Going to China...

The Good Villager, Something to Chew On, and Bees Alive! are going to China on Thursday. Hunan province. We are excited and are hoping to encounter good, local organic gardening, farming and beekeeping/bee stewardship initiatives. Hopefully something we can become involved with using basic Mandarin :)

Stay tuned!

Toronto: St Lawrence Market

One of my favourite places to go when I am in Toronto is the St Lawrence Market. In addition to being a place to find good eats, it is a fantastic place to watch people and life, listen to music and talk to strangers. I do it all.

There are two buildings to this market: the Saturday Farmers' Market or North Market building (which houses other things, namely antiques, on other days of the week), and the South Market building (open Tuesday to Sunday with two floors of permanent vendors of many different products, including fruit and veg). The two markets straddle Front Street, with Jarvis Street bordering the east sides of both buildings.

There has been a farmers' market in this location since about 1803, making it one of the older markets in Canada. I've had the opportunity to sell at the Saturday Farmers' market, and like all markets old and new, there are politics. Squabbling over 2 inches of space that your table has been moved by another vendor, the unavailablility of a cart at the exact time that you want to load or unload your produce. But there is also a family-like feel. For long-term vendors, you get to know both your neighbours and your customers, and when you're not there, people miss you.

The South Market, according to some of the vendors at the Saturday Market, is "for tourists". I am not sure that that is the most accurate statement, and I didn't get the impression that the comment was a compliment. While I am a farmers' market purist in many ways, and have a strong dislike for touristy things, I do actually like the South Market quite a bit. There are some shops/stalls within this market that might be interesting for tourists, but there is a heck of a lot of atmosphere, which scores high for me. There are also many, many locals shopping there. I've watched downtown Toronto cops on their early morning beat stop in to say 'hi' to vendors and pick up their morning peameal bacon breakfast sandwich (so much for donuts!). And I remember one March morning sitting with my coffee and a pastry watching the market start to get busy, and a fellow sat down and started talking to me. He was very local and had been coming to the South Market a few days a week for the past several years to buy cheese, meat and other things. I guess you are more likely to find items that are not local in the South Market (e.g., there is a fellow housed in the basement who imports honey from around the world), but it is still an excellent place to shop, sit and watch.

Myself, to sum up the differences between the two markets using my own behaviour as an example, I go to the North/Farmers' Market if I want to buy produce, and I go to the South Market if I want entertainment, a place to sit down with a good view, and to buy things like fish, imported item, or Niagara region wine.

I'm always satisfied after a visit.