For My Daughter and Granddaughter, It Was All About Root Beer and Pierogies

For my daughter and granddaughter, it was all about root beer and pierogies.

A number of years ago, my daughter’s family lived near Latrobe. On frequent Saturday mornings, she and her then-five-year-old daughter would make the short, scenic drive along U.S. Route 30 through the Loyalhanna Gorge to the Ligonier Country Market.

Established more than 40 years ago and averaging about 130 vendors per week, the Ligonier Country Market is a farmers’ market on steroids – if one darewrite that about a market selling so many organic products.

Naturally vendors there sell farm-fresh produce, a wide range of potted plants and freshly cut flowers. Others sell meats and baked goods.

But that’s just the beginning. You can find goat cheese, wine, dog treats, salsa, maple syrup, hot sauces and BBQ rubs; there’s also jewelry, prints, aluminum signs, worked-wood items, fabric crafts, Americana, pottery and glass.

Always enthusiastic shoppers, my daughter and granddaughter loved to browse the booths and buy an item or two. Their greater joy, though, was in the sampling.

Ligonier Country Market draws all kinds of food vendors, selling hot dogs and hamburgers, lemonade, ice cream, hummus, breakfast foods, Italian, Hungarian, popcorn and pierogies. Vendors have always been happy to provide samples because they tend to feed spur-of-the-moment purchases.

At that time, another vendor sold craft soda pop in a variety of flavors, including root beer. Early on, my daughter and granddaughter decided that pierogies and root beer would be staples of each visit.

Such are the joys of open-air farmers’ markets – of any size. With their fresh produce sold directly by the producers, the relaxed atmosphere, interesting conversations with vendors, opportunities to pick up uncommon products and impulse buys of self-indulgent little pleasures, farmers’ markets are among the Alleghenies’ warm-season treasures.

Now they are beginning to open for another growing season! The Ligonier Country Market’s season kicks off on May 20 from 8:00 to noon. For more information, visit LigonierCountryMarket.com.

Other smaller – but still special – markets also are opening again all-around our region:

Bedford’s Farmers’ Market opens on May 17 at Penn and Juliana Streets and will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. every Wednesday through the season. For more information, call (814) 623-0048.

Connellsville’s Laurel Mall Farmers’ Market opens this month on weekends from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. LaurelMallFleaMarket.com.

The Huntingdon Farmers’ Market at Portstown Park just opened for the season and will remain open on Thursdays from Noon to 5:00 p.m. through the end of October. HuntingdonBoro.com.

Downtown Johnstown’s Farmers Market sets up at Central Park on Fridays from 9:00 a.m. until 2 p.m., starting this month. (814) 533-2049.

Kittanning’s Area Farmers’ Market gets situated in the Franklin Village Mall parking lot from 8:30 a.m. until noon on Wednesdays and Saturdays. But call ahead, because there is conflicting information on when it opens for the season: (724) 783-7886.

Somerset County’s Farmers’ Market will openfor the season on May 27 at Georgian Place. You’ll find it on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. into November. SomersetCountyFarmersMarket.com.

Vandergrift Farmers Market won’t open until June but then will be at the Columbia Avenue parking lot every Thursday from 3:00 to 5:30 p.m. through October. VandergriftFarmersMarket