Detroit — A summer tradition is back at Detroit’s beloved Eastern Market with the return of its Tuesday markets to supplement its year-round farmers market on Saturdays, featuring produce vendors and a more relaxed atmosphere.
The Tuesday market, which officially returned Tuesday, runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Shed 3 and features some of its Saturday vendors selling local vegetables, fruit and other food products. There are also health and wellness resources, including free yoga and Zumba classes planned throughout the summer.
The Tuesday markets will run from June through September.
Several customers and vendors on Tuesday said the Tuesday Market vibe is much more relaxed than Eastern Market’s bustling Saturday crowds.
“I call this our spa version of the market,” said Jack VanDyke, of Rising Pheasant Farms, a Detroit farm that has participated in both the Saturday and Tuesday markets for years. “On Saturdays, we are so busy, and that’s great. But on Tuesdays, there’s actually time for us to have wonderful conversations with our customers.”
Tuesday’s market is a toned-down version of Saturdays in terms of crowd size and number of vendors, but the atmosphere is still inviting and the products appealing, several customers said.
By 10 a.m., the first hour of Tuesday’s market, South Lyon residents Ginger Huard and Peggy Miller had already filled their little red wagon with Zinnia and Begonia plants and a bag worth $20 worth of vegetables.
“It’s always a wonderful time,” Huard said.
Eastern Market’s roots date back to 1841, according to the Eastern Market Partnership, and it’s one of the longest-running farmers’ markets in the nation. It began in Cadillac Square, where a market focused on hay and wood was established in downtown Detroit, and then found its permanent home on Russell Street in 1891. It was later officially renamed Eastern Market.
The Eastern Market Historic District, which encompasses 43 acres, was added to the National Registry of Historic Places in 1978.
laguilar@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Eastern Market’s Tuesday markets return for the summer
Reporting by Louis Aguilar, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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