Farmers Market

Being that this was my first farmers market, I had no idea what to expect. I was told that it was just a a big gathering where you can buy fresh food. But I though well, why not just go to Kroger and get your groceries there? There was huge difference between the farmers market and just an ordinary grocery store. The farmers market was much more than just a bunch of people selling fresh fruits and veggies. Not only was there the fresh products, but also live music and entertainment along with different hand made jewelry, soap, puppets, and community involvement booths. I noticed that the music that was being performed was very lively and participatory music. While the performers were performing the African music there was a dancer that came out into the audience and showed people how to do the dance that she was performing. You could see all age groups participating in this dance. I also noticed that the farmers market was a very safe environment. Parents were letting there children roam with no adult supervision. There were also many pets at the market as well which showed the laid back atmosphere of the farmers market.

There was so much to take in while first entering the farmers market. First you see the different age groups and people, then you see the fresh fruit and vegetables that farmers from all around came to share with the town of Bloomington. You also see the hand made jewelry, puppets, poetry, and live music that is there to accompany the fresh arrange of food. I also observed how open each booth owner to talking to us. The african musical talked with us for a good 30 minutes just simply explaining to us the love he had for playing and being able to entertain the different people and families that came to the farmers market. He continued to discuss how he feels peace when he plays the drums for the african melody. He said that most african drummers have to play for hours upon hours and barely change a beat. He explained that every couple of minutes he tries to change the beat or pace of the drums so that people can see the different sides of the song instead of the same monotonic sound that is played for hours upon hours.

In the end I drew the conclusion that the farmers market was not only an ordinary market, it was a place to go to get more involved with the community by listening to music, buying fresh food, and buy visiting the different booths. The booths that were set up at the market were a real help to the community because this information that was in these different booths were accessible to anyone that wanted to see them. The farmers market was just an overall relaxing and helpful environment.