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We just ran our first Farmboat Floating Market event at Lake Union Park last Wednesday. It was a bright sunny day and lots of people showed up to check out our old wooden boats and to buy fresh produce grown on local Puget Sound farms. We have three more Wednesday “pilot” markets to do in October at Seattle’s newest waterfront park.
I am looking for some old wood and canvas patio umbrellas to use for our unique dockside markets. We are trying to achieve a classic European market style rather than having the big white plastic tents that you normally see at local street farmers markets. Our goal is to create a warm, cozy and picturesque atmosphere that is enjoyable for people to visit.
Here is a photo of the market we did on October 6th at Lake Union Park:
I hope to eventually do a Farmboat Floating Market in West Seattle somewhere.
The idea of bringing farm goods to the dock is nothing new. That’s how it was done a century ago around Puget Sound. Before roads were built, thousands of small boats and ships transported people and farm goods around the Sound. We want to re-establish the traditional trade routes between local ports while providing education on the benefits of eating local foods.
Almost every community along Puget Sound once had a municipal dock within walking distance that was sort of like a bus stop. Every day boats would stop at theses docks to pickup passengers, deliver mail and distribute cargo. A few docks still remain. However, most have long ago rotted away. West Seattle no longer has much dock access along its shores, However, we think we might be able to do a unique market at Alki where we will use lighters (small barges) to bring fresh island produce ashore. Imaging coming down t Aliki to buy your fresh produce off a boat on the beach!
Anyway, if anyone has some old traditional looking canvas and wood umbrellas to donate for a worthy cause, let me know :)
For more info about our Farmboat Floating Market events, see: http://www.farmboat.org
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