It didn’t matter that Saturday, May 3 dawned with cloudy skies, a brisk breeze and chilly temperatures.
The crowd turned out in force anyway for the first of many Morning Markets, being staged now through Sept. 27. Running each Saturday from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., the first offering of the season didn’t disappoint.
There were several fresh fruit and vegetable vendors, specialty items including sourdough bread and locally produced honey, a wide variety of merchandise booths, music by headliner Alex Lucero and more.
Staged along North Third Avenue, between E and F streets, the market also spills over into some parking lot areas and many businesses on North Third often bring their wares out in front of their shops to join in.
Michelle Fantozzi was working at the Fantozzi Honey Company booth, with the business based in Patterson.
“My parents are farmers and we just love farmers markets and getting out and meeting the local people,” Fantozzi said.
With honey, honeycomb and bee pollen, among other items, Fantozzi said the bee pollen has grown in popularity in recent years.
“Bee pollen has a lot of health benefits, a lot of people will mix it in to yogurt or ice cream or something like that, it’s kind of crunchy but it doesn’t really have a strong taste,” she explained. “It’s not as sweet as honey.”
Her personal favorite is the honey-honeycomb mix, which provides the best of both worlds, the smooth sweet honey with the slightly chewy honeycomb. Her favorite flavor, she added, is the Orange Blossom honey.
Food vendors served up everything from mini donuts to chili dogs, beverages, tamales and more.
A ‘Food & Beverage Flight Pass’ lanyard was offered for $20, available at the Market Info Booth, which allowed the buyer to redeem it for four specialty food items from among some 20 different vendors.
The OYE, Oakdale Young Entrepreneurs, area had several young artists and craftspeople selling their wares and a book giveaway also was a popular stop. Families, many with both children and dogs in tow, made their way along the street and people embraced the opportunity to reconnect with friends and neighbors and celebrate spring.
A project of Love Oakdale, Lisa Kjeldgaard said organizers couldn’t have been happier with the way the May 3 Morning Market event played out.
“It’s perfect, nice and cool, although I am missing dancing in the rain to Alex (Lucero) like I did last year,” Kjeldgaard said, chuckling.
She said that they do rotate vendors through, with about 65 vendors on hand for the opener, in addition to sponsors.
“We’re just thrilled with the way the community has responded, so thankful for them coming out; we have amazing vendors and we’re just thrilled that people are here supporting them and the businesses on Third Avenue,” Kjeldgaard said.
There are about 150 total vendors that will rotate through, she added, with some there each week and others there intermittently.
“When we started it, we just really wanted a place to build community and have shared experiences between old Oakdale and new Oakdale and I think that’s what we’re doing,” Kjeldgaard explained. “My favorite thing is watching everybody give each other hugs, they haven’t seen each other in a while … just the relationships that are being built and grown here and it’s just a fun place to be.”
