It is always wonderful to see the Lake Forest Park Farmers Market from a fresh perspective. And it is even better when someone new to the neighborhood falls in love with one of our community’s greatest resources. Please welcome Cybele O’Brien, and enjoy this account of her first summer in the Pacific Northwest.
As a newcomer to Lake Forest Park, there are many things I can immediately point to as highlights of my new neighborhood: easy access to the lake, proximity to the Burke-Gilman trail, the friendly, small-town feel in the Center. But perhaps most of all, I had the good fortune to move here with a little over a month left in the Farmer’s Market season.
A dear friend from college looked up my new address when I sent it to her, and went about trying to find a nice housewarming gift for me. What she found was the Third Place Commons, and a wonderful woman named Constance who worked with her to provide me with a surprise gift of 150 tokens to spend at the Sunday market.
So it was that on my second weekend in my new apartment, I walked up the road to the Lake Forest Center with a bag full of wooden tokens and an ambitious shopping list. For those of you who have never used tokens at the market (I never had before), it is incredibly fun. It reminded me of a childhood trip to Disneyland, back when they gave you a book of paper tickets to pay for rides. There is something about faux money that makes shopping into a childlike joy again.
I’ve been to several farmer’s markets around Seattle, and this is definitely one of my favorites. I have yet to want something I couldn’t find here––peppers, artisan cheese, fresh eggs, berries, ice cream, live music, an alpaca petting zoo…you name it. Not to mention, I have become addicted to starting my Sunday morning with a crepe from the Crepe Master.
The season is nearing a close, and it will be a sad day when I can’t walk across the street for my week’s veggies on Sunday morning. It will definitely give me a reason to look eagerly forward to next summer, though.
I’m sure I have many more things to discover about my new neighborhood, but perhaps I can offer this bit of insider knowledge that even the locals may not know. If you are looking for a way to make someone’s day (and every Sunday for a while after that), the Farmer’s Market tokens are a great gift!