A farmers market is never just about what's for sale. You may come for the tomatoes or the bread, but what keeps you coming back is something else — a conversation, a familiar face, a memory you didn't expect to make. With this issue, The Accidental Reporter is widening the lens: the vendors' stories still matter, but so do the shoppers', the grandparents', the college student discovering the market for the first time. Everyone who walks through has a story, and sometimes the most interesting one isn't what someone sells — it's who they came with, or what they remember.
This issue also marks Cadan Ziemba's actual last week at the market, not just the announcement of it. He spent it the way he's spent every week here: asking vendors a question, this time about standout food memories, and getting answers from Debbie of Know Your Roots, Rich of Lucky Hare, and Jane of JJ's Dogs & More. He also sat down with Youngiee of Three Stone Farm, the Quennell family's farm-and-folk-band operation that's opened the market's Maple Fest every season since 2009. The baton now passes fully to Pakiza, already posting video from the market to Instagram.
This is the place people can go to see other people in the community. — Youngiee of Three Stone Farm
Steady rain thinned the crowds but not the vendors. Cider from forgotten apple trees, a $30 hot dog joke, and a tablecloth stain that "represented the market perfectly."
Read the issue →Behind every Wednesday market sits a Village board, a fundraising Friends group, and a nonprofit fiscal sponsor — and a jewelry vendor who can't unbend a paperclip.
Read the issue →An orange tent hands out $25 in Market Dollars to anyone who asks. A wine tasting with Boland Thomas Vineyards, and a soggy set from Richie Stearns and Friends.
Read the issue →Inside the Library Space's evolution from book cart to craft tent, plus tinsel braiding, herbal tinctures, and a chicken bowl worth standing in line for.
Read the issue →The etymology of midweek motivation, Silo's Telekinetic Chicken, energetic jazz from MSZM, and market regulars Gabby and Hughie making their dog-friendly Wednesday rounds.
Read the issue →The Accidental Reporter launches a new weekly feature — one question, one answer, one story at a time — and formally introduces reporters Cadan and Pakiza.
Read the issue →Margaret Shepard has booked every market musician since 2011. Plus Crosswinds Farm's cow-named cheeses, On The Street Pita's Grateful Dead origins, and the market's first Community Q&A.
Read the issue →Cadan Ziemba passes the torch to Pakiza Aminulakyzy as the paper turns its focus to the community's whole food system — farms, restaurants, CSAs, and pantries alike.
Read the issue →The market widens its lens to every visitor, not just vendors, while Cadan spends his real last week collecting food memories and Three Stone Farm's homesteading story.
Read the issue →An orange tent by the stone steps hands out no-questions-asked Market Dollars to anyone experiencing economic difficulty — spendable on anything in the market, from produce to soap to a Chicago dog. It runs on donations, and this season's funds are on pace to run out before the market closes on October 28.
More than thirty farms, wineries, food producers, artisans, and local businesses set up under the pavilions each week. Here's who's currently on the roster — find them, follow them, or just go say hi on Wednesday.
Got a question for The Accidental Reporter, a vendor we should meet, or a Wednesday moment worth writing down? This is the tip line. Cadan reads every one.
Story ideas, corrections, and "you should really talk to so-and-so" tips are all welcome — that's how most of these issues started in the first place.
This edition of The Accidental Reporter is made possible with the support of our local community partners.