Lake Oswego Farmers’ Market kicks off 2024 season

Editor's note: This story appears in the May edition of LO Monthly.

Millennium Plaza Park is the place to be in Lake Oswego during the warmer months of the calendar, and that is thanks in part to the farmers’ market that runs every year from spring to early fall.

This year’s market, which features fresh produce, hot food, music and more, is put on by the city of Lake Oswego Parks and Recreation Department and will kick off Saturday, May 11 and run from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. every Saturday until Oct. 5 at the park.

“I think the Lake Oswego Farmers’ Market is special because of the sense of community we have, with staff, volunteers, vendors and customers. We always have such a good time spending our Saturdays at the market eating delicious food, listening to music; there are always tons of activities and it’s a family-friendly event,” said Emily Liu, the city’s event coordinator and farmers’ market manager.

Here are some features of this year’s market.

New vendors

The market will include two new growers this year — Van Hevelingen Herb Nursery and Fuji Farms. Van Hevelingen offers unique plants and perennials including 100 varieties of lavender, while Fuji Farms specializes in fruits, like strawberries, blueberries, apples and peaches.

Further, some new hot food vendors include Poppy Shop, a vegan-friendly vendor specializing in desserts and pastries; Sinful Confections, which makes gluten-free cupcakes and cakes; Rolling Haven, which offers Korean food like kimbap and kimchi; and N2 Coffee and Tea, which sells coffee with infused nitrogen that provides a creamy texture without cream. However, vendors rotate regularly and others will sell things like breakfast sandwiches, wine, focaccia, kombucha, dumplings, homemade sauces and more.

Packed music lineup

A local artist or band will grace the stage at the park each week. Some of these include Boka Boka Marimba, which is an African style marimba band; the Lakeridge High School Jazz Band; Arietta Ward, who plays funk and soul; folk artist Reggie Garrett and Tevis Hodge Jr., who plays blues.

“We’ve tried to focus on bringing in new local music into the market and we’ve also brought back favorites,” Liu said.

Entrepreneurship program

The parks and recreation department is excited to introduce a Young Entrepreneurship Program at the market. Through this program, the youth will learn the basics of starting a business by selling goods at the market. There will be two dedicated books for this program.

“It’s been a really fun process for us. I wasn’t expecting kids to want to do hot food. That’s been fun and challenging to figure out the process to get them there, with licensing and insurance. (The purpose is) to give them that feeling of what it is like to start a business and participate in a market,” Liu said.

Liu also highlighted the crafts and activities that will be available for kids at the Kids Corner May 18 through Arbor month and the market regularly includes a Farm Fresh Kids Program for kids to learn about “healthy eating, local food systems and farming practices,” according to the city website.

For more information on the market, visit https://www.ci.oswego.or.us/lofm.