Curry Street Promenade”. The city has decided that the freeway is never going to be finished (and NDOT’s budget was just cut again), so betting on Carson Street is a losing horse. So the city instead is focusing on fixing up Curry Street, and making it the cultural center of Carson City and the place where downtown events are held. It seems to be a good idea; Curry is a much more inviting street than Carson, and for more reasons than just the traffic. There are more trees and old houses along Curry, and it’s a nicer walk. They’ve put together a whole list of reasons for you to come down to Curry Street this summer.
So I think the farmers market was a success. It will never be as big a deal as ones in some other cities, like the Pike Place Market or the Los Angeles Farmers Market. But for Carson City it’s not bad. Here are some more photos.
The Nevada Appeal has a story on the market too.
