Wondering if a trip to the Winter Garden Farmers Market is right for your family? Read on to see how we spent our morning and get some tips for a great day!
After finding out that the Winter Garden Farmers Market was celebrating 15 years, my husband, daughter and I wanted to check it out. Our first and most important stop was the Face Painting station! My daughter has recently found this fun activity and absolutely loves it! Shade and Hues was on site and I loved Shade's set up. Shade' is the owner of the company, pictured below, and has been in business since 2016. She had an easel with many options so that children could pick the style they wanted. My daughter chose a unicorn, a style she was hoping for since she woke up that morning. She wore her pink shirt with a unicorn, and Shade' noticed, and sweetly matched her face to her shirt! My daughter kept her face paint on all day long. Shade's services include face and body paint, canvas painting instruction, henna body art, airbrush tattoos and she will be starting candle making classes in August! Be sure to check out her website linked above!
Next, we walked along all the aisles of booths set up. There were so many options. Fresh flowers, honey, keto/gluten free/vegan baked goods, all sorts of desserts, baked breads, popcorn, pickles, art - you name it, you could probably find it.
We stopped at Off the Wagon and bought a chocolate chip cookie. My husband and daughter shared it, and they really enjoyed it. I bought a couple of keto loaves from The Crazy Apron, which I’m saving for now. I also bought a few keto muffins from The Baking Nana and ate one at lunch and it was delicious.
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Then I explored the fresh product for sale in the permanent building area. I took some pictures because the produce was so colorful! I bought some zucchinis and pears.
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Our last purchase was at Lyric’s Lemonade. My daughter had been wanting some juice and this booth caught our eye. Then we saw why! We chatted with Chloe, who is Lyric’s mom and told us the story of her booth! I’m hoping to write an article on them soon, so be on the lookout for it! My daughter loved her lemonade, so we will be back!
We walked downtown for a bit and stopped at NY Bagel Deli and Pizza for lunch. There was a lunch special for $6,99 that included two slices of pizza and a fountain drink that caught our eye. We got that, a bagel, and I had a small tossed salad. My family all thought their food was yummy!
We spent about 3 hours at the Winter Garden Farmers Market. It was a nice morning, relatively inexpensive and fun to do something local while supporting local businesses.
Here are my tips for going to the Winter Garden Farmers Market with your family:
- Lots of people had strollers or wagons for young kids. If you plan on buying fresh produce, this will help you with carrying it all, or anything you buy
- Lots of people had their dogs with them, on leashes, so if you have a dog in your family, this is an event you all can enjoy together
- Bring your own water, as it gets hot and you’ll want to stay hydrated
- If your family is on a tight budget, like mine, set a budget for the day. To help your children understand this, give them a budget too
- For older kids, you can give them a set amount of money to spend on the category you tell them. For example, it might sound like this: You have $10 to pick any sweet treat or souvenir you’d like to buy.
- For younger kids, you can give them a set number of things they can get. For example, it might sound like this: You can pick one treat while we are here.
- I have found this helps me with not having to say no constantly, but also helps my daughter, and nieces when they’re with me, to make choices and have the ability to discern what they really want.
- There is somewhat of a splash pad area, pictured below, so bring clothes accordingly if you want your kids to get wet
I hope you and your family decide to visit the Winter Garden Farmers Market. It is every Saturday from 8am-1pm. Afterwards, you can stop by one of three playgrounds that are just minutes away. Check the directory to see where they’re at!
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