Affordable mid-week spree to Sonoma's Farmers' Market

Looking for a break from the normal?

Need an affordable mid-week vaca?

Look no further than the Valley of the Moon Farmers' Market in lovely downtown Sonoma, CA. Go mid-week to avoid horrendous traffic and rub elbows with friendly locals in a beautiful and historic Plaza nestled among mature trees and well kept lawns. 

The market opens at 5:30 pm and closes at dusk on Tuesdays. They offer live music, food, fruit and veggie stands, freshly cut flowers, plants, and crafts from local artists. 

You can bring you own beverages, (yes, this means alcohol), but leave your pooches at home as no dogs or pets are allowed in the Plaza. If you have a bike, please walk it. 

I left my house in Point Richmond at 3:30 this afternoon and found free street parking across the street from The Plaza at 4:40 pm. The vendors were just setting up, so I walked around the shops and then met up with friends in The Plaza when things were in full swing around 5:30 pm. 

We set up our folding chairs in the main square, popped open some watermelon beers (very refreshing), and listened to a Napa trio called Sweet Burgundy. These talented women started their set off with Neil Young's Harvest Moon which seemed very appropriate for the Valley of the Moon Farmers' Market. 

As the sun settled behind the trees, we realized we should have brought blankets to put over our legs. This motivated us to go in search of dinner. One of the vendors was making pizza in portable kivas (earthen ovens); another made killer corn dogs (spicy or non-spicy); another offered pulled pork sandwiches and bbq ribs; middle eastern faire;  gourmet sandwiches with duck confit; mini gourmet donuts; kettle corn; excellent coffee. You get the picture: lots of choices for whatever your cravings.

This market had a great mix of people: neighbors meeting neighbors to picnic and share babysitting duties, tended elderly in wheelchairs enjoying summer breezes and corn dogs, retirees enjoying fine wine in swanky glasses, recent graduates gathered on blankets sharing inexpensive champagne in plastic cups, tweens looking for their classmates, dads coming from work to join their families, people on dates, singles, tourists visiting from Italy and Oregon, locals from Napa, a mallard duck and her four little ducklings paddling around a shallow pond edged in roses. Lovely.

So if you are looking for an affordable way to dine alfresco, buy berries for tomorrow's breakfast, sing and dance in in the dappled sunset, then this trip is for you. And best of all---no dirty dishes to wash! 

IF YOU GO: 

Time frame: Think after-school-pick-up to bedtime (i.e.,  I left at 3:30 pm and returned home about 8:45pm). 

Valley of the Moon Farmers' Market: http://www.vomcfm.com/

Darien Eckberg is a landscape designer and hypertufa artist who makes her home in the East Bay. For more information, please visit  http://eckbergdesigns.wordpress.com/.