What’s cuter than a farmer’s market?  A fledgling farmer’s market!

The NoMa (north of Mass) Business Improvement District has done a lot recently to play up the fact that we’re not just a bus station terminus anymore.  Between the Screen on the Green showings and the free live music and the new Bikeshare stations, things are looking up for NoMa.  Oh, and don’t forget Harris Teeter.  HT, I love your free samples!!  Whoooooo!

But it’s the farmer’s market we want to play up here.  It’s new, which is always attractive, but it’s also producer-only, which means exclusive.  What’s better in DC than new and exclusive?

Nothing!  Well, maybe free samples.

When I went out for the first farmer’s market last week (the one scheduled for the week before was cancelled due to torrential rain), there were only five or six booths set up.  The market honcho told me that a few of her suppliers were stuck in traffic, so this week should have about eight stalls.  A very respectable number as there were only a few people brave/crazy/adventurous/bored enough to be out in the 95 degree heat.

Present were a bakery run by a man with a French accent (kudos, I enjoy a French accent with my danish), two vegetable stalls with heads of cabbage and piles of other green leafies, a soap vendor, and a charcuterie.  As sweaty as we all were (you remember last week, right?), most people seemed happy to be there, standing in the shade of the purveyors’ stalls and considering their purchases.  The NoMa BID was on hand to give out free orange tote bags.  They’ve certainly got branding down.

I missed the guest chef appearance, but each week the market will feature a new chef.  Who will presumably do something.  Or maybe they will just be on hand, nodding and saying, Yes, I am very good at what I do.

The farmer’s market dovetails perfectly with the Screen on the Green shown on Wednesdays.  Get off the Metro at New York Ave, walk a block to the farmer’s market at M and 1st, NE and pick up some healthful munchies.  Then, walk (or bike!) yourself and your newly acquired wares over to the grassy field/rubble hill (depending on where you stand) at 2nd and K, NE for a free movie.  Your friends will say, Wow Hank, you really know how to form a productive plan.  That’s so attractive.  What are you doing after this?  Well, they may not say that exactly.

The farmer’s market will be open every Wednesday throughout the summer from 3pm to 7pm, ready to set you up wherever you’re headed.