The Lakewood Farmers Market takes an ordinary summer Tuesday and turns it into a festival with family fun to fill up an entire day. Located at the 360-acre Fort Steilacoom Park (8714 87th Avenue SW), the Lakewood Farmers Market is more than a typical event to buy your weekly produce. According to Sally Martinez from the City of Lakewood, “you can literally spend the whole day with kids, family, friends, your partner – shop the market, listen to live music, play lawn games, enjoy one of the state’s best dog parks, let the kiddos play in an amazing playground, walk/run/bike the 1-mile paved loop around Waughop Lake, grab lunch, dinner or dessert from over a dozen food trucks and market vendors, and wrap the day up listening to a live concert.”
The day begins when the market opens at 2 pm, starting June 2nd through September 1st and the possibilities open from there. June 16th will mark the first evening concert. Designed as one set of 90 minutes, each concert will be from 6:30 – 8 pm. Some of the featured performances include Journey, Cars, Neil Diamond and Queen tribute bands and other nights are highlighted by Country, Funk, Top 40 and Disco genres bands. For the concert line up, visit https://cityoflakewood.us/concerts/
“The park offers so much FREE parking, and the market is handicapped accessible with a cement promenade all the way down the center of the vendors,” said Martinez. “We are also excited to offer two kid’s days, June 23rd and July 21st, that promote youth entrepreneurs.” The Kids Market will run in conjunction with the regular market, including 20-40 booths run by children selling the products they’ve grown or made. To learn how kids can register, visit https://kidsmarkets.com/markets/lakewood
Another wonderful feature of the Lakewood Farmers Market is Healthy Bucks. Children 16 and younger can visit the City’s booth to receive a Healthy Buck, worth $2 at the produce vendors throughout the market. “Our goal is to get kids excited about eating healthy food and try some new fruits and vegetables along the way,” Martinez said.
With over 80 vendors, the Lakewood Farmers Market prides itself on its cultural diversity, especially in their food options. Many nationalities are represented from various Asian selections, to Italian and Mexican. Plus, everyone loves a good dessert, and the market has a lot of choices from funnel cakes, cheesecakes, organic ice cream and delicious baked goods.
“The Lakewood Farmers Market is like a day off for parents. They can kick back and watch their kids in safe environment,” said Martinez.
To learn more, visit https://cityoflakewood.us/farmersmarket/