It’s not truly summer until farmers markets are in full swing.
We’re still several days out from the official start of summer on Wednesday, but you can now hit a Snohomish County market nearly every day of the week: There’s Lake Stevens on Wednesdays, Snohomish on Thursdays, Stanwood on Fridays, Arlington on Saturdays and downtown Everett on Sundays. I’m calling it close enough.
As of last week, add two more stops to your tour. With the opening of a brand-new Friday market in Marysville and the triumphant return of Everett Station’s Wednesday market, shoppers turned out amid both rain and shine to nab choice produce, belly-warming snacks and handicrafts galore. Read on to get excited about the reason for the season.
Wednesday: Everett Station Farmers Market
Missed this hidden gem during its long pandemic-era hiatus? After a drizzly first day back on June 7, the Everett Station market really got back up and running after a three-year pause with a lovely, sunny second week.
Vendor tents lined the turf yard across from the station, selling early summer greens and berries, glassware, candles and more. This week, market vendors were joined by nonprofits, utilities and service providers from around the county as part of Everett Station District Alliance’s Town Hall Day.
But the first thing that caught my attention as I entered the market was the smell of meat sizzling on the grill, the quintessential scent of summer. What I actually caught a delicious whiff of was a booth selling treats for dogs — but wait, I can explain.
Pawsome Goodies and Treats makes single-ingredient snacks for pups out of fresh ingredients such as beef liver and pork loin, and in the warm mid-afternoon sun, the baggies of meaty treats exuded a delectable smell. The dogs strolling the market with their owners clearly agreed with me — two Corgis and a wrinkly tan puppy stopped by for samples while I chatted with owner Joe Tait.
Tait turns restaurant-grade meat into what is essentially jerky for dogs, but without all the teriyaki goodness.
“Try a bite,” Tait told me, breaking off a morsel of a pork loin treat. And honestly, with the amazing fragrance in the air, I needed surprisingly little convincing.
He sent me home with a few samples for my picky pup to try at home, but if I really want to find what she likes the most, I should stop by their storefront in Duvall, he told me. She’d have the whole store to sniff through.
A couple booths down, Hayton Farms provided me with the dessert for my olfactory smorgasbord: baskets of plump red strawberries made the air around the stall thick with syrupy green sweetness. At this point in the season, strawberries are the only option, employee Regan Marsh told me, so it’s a good thing they looked so perfect.
Just a couple of weeks from now, though, Hayton Farms will start loading up raspberries and blueberries to bring to market from Mount Vernon along with the strawbs. My mouth is already watering.
Everett Station Farmers Market, 2333 32nd St., across from Everett Station. Open 2 to 6 p.m. Wednesdays through Aug. 16. For more information, go to everettstationfarmersmarket.com.
Spring Creek Lavender sells lavender lemonade at the Marysville Farmers Market on Friday, June 9, 2023, in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Friday: Marysville 3rd Street Farmers Market
They say it’s good luck if it rains on your wedding day, right? The newest addition to the county’s roster of summer markets must be blessed, because its grand opening on June 9 was an unseasonably wet one. I was forced to completely destroy my minimal PNW street cred by carrying an umbrella as I perused the tents lined up along Marysville’s Third Street.
Lynn Monson, owner of Living Organically bakery in Marysville, said she was personally relieved for the rain, if a little disappointed it was falling on her first day selling baked goods at the market. Business was slower than she’d expected as a result, but a steady stream of patrons still flowed in and out of Monson’s stand, leaving with gluten-free and vegan nutty butter cookies and keto bagels in hand.
The rain created the perfect ambience for ducking into Purple Robe Lavender Farm’s covered trailer, where the lush, powdery smell of lavender bloomed moodily from every corner.
Two puppies watch Nova Whitt, 2, eat a cookie at the Marysville Farmers Market on Friday, June 9, 2023, in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
The farm’s merch includes lavender-infused cleaning products, toiletries, scent diffusers and more — enough to keep your home, car and armpits smelling like a beautiful purple garden all summer long — but I was most fascinated by the cooler bearing crisp lavender lemonades and a selection of floral-infused ice creams.
Didn’t get tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras tour? Drown your sorrows in Lavender Haze, a collab between Purple Robe and Seattle’s Sweet Alchemy Ice Cream that features a delicate pale purple, flower-scented base studded with dark chocolate freckles. (“Midnights” record on repeat not included.)
A Hayton Farms strawberry vendor reads a book during the Marysville Farmers Market on Friday, June 9, 2023, in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Marysville’s new market is a foodie’s paradise on a midweek afternoon, drawing many of the county’s most beloved food trucks. Appropriately for the dark and stormy weather, shoppers had options for a cozy carb craving, from cheese-filled Russian crepes at Blinchiki to steaming spicy dumpling soup from the aptly-named Cute Dumplings stand. I beelined for the samosa chaat at The Food Atlas, with a fresh and fruity mango lassi to bring a little sunshine to the rainy summer day.
Marysville 3rd Street Farmers Market, at the corner of Third Street and State Avenue. Open 2 to 6 p.m. Fridays through Aug. 25. For more information, go to marysville3rdstfarmersmarket.com.
Riley Haun: 425-339-3192; riley.haun@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @RHaunID.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
Gallery
