Temperatures are flirting with 90, and you still have to wring out your shirt after a short stroll, but there's one sign that the season is about to change: This weekend is the opening of the St. Petersburg Saturday Morning Market and the Brandon Fresh Market.
In St. Pete, there will be over 100 vendors, many of whom sell prepared foods, and music from Urban Gypsies. The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure takes place the same day and winds along the bay just a block from the Market, so prepare for a crowd.
This is also the last year the St. Pete market will set up at its current location (the eastern end of Central Avenue). "We're definitely looking for someplace bigger," manager David Cellon told me. Right now, the market has over 240 vendors, but only space enough for 100 or so every week.
Here are other Farmers' Markets in the Bay area, some of which run year-round:
Art Village Fresh Market, 2908 Beach Blvd. S., Gulfport, Saturdays, 8 a.m.-1 p.m., artvillagevoice.org.
Brandon Fresh Market, Winthrop Town Centre, corner of Bloomingdale and Providence Ave., Brandon, Saturdays, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., brandonfreshmarket.com or 813-748-0441.
Downtown Clearwater Farmer's Market, Clearwater City Hall, 112 S. Osceola Ave., Clearwater, Wednesdays, 8 a.m.-1 p.m., clearwaterfarmersmarket.com or 727-461-7674.
Safety Harbor Farmer's Market, John Wilson Park, 401 Main Street, Safety Harbor, Thursdays, 8 a.m.-1 p.m., safetyharborchamber.com or 727-461-7674.
St. Petersburg Saturday Morning Market, Central Ave. between First and Second streets, St. Petersburg, Saturdays, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., saturdaymorningmarket.com.
Sweetwater Sunday Organic Market, Sweetwater Organic Community Farm, 6942 West Comanche Ave., Tampa, Sundays, Noon-4 p.m., sweetwater-organic.com or 813-887-4066 (Begins Nov. 4).
Ybor City Fresh Market, Centennial Park, Ybor, Saturdays, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., 813-241-2442.
