Saturday’s farmers market represented a new beginning for Scotts Valley. It was a coming-of-age event, a celebration of the community’s maturity, a joining with other towns that have long had farmers markets. It was a signal that Scotts Valley has arrived.
It was a signal that I had arrived as well. I felt a strange kinship with the farmers market. Not only was it the town’s first, it was my first event as a new resident of Scotts Valley.
I walked around Saturday’s grand opening with my reporter’s notebook in one hand and food in the other. What was I going to take notes with, my tongue? But it was busy with the food!
Within minutes, I’d dropped the notebook into a bag of fragrant friarelli peppers as I weighed handfuls of gigante beans, dry-farmed tomatoes and biancadi maggio onions — the makings for my first farmers market salad that night.
And that was just the first stop. I went on to taste the honey from Bee Humble Apiaries out of Aptos, the blueberries from Rainbow Orchards of Camino, the Live Green Smoothie (freshly sprouted almond milk, kale, banana and agave) from Santa Cruz’s Café La Vie, and El Salchichero sausage (from humanely raised pigs) dished up by Boulder Creek chef Chris Le Veque and his father, Bob.
Then came the samples handed out by the staff of Santa Cruz Farmers Market, the nonprofit that manages the Scotts Valley market along with four others, including Felton’s Tuesday market. The samples showcased ingredients found at the market — grilled peaches, padron peppers, bruschetta with pesto — all mouth-watering.
I tasted everything and didn’t need to eat again until dinner.
Being new in town, I spotted only one familiar face in the crowd, Mayor Randy Johnson, who introduced me to Lynn Robinson, a member of
the farmers market board, and Nesh Dhillon, the market manager. They recounted how Scotts Valley’s market first came into being with a shove from Hans Haveman, a fisherman from Scotts Valley, and encouragement from local farmers.
Six or seven years ago, Scotts Valley had a market that didn’t last, but this time, all the logistics came together in about three months.
“We got a real sense for this, that this could work,” Johnson said. “We knew it had to be managed right and that this was not a simple thing to do, but we thought it was going to be a big hit.”
Dhillon was motivated from the start, because, as he said, “Scotts Valley was the last frontier in this area, the last place without a market.”
On Saturday, everything looked straightforward and simple. It was managed just right.
Now, it will be a year-round certified farmers market, with more than 30 farms and food vendors selling everything from flowers to seafood to eggs and produce, rain or shine. There will be entertainment as well, from live music to children’s face-painting.
Crowd counts are hard to get when there’s no admission and people constantly come and go over a period of four hours, but Robinson figured there were at least 1,500 people at the first market.
The vendors seemed thrilled with the business, and the shoppers left smiling.
I left smiling, too. I think I’m going to love it here in Scotts Valley.
Year of Firsts is a new column by Cheri O’Neil Matthews, publisher of the Scotts Valley/San Lorenzo Valley Press-Banner. She recently moved to Scotts Valley from Tracy, in California’s Central Valley. You can e-mail her at
ch***@pr*********.com
.
At a glance:
WHAT: Scotts Valley Farmers Market
WHEN: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays
WHERE: Scotts Valley Community Center parking lot, 370 Kings Village Road
DETAILS: Free admission; no animals allowed
