10:57 AM: “This rocks!” That’s the first comment we heard today from a visitor to the newly relocated West Seattle Farmers’ Market (WSB sponsor), on until 2 pm in the middle of California Avenue SW between Oregon and Alaska. As first published here last week, here’s the vendor map:

The move has been months in the making, officially – but it’s also been a years-long dream for some, with the knowledge that it brings more space for more vendors and more local nonprofits, plus more room for shoppers to roam, and more chances to show off The Junction’s bricks-and-mortar businesses to WSFM visitors. More photos to come, but better yet, just go see for yourself!

P.S. Transportation notes – only one bus route is affected, the 22; for vehicle parking, while the market block is off-limits until about 4 pm, the 45-space lot that formerly held the market is open; for bicycle parking, remember the “corral” on the southeast corner of California/Alaska. Also, east-west streets are all open, including Alaska and Oregon themselves.

2:43 PM: Adding photos. Above, the fresh produce is the star of the show this time of year. But as noted in our preview, you’ll find food trucks too – that made it a hit for Sammy and Annika, whose mom Lori shared the photo:

The Kiwanis Club of West Seattle is back for summer appearances – we found them right by the south end at California/Alaska:

And we happened onto Ivy from market staff, with WSFM buttons:

(added) From MercyMoi, “August is making a necklace with beautiful paper beads”:

MM adds, “The artist (and farmers market rep) showed us how to make the beads, so I expect many textured jewelry projects this summer.”

Photo to share from the street site’s debut? Share it! Meantime, again, this is the market’s new home, so it’ll be back in the street every Sunday – except for July 12th, when it’ll be back at the old location in the 44th/Alaska lot since West Seattle Summer Fest will have taken over the street for the weekend.

This Sunday, June 14th, is the day – the West Seattle Farmers’ Market moves out into California SW between SW Oregon and SW Alaska. Same hours, 10 am-2 pm. But the new location/new layout means more room for vendors and local nonprofits. We asked the WSFM – which is sponsoring WSB this month to help get the word out – to share the map of what you’ll see starting this Sunday; see it above (or here, as a PDF, if you can’t see the embedded version). Market managers were handing out paper versions of the map last Sunday, but by the time we got to the market in the final half-hour, they were already out!

Meantime, the celebration won’t just be within the booths at the market – we know of at least one Junction shop that’s planning to tie in to the festivities: Click! Design That Fits, longtime WSB sponsor, 4540 California SW (that’s on the same block where you’ll find the market), will have special sale items during market hours on Sundays – stop in and look for the signs with “happy, helpful beets.” Click! is also changing its hours for summer starting this weekend – 10 am to 7 pm weekdays, 10 am to 5 pm weekends.

P.S. If you are driving to The Junction for the market and/or other shopping on Sundays, please remember the changes – no motor-vehicle parking on the market block 7 am-4 pm, but the 45-space parking lot that used to house the market will be open again.

After 16 years, tomorrow (Sunday, June 7th) is the last West Seattle Farmers’ Market (WSB sponsor) in the 44th/Alaska parking lot. Starting one week later, on June 14th – as first announced three months ago – you’ll shop the WSFM out in the street, like many other neighborhood farmers’ markets. Starting on that date, the market’s new home will be on California SW between Alaska and Oregon, which will be closed to vehicles 7 am-4 pm on Sundays as a result. This means more vendors, more local nonprofits, more room to roam as you shop and enjoy The Junction on a Sunday, and if you’re wondering about parking, the market move opens up 45 spaces in the 44th/Alaska lot. If you have questions – stop by the market-management booth on the north side of the market lot 10 am-2 pm tomorrow. (P.S. Here’s some of what will be happening on the first day in the street.)

(WSB photo from 2012)
For the past few years, the West Seattle Farmers’ Market has moved out into California Avenue SW once a year, during the Junction Association‘s fall Harvest Festival. Starting this summer – that’ll be the market’s new permanent location, year-round. As announced on the WSFM website, the move is set for Sunday, June 14th:

We’re taking it to the street! Join us on this historic day at the beloved West Seattle Farmers Market.

Our first year, in 1999, was the beginning of a neighborhood institution; a place for families and neighbors to connect with local farms and get the freshest, most delicious fruits and vegetables – and many other wonderful farm products and local foods.

