At 10 a.m. each Tuesday, the plaza at the Shops at Sea Pines Center blossoms with color. Our Farmers & Makers Market, presented by Lowcountry Produce, is hitting its stride as springtime rolls along. Every week, the array of fresh fruits and vegetables changes as more produce joins the lineup. The works of local artists and artisans also seem to blossom from the inspiration of spring’s awakening.
The fresh arrivals right now include local broccoli and asparagus, zucchini, turnips, butter beans, green peppers, and luscious blackberries. The vine-ripe tomatoes are ready now, and we’ll see them all through the summer to Labor Day. Their plump and rosy cousins, the heirloom tomatoes, are anticipated in just a few weeks.
Eggplant and corn joined the Farmers & Makers Market lineup with April. Under the seafood tent, you can still expect to discover soft-shell crabs. Cooler waters this year are extending their season a bit longer than usual, and fans are glad to get the news.
Coming Soon
Silver queen corn – the kind some folks thought that only their grandmother could grow – is anticipated to arrive fresh at the Market any day now. In another week or so, our growers tell us that the blueberries will be on the way.
It won’t be long until the whole gang – the complete collection of fresh, local produce – will be on display here in the plaza on Tuesdays. When the peaches and blueberries arrive is the highlight of the year for lots of folks. And yet, waiting for that is not how the Farmers & Makers Market is done.
Instead, what people enjoy most of all is checking on the Market each Tuesday to find out what’s new. That’s why we say Celebrate Fresh – Celebrate Local.
Nature and Art Hand in Hand
Getting back in touch with where the good stuff comes from – that’s the joy of a farmers’ market. It is a blessing to be able to rely on the source where we get our groceries, and yet in the process of “progress,” we got a little farther away from the real source of what’s good for us. Getting back in touch is the goodness behind a farmers’ market.
Local artists and artisans are rightfully part of the scene, too. Some discovered their art when they moved to the Lowcountry. Even established artists found a new source of inspiration in the rhythms and light and colors of the sea islands. That inspiration from within seems to have a lot in common with how the hand of nature brings forth the produce and seafood we celebrate.
Together, they set the scene that people in the know come to join on Tuesdays, here among The Shops at Sea Pines Center.
The Things We Share
Speaking of people in the know, that is another thing folks encounter each Tuesday at the Farmers & Makers Market. We noticed long ago that Sea Pines residents and visitors alike share what they know as they stroll the plaza. “What’s fun to do this week?” is as much a take-home on Tuesdays as the art and crafts and fresh local produce that people peruse.
The Shops at Sea Pines Center is grateful to be the scene for the Farmers & Makers Market, and we give thanks for the talent and awareness that make it possible. Come join us and see what it means to you.
