Local Places, Local Faces
Last month I posted about our goal of hitting all the farmers’ markets in the area that were listed in the Citrus Chronicle. The past two weekends we visited two more, the Inverness Farmers’ Market and the Floral City Market.
The first Saturday in March we went to the Inverness Farmers’ Market and it was really cold. I know that the family in North Dakota scoffs at my cold reports, but yes, it was windy and below 50! Stocking hats and mittens for me! Not many vendors at the market but we bought produce and bread.
The next week we went to the Floral City Market, which according to the Citrus Chronicle is the second Saturday monthly. I actually did some research, went out to the Internet and found an article that the Market was located at the Frugal Frog. Also discovered that there is no easy way to get from Old Homosassa to Floral City. On the map it looks like a straight shot across the county, but there’s a big swath of the Withlacoochee State Forest in between so that short drive takes about 45 minutes.
I’ve been through Floral City on the Withlacoochee Bike Trail on my bicycle but not on the main drag. So Terry and I drove up and down 41 and through many of the side streets and never found the Frugal Frog nor a Market. Finally we stopped at a produce stand–Aunt Martha’s Produce & Specialty Market–to at least buy some fresh vegetables.
And there we met Aunt Martha and Shannon. They were full of useful information.
Turns out, there is no Market in Floral City. And no Frugal Frog! And hadn’t been either for some time! But they had lots of produce and lots of stories, so we spent a pleasant time chatting with them and learning just a bit about Floral City. They also suggested we go to the Florida Artist Gallery and just check out Floral City. So we did!
The Florida Artist Gallery is really quite nice and the art is reasonably priced and even has a cafe that smelled divine. There’s also a few stores right across the street from Aunt Martha and an outdoor area with lots of concrete creatures for purchase. We really had fun perusing all of the stuff. And there were chickens! So should I classify Floral City as quaint–or quirky? Perhaps equal amounts of both.
We were still a bit disappointed that there wasn’t a Market since we had intended to buy some bagels for Sunday AM. So we stopped at the Inverness Farmers Market, since we were driving right by, and were surprised with a car show and many more tents at the market than the week before. Something to do with no wind and lovely temperature of 70 degrees! So we got our bagels, enjoyed the car show, and ended with lunch at Stumpknockers.
While none of these stops were part of our objective, the day turned into a fun adventure.
As far as Farmers’ Markets go, I plan to stick to my local produce stand in the future. It’s right down the street and most of the stands go to the same market to pick up their produce.
As far as fun places to visit, I would have to say Dunnellon and Floral City were the best. Both quirky and quaint.
And that’s the end of our Farmers’ Market search, on to new adventures!