This year, in 2015, after much planning and hard work, we’re moving the market to the street, where we’ll have more room and an improved layout, and can create an even more inviting Sunday morning destination in the heart of the Junction.

The market will be on California between Alaska and Oregon – both of those east-west streets will remain open on market days. Susan Melrose from the West Seattle Junction Association says that merchants are supportive of this – they’ve been in discussion for months – and that the launch day on June 14th will be “a very festive day” with music in the streets – more details to come.

ADDED WEDNESDAY: In response to some questions in comments – Chris Curtis of the WSFM says the street closure is envisioned as 7 am-4 pm, and reminds us that there will be more parking, since the lot that’s currently used will be open to vehicles again. Street-closure costs related to this are being borne by market management, according to WSJA’s Melrose.

(Photo courtesy Sod House Bakery)
Thinking about going to the West Seattle Farmers’ Market tomorrow? If you do, look for a new vendor that is doubly local – not only is Sod House Bakery selling its wares in West Seattle, it’s also owned by West Seattleites. We asked them for a little info, after learning about their debut last week:

Sod House Bakery is Evan Radick and Nina Faccone’s small bakery project based out of West Seattle. Last fall we realized our dream of many years by starting our own bakery and are building it from the ground up. We just became a vendor at the West Seattle Farmers Market, and hope to be selling all around Seattle this summer season. We make fun, delicious pastries like pop tarts, cookies, hand pies, and mini cakes.

As always, the market is open 10 am-2 pm at 44th/Alaska.

(Photo by Mike Siegel/The Seattle Times – republished with permission)
This Sunday, when you see River Farm Organic Produce at the West Seattle Farmers’ Market, you might consider buying something extra – we’ve just learned that their family has lost a home in the big Taylor Bridge Fire in Central Washington. An anonymous family friend e-mailed to let us know about this, and to say that River Farm does plan to be at the WSFM this Sunday. We have since confirmed this with market management, which explained that the family farm itself was spared, as was the home of the farm family’s patriarch, but the fire destroyed the home of his daughter and her husband. In addition to supporting them directly, we’re told they also will benefit from the Neighborhood Farmers’ Market Alliance “Good Farmer Fund,” which helps with emergency relief for vendors hit by crises like this. (You can donate to that fund online here.)

We missed today’s window for the daily events preview – you can always check the WSB West Seattle Events calendar on the rare occasions we skip a daily list – but just back from the West Seattle Farmers’ Market and vicinity. Eric Freeman is playing on the west side of the market today; while we photographed him, a man came up and informed us that he’s “the best busker in West Seattle.” As always, the market otherwise is brimming with everything – literally) from soup to nuts; we came home with a giant purple cabbage, $3 any size, from Alm Hill Gardens in the southwest corner, where they’re also selling tulips:

As always, the Farmers’ Market is open till 2. Nearby, it’s the second Sunday at California/Edmunds for a new food truck operated by two West Seattleites, Erik Gust and David Rodriguez, Contigo, which offers “modern Mexican”:

The Contigo owners’ announcement also mentioned that their food is gluten-free.

(LOOKING FOR SNOW COVERAGE? UPDATES ARE HERE)

Just a few notes from the WSB West Seattle Events calendar, as we settle into a day that seems destined to be punctuated by snow showers/flurries (morning coverage here):

WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: Yes, market managers have confirmed they’re open. 10 am-2 pm at 44th/Alaska. The illness-delayed debut of Honest Biscuits is promised (see this tweet), too. (Added: West 5 is there selling soup – check the pic in this tweet!)

BENEFIT ADOPT-A-THON CONTINUES: At Kitty Harbor (3422 Harbor SW), it’s the second day of a special offseason cat adopt-a-thon – also a benefit for fire victim Teri Ensley and Furry Faces Foundation, noon-6 pm. “Moto,” above, is one of the two-dozen-plus cats who were still awaiting a home by late Saturday afternoon, after more than 30 others were adopted! Here’s our Saturday night story.

BOOK SIGNING: Metropolitan Market says LaDonna Rose Gundersen, who fishes in Alaska as well as writes, will be at the Admiral store today from 12-2 pm to sign her new cookbook “Salmon, Desserts, & Friends.”

