The number of farmers’ markets in the Ottawa area seems to be multiplying faster than the Art-Is-in Bakery stall sells out of cinnamon buns on a Sunday morning. Which is to say — fast!
Last night Linda Cook, the Market Manager for the Ottawa Farmers’ Market at Lansdowne Park told me they have been quietly preparing to launch their second satellite location, and more locations are in the works. A market was set up in Orleans last year, and now a small 13-vendor market will be erected in the parking lot of Bayshore Mall on August 3. Cook says Westboro might be next.
The Bayshore location is a six-week pilot project that was initiated by the shopping centre management. “They approached us and asked us about setting up a market,” says Cook. “They had been getting requests from visitors but also from staff and neighbours for fresh food.” She says there are currently no food stores in Bayshore and the closest full-service grocery store is 6-7 km away. [Though the offerings are not necessarily local, fresh produce lovers should note that the city’s newest Farm Boy location is just 2.5 km away at 1495 Richmond Rd.]
Except for Art-Is-In Bakery, which Cooks admits is a huge draw for customers at both Lansdowne and Orleans, all of the Bayshore vendors are farmers — 100 percent local producers — selling their own fresh produce and meat that has been grown and raised within 100 km. “We are opening at the pick of the season and are hoping it will be very successful,” she says.
When: Sundays from 8 a.m.- 3 p.m.
Where: Parking Lot #4 at Lansdowne Park on the north side of the Aberdeen Pavilion.
Orleans Market
When: Fridays from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Where: In the plaza on Centrum Blvd. located off St. Joseph Blvd, just east of the Place d’Orléans shopping mall.
Bayshore Market (starts August 3, pilot project runs for 6 weeks)
When: Wednesdays from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Where: Bayshore Shopping Centre parking lot outside The Bay near the transit station
Several other unrelated markets operate on Saturdays, including:
- Kanata Farmers’ Market, 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
- Quartier Vanier Outdoor Market 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
- Main Farmers’ Market, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
- Little Italy Market, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.