… Who’s your pal?  Pearl Market has the perfect friendship all lined up and it won’t even be a drain on your social calendar.

Friends of Pearl Market was launched to support programming, like Kids’ Day (July 27), Ohio Proud Mobile Kitchen, Tasty Tuesdays and live weekly entertainment.  Unlike those snooty girls in seventh grade or the alpha dogs of high school, Pearl Market promises to be your friend forever.

For a $25 contribution, $20 of which is tax-deductible, a Friend of the Market gets a groovy canvas shopping bag with original artwork designed just for Pearl Market.  The tote holds an easy half-dozen ears of corn, fixin’s for a perfect salad or a couple cantaloupes.

Friends also get sneak peeks at the weekly Market videos and email updates, as well as cool Pearl Market postcards.  And Friends support Pearl Market’s efforts to provide superior local products to everyone which in turn helps heat up the incubator for small business entrepreneurs as they test the downtown market.

The first five people to identify six of the 12 downtown spots featuring the Friends of the Market bag in this video will receive 50% off a Friends’ Membership.  Email aeschroeder@sidservices.com  with your answers.

I stopped in to visit Ale’s House Peruvian this week as well. They have the cutest little things. And by little, I mean miniature. I’ve always loved miniature things; doesn’t everyone? There are little tiny houses made out of organic things like trees and gourds. There are tiny people in the tiny houses who are doing tiny things. It’s all just so magnificently tiny and cute.

I would tell you about the gorgeous cherry tomatoes that I got this week and how great they were, but I can’t because I didn’t get any! My kids ate them ALL while we were still at the Market. I would consider that a ringing endorsement, but I sure wish I could have had a couple. I guess I’ll have to try again next week.

Until next time. See you at the Market!

This week my kids were exceptionally hungry so we moseyed on down to Honey Run Farms and got some cherry tomatoes for them to munch on during the day, which were delicious.  We also picked up three beautiful sunflowers for only two dollars for all of them!

I was very excited to see Sweet Stella there with Maram.  I have seen their work around town and am excited to have them at the Market.  Sweet Stella makes jewelry that is just so sweet!  You’ll understand if you go look at it.  Maram makes recycled and eco-friendly things, most notably recycled purses, and these great pins with recycled pins.  There are some great ones of Columbus, like a close-up of the Brewery District, downtown or Worthington.  Very cute and very affordable!

Well, if you missed Sample Day at the Market, I am sorry because you missed out.  So don’t miss another!  Come down to visit on Tuesdays and Fridays!

Crimson Design Group has a store front on Pearl and they set out a Market booth as well, so you can see the amazing things that they have in their store.  I haven’t bought anything from them yet, but I always see the decor they sell and think, “Ooohhh, pretty!  Those are the people I want to make my living room pretty!”

Another booth I always like to see is The Sweater Lady.  Everything is so colorful and it always draws my kids over.  There are little hand-knit finger puppets that are so incredibly detailed that I just don’t understand how somebody can do that.  I also love the adorable kids’ sweaters that have scenes on knit into them, with suns and animals.

This week I also bought a good deal of produce from an array of farmers.  Some tomatoes from one guy, some zucchini from another, and English peas from a third.  I feel like I eat so much better in the summer when I get to spend so much time at the farmers’ market.

Hope to see you at Pearl Market soon!

Calling All Corn Lovers from Downtown Columbus on Vimeo.

In search of new treasures this week, I cam across Green Handle Designs.  She has some fantastic jewelry, or rather wearable art.  She also has duct tape flowers that are bright and colorful, catching your eye from afar.  The flowers come as magnets, barrettes and ink pens, and I had to get one of each.  People that can make things out of duct tape besides patches for furniture amaze me.

I also finally stopped at the photography booth just down from mine, Phosegraphe, which means “light writing” in Greek.  His pictures are gorgeous!  The way that he plays with light and color make me want to start collecting his pictures.  If you are coming down this way, I strongly suggest you stop and take a look!

On my way out, I saw a farm stand that I hadn’t yet seen and couldn’t resist stopping for some green beans at Darby Farms.  They are from West Jefferson and I used to live there, so it felt like old friends.  Delicious green beans!  I hope they come back next week.

Counting down until the next market…  Hope to see you there!

While looking around at the Market this week and wondering what new thing I could try, I spotted Take Ten Body Therapy.  Over the past couple of weeks I have had a cold and have generally been a little more stressed out than usual.  So it seemed fate was screaming, “Get a massage!”  Since I’m not one to argue with fate, I gave in and got a massage.  Heavenly!  Oh, the sacrifices I make for this job!  At Take Ten you can pay by the minute instead of having to block off a half hour or full hour, so you really can come by during your lunch break.