Before sunset, we stopped by Junction Plaza Park to see how setup for tonight’s nighttime edition of the West Seattle Farmers’ Market was going. 5-8 pm tonight, you’ll find everything from roasted chestnuts (courtesy of Sustainable West Seattle) to fresh food for your holiday dinner, with familiar vendors:

And many Junction shops will be participating in one more Shop Late Thursday before Christmas, till 9 pm. Some have deals in the WSB Holiday Shopping Guide (find it here). More to come!

ADDED 8:28 PM: Lights adorned the nighttime market, and not only from the official Junction Christmas Tree:

On the WSB Facebook wall, Tina mentioned that she’s from Germany and said, “The Christmas markets in my country are magical places, bordered by booths of every kind of holiday cheer, supported by ample supply of ‘gluehwein’ (hot & spiced cider). Tonight looked to me like a seed of something special like that.

One more reminder – since the next two Sundays are Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, there will be no West Seattle Farmers’ Market until Sunday, January 8th.

(Photos by Katie Meyer for WSB)
At the top of the “hill,” that’s Mike LaFranchi from the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle, during today’s Zucchini 500, an annual tradition at the West Seattle Farmers’ Market. Kids got the chance to make their own “racers” and then try them out. More photos ahead:Read More

Sights and sounds, we should say – Pourquoi Pas is playing at the West Seattle Farmers’ Market today. Warm melodies for a day that’s warmer than it looks, if you haven’t been out yet. And to get into an even-more-tropical mood, notice the parrots atop the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle tent:

However, Mike LaFranchi is pouring coffee beneath the tent, not piña coladas. (You can find granitas at the Rockridge Orchards booth, though.) More colorful sights – plants that don’t need blossoms to show color:

But of course flowers are available too. Even tulips, at this relatively late date:

As for today’s veggies – if there’s still some left, we highly recommend the giant romaine heads ($3) at Willie Green’s! The market’s open till 2 pm, as always on Sundays, 44th/Alaska in The Junction.

(Photo added 11:58 am – Kate awaiting would-be egg-decorators in the Kids’ Tent)
Just in case you weren’t sure – when they say the West Seattle Farmers’ Market is year-round, they mean it, including Easter Sunday. Till 2 pm today, 44th/Alaska. Market manager Catherine Burke shared advance word this week that today’s highlights include egg-coloring for kids (hosted by West Seattle Helpline – bought your tickets for their Taste of West Seattle fundraiser yet?) and growers selling asparagus, rhubarb, early greens, and plant starts.

Every time we stop by the West Seattle Farmers’ Market on Sunday and see live music, we’ve wished it had been announced ahead of time so we could have mentioned it here. Tonight – there’s advance notice! Great news for an expected-to-be-sunny Sunday market – market manager Catherine Burke sends word that tomorrow they’ll have “folksy MOZO music, a Tool Library demo and a new farmer, Silver Springs Creamery (fresh cow and goat milk!)” A tweet from the West Seattle Tool Library itself elaborates on the demonstration: Sewing machines making produce bags. As always, year-round, the WS Farmers’ Market is at 44th/Alaska.

(WSB photo of promotional sign at West Seattle Farmers’ Market last Sunday)
There’s a whole lot of after-Christmas shopping to be done right here on the peninsula. (We’re compiling a list of sales/specials to publish tomorrow morning, so if you have or know of one, share the news!) One place you might be surprised to find specials, West Seattle Farmers’ Market. It’s open 10 am-2 pm tomorrow as always, and the market will observe Boxing Day in a unique way. Explains Chris Curtis: “Farmers have been encouraged to provide good deals in boxes all day long to market shoppers.” One more bonus: Stop by the information booth to ask about free Market Bucks to “spend on the spot … while supplies last,” according to the Seattle Farmers Markets page on Facebook. (If you’re new or visiting, the West Seattle Farmers’ Market is at 44th/Alaska.)

The headline comes from the subject line of the e-mail in which Shelley shared the photo. As we had tweeted from the West Seattle Farmers’ Market earlier, violinist Pasquale was serenading shoppers today – and Shelley caught this scene of young fans who decided to savor the concert. (We last saw him in The Junction in June, when he played at the dedication of Junction Plaza Park – which by the way will be the site of this year’s West Seattle Junction Christmas Tree Lighting on December 4th, first time since 2006 that the official tree’s been on that site.)