Farmers Markets Provide Agri-tainment and sell all things fresh and beautiful!

If you have never heard of agriculture entertainment - you are not alone.  Most would not tether the two together.  Are not farms where you work hard, obtain a sunburned neck (ever heard of red neck?), get dirtier than Schulz's Pig-Pen, and use muscles that hurt forever?  With AgriTainment, you get to have both the pleasure of the activity and the credit for making wise purchases.

At a farmer's market, just experiencing the smell of the homegrown food is part of the pleasure.  Talking to the person that tilled the soil, picked the fruit, or harvested the vegetables is of value.  It is kindred to the observations gained at art fairs, quiet walks on the wharf where fish are being hoisted to waiting bins of ice, and the like.  In a nutshell, the entertainment aspect of agriculture is rather rudimentary fun. 

We all should know that the farmer or grower cannot live on your smiles and small talk.  They need cash, credit and checks to pay their bills.  That is where the art of purchasing comes in.  They need buyers that look just like you.  They want you to shop.

In most cases, the fresh food you purchase at 7AM or 8 AM was picked a few hours before nightfall a hundred or so miles out-of-town.  The asparagus may have snapped and bundled by the pound by an employee of the farm.  The rhubarb could have been gathered by the daughter of the woman that inhereted the farm from her father that still rides the tractor and is fed at the end of a row or an acre.  As is so often the case, truck farming is a family affair. Even the paid employees hang around for decades.

Right now is the perfect time to purchase your hanging baskets of gorgeous begonias and geraniums.  If you like to grow herbs on your patio, they have those in small pots awating your green thumb.  One might say that if something will grow in a hot house or survive in the erratic outside temperatures of Mother Nature, the farmers will probably have a variety of those living things awaiting you for purchase.

At a minimum, our local markets also have smoked meats, breads and grain items, and cut flowers.  As the season progresses, they will be laden with the reddest of strawberries, the best of juicy peaches, and seemingly endless quarts of 'just picked' tomatoes  - each ripened on the vine.  Let your imagination envision something consumable - they will have those, too.

The Farmer's Market in La Grange Park has been moved to Mattone's Bar and Grill near the corner of 31st Street and La Grange Road.  There are gobs of parking and you can buy gasoline next door.  Don't forget to make reservations at Mattone's (708-352-7588) for dinner and ask about their pizzas that are produced in the pizza oven that was shipped over from Italy.  The hours of this Tuesday's market are from 8 AM until 2 PM.

The Thursday market is open rain or shine next to the Village Hall in La Grange.  Everything is always precisely displayed and ready for purchase by 7 AM, but don't wait until the end of the day (always 1 PM) because they do sell out of most of what they brought.  Pre-orders are welcome for pick-up the following week and are encouraged.

The agri-tainment part of each week's markets is always free.  The 'fresh and beautiful' portion is a bargain at twice the price.  With all the money you will save by shopping these farmer's markets, consider spending those dollars locally.   You will put a smile on our local retailers, too.  That is their favorite form of entainment.