The Outdoor Market For Your Next Summer Friday With Your Friend Group
Summer Fridays. Sure there's the new-ish beauty company of the same name (Their tagline? "That Friday feeling for your skin."), and their treatment mask Jet Lag (for those of you wanting dewy skin, Jean Godfrey June would def approve!) which took the worlds of skincare and Sephora by storm earlier this year, but I'm talking about actual Fridays this summer in the OS. One thing you'll want to scope out is the Farmers Market at Goddard Park. Don't know about you, but for a variety of reasons (unspecified...because only on coffee number 1 while drafting this), I never seem to make it to any of those weekend markets. So, let's blame the snooze button on the phone alarm and move on to the short list of all the reasons you'll adore this end of week, open air event at GP.
It's super dog friendly. We spied lots of people with dogs (oh yeah, kids too) there last week as well as several dog bakeries, including our friends at Jack's Snacks. Great excuse to leash up the pups and go. (For the record, you'll find treats for your pups and lots more - like marshmallows, cookies, and honey - for you.)
Go green, using your plastic. No need to stress over cash. Most of the vendor accept credit and debit cards (also, snap/ebt, wic checks, and senior farmers market checks, a noteworthy iniative to encourage elderly RI'ers to shop these markets). I used a card to buy an iced coffee and a new mug from the Dave's Coffee booth - no more morning drama or back and forth over that single Dave's mug in the cupboard!
Plenty of shade. There's throwing shade, then there's the shade of a gorgeous old tree at that park. There are lots of shady ones in the vicinity of the market, and last Friday there was even a gentleman under one playing a guitar and singing.
Plant yourself. Ok, I'm really speaking to parking here, and the simple fact that there's plenty at GP. I mean, is there anything worse then getting all hyped up and excited for an event or destination, only to get there and have a mini freak-out over a lack of parking options? I think not, and not the case there.
Local produce for the win! The market at GP offers a nice, easy to navigate representation of locally farmed (Did you know there's something like 1200 farms - including everything from field crops and orchards to wetlands and aquaculture - in RI?) and in season fruits and veggies. We picked up some absolutely delicious and affordably priced native (heirloom) tomatoes, eggplant, and cucumbers, all grown without any nasty chemicals.
*Note: The Farmers Market at GP runs thru October 2018, weather permitting.