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Farmers Markets
updated: Oct 23, 2010, 8:30 AM

By the dedicated staff

If you want to experience something uniquely local and fresh during your trip to Santa Barbara, the best place to go is one of the area Farmers Markets.

Held in various communities around the area on a regular schedule, Santa Barbara's Certified Farmers Markets feature fresh produce, foods and flowers from our area and beyond (some vendors travel from as far as the Central Valley, Ventura County and northern San Luis Obispo County to sell at the markets because they are so well attended).

The two biggest weekly markets are downtown on lower State Street (500-600 block) on Tuesday afternoons starting at 4 p.m. (3 p.m. after daylight savings time ends) and downtown at the corner of Santa Barbara and Cota Streets on Saturday mornings starting at 8:30 a.m. It's not just a market, but a local block party, where friends meet and greet, restaurants load up on farm fresh supplies, and street entertainers come out to perform.

You can also find markets at the following locations and times:

Camino Real Marketplace, Goleta, (corner of Storke and Hollister) Sunday at 10 a.m.
Harding School (Westside of SB at the end of Robbins St.), Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.
Solvang, first block of First St., Wednesday at 2:30 p.m.
Camino Real Marketplace, Goleta, (corner of Storke and Hollister) Thursday at 3 p.m.
Carpinteria, 800 block of Linden,Thursday at 3 p.m.
Montecito, along 1100-1200 Coast Village Road, Friday at 9 a.m.

(See a map and the most current information at link link

Here are our favorite reasons to hit up the Farmers Market, any day of the week.

Combine it with another outing. Even if you don't need to buy any fruits or vegetables, a stroll through the Farmers Market is a great thing to do before a leisurely dinner or drink out downtown on a weeknight or before or after bunch on a Saturday morning. You'll likely be impressed at the wide variety of things available and the beautiful colors. The markets are perpetual hangouts for amateur photographers. For those who haven't visited before, there are dozens of vendors at the larger downtown markets, and between 12-20 vendors at the smaller markets. Local vendors will be able to give you information about where their farms are located, what they grow there, and whether or not you might be able to visit.

Best people watching in town. An incredibly diverse cross-section of Santa Barbara visits the Farmers Market. There will be longtime locals of all ages, from the elderly to families with kids, students of all ages, visitors from around the world, the farmers themselves, and just about anybody else you can think of. The best market for people watching is undoubtedly the downtown Tuesday afternoon/evening market. A number of restaurants and bars in the 500-600 block of State Street, where the market is held, have outdoor patio seating that can accommodate your people watching in comfort while you enjoy a snack or beverage. Need a challenge? Count the recyclable shopping bags the market visitors are toting with them - we bet you will pass 1,000 in less than an hour.

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Entertainment abounds. The popularity of the markets has led to an abundance of street performers, particularly on Tuesdays and Saturdays downtown. (The Solvang market, though, has an especially talented solo blues guitarist who plays there … he's worth a trip over the hill all by himself.) There are rogues who will write you a poem, a violinist with classical training, a brother and sister duo on keyboard and violin, guitarists and tambourine men, and a woman who sings unaccompanied in a sad, sweet, voice. On Saturdays, there's often a woman playing an authentic didgeridoo. And we haven't even mentioned the balloon men. They'll spin a thin balloon into just about anything you can think of, from a Weiner dog to a crown to a giraffe, to a child's delight.

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What's for dinner? Here's inspiration. You're probably eating out while you visit Santa Barbara, but if you happen to have access to your own kitchen while you are here, the solution to what to have for dinner can easily be found among the market's wide selection of anything and everything. And if you are eating out, ask some of the vendors which restaurants purchase their fruits and vegetables straight from the market … it might give you an idea of where you want to dine that night.

Appreciate locally grown, often pesticide free, produce. Santa Barbara can claim one of the best small city Farmers Markets in the nation, according to people who have visited major markets in other cities. Our temperate climate and county commitment to preserving land in agriculture, as well as a strong history of food production, have made it possible for small family farms to continue to thrive here. Though the bulk of agriculture production is centralized in the northern part of Santa Barbara County, small production farms are dotted around the South Coast, with many in Carpinteria and Goleta. Many of the vendors are certified organic - usually denoted with a sign on their booth - but you should ask them about the particular product you're looking for just to be sure. There are so many great local farms we can't even begin to list them all here.