This week I also stopped by Heidi’s Homemade.  During the summer I feel like we don’t spend as much time with our pets because we are always out and about.  So I got our cats some treats.  Heidi’s has certified organic cat, dog and horse treats.  It is nice to be able to confidently give your pets something healthy.  I only have cats and they were quite pleased with the new treats.  I can only assume that dogs would feel the same, since they are generally a bit less discerning about what they eat.  Stop by Heidi’s stand and she’ll tell you all about them.

Finally, June 29 is cooking demonstration day!  Be sure to stop by the Market and find out what it’s all about.

There were other notable samples; one in particular turned my eye.  Now, normally I’m a “safe” eater.  I don’t try many new things (aside from those purple green beans a few weeks ago).  I stick to the staples like cheese and… chocolate.  On Tuesday, however, I felt it was my duty to try strawberry salsa.  And you know what?  I could totally sit and eat a bowl of that with some chips.

Also, this week at the Market, I finally stopped by Poppin’ Time Kettle Corn.  I never knew I liked kettle corn until last year at the Market when they reeled me in with their free samples.  Theirs is one of the most enticing smells wafting lazily down the alley.  My last favorite stop this week was at Salaam’s Caravan Fragrances.  I love exotic fragrances and this is the place to get them.  There are so many options and ways to use the oils, once you narrow down your choices.  I put a few drops of oil into the water beads I bought last week and now they are an amazing looking air freshener.

Come see us next week at the Market and find some treasures for yourself!

The farmers’ fantastic offerings, including asparagus, greens, herbs, peas, green beans, radishes, strawberries, plants, flowers and, later in the season, sweet corn, tomatoes, squash and apples, remain a big draw.

“People realize the importance of purchasing food that is locally grown,” explained Adam Schroeder, Pearl Market Manager.  “Shoppers get to know farmers who grow their food, they get to support area merchants and they really learn the benefits of buying local.”

The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission recently released the region’s first Central Ohio Local Food Assessment and Plan, which highlights the importance of having fresh, local, healthy food available to all neighborhoods in Central Ohio.  Executive Director of MORPC, Chester R. Jourdan, Jr., addressed the crowds on opening day of the Market, emphasizing that Pearl Market’s offerings fit right into this “locavore” movement.

Joining some returning vendor favorites, such as Great Harvest Bread Co., 3 Babes & a Baker, Sweet Thing Gourmet and Nellie’s Samosas, are some vendors making their Pearl Market debut, including Let Us Eat Cupcakes, J Squared Organics, Devour Cookie Co. and Afrikan Designs.

In addition, daily live entertainment and a public eating space will encourage visitors to pick up lunch from one of the food vendors or bring a packed lunch and enjoy the hustle and bustle.

There are some changes afoot.  Due to overwhelming requests from the farmers and merchants, the Market will now spill out of the alleys and expand on to both Broad Street and Gay Street.  The spill-over will include both farmers and merchants, with farmers setting up shop on the Gay Street end of the alley for the first time.

“This will give the Market more presence on those high-traffic thoroughfares,” added Schroeder.  “Especially on Gay Street, where folks are beating a path to new lunch spots like Plantain Cafe’, J. Gumbo’s and Sugardaddy’s.”

In addition, after a test run during the Winter Pearl Market, the summer Market now accepts credit cards and the Ohio Direction Card.  Customers just need to visit the Market tent located at the intersection of Lynn and Pearl to pick up red credit card or green Ohio Direction Card tokens.  All vendors that are accepting the tokens will display a special sticker on their vendor sign denoting which tokens they accept.  This change will allow those who may not be cash-carriers to make some must-have purchases.

As the summer progresses, fans of the Market should keep an eye out for special events.  The Ohio Department of Agriculture will bring their Ohio Proud Mobile Food Kitchen to the Market, where area chefs will shop the Market, do a live cooking demonstration and let visitors sample their dish.  Mark your calendars for June 29, August 31, September 28 and October 26.  Other special events include Strawberry Day on June 8, Sweet Corn Day on July 13, Kids’ Day on July 27, Tomato Day on August 10, Squash Day on September 14 and Apple Day on October 12.  The Market will be closed on Friday, July 2 in observance of Independence Day.

For a sneak peek at the beautiful sights of Pearl Market, take a look at our Opening Day Photo Album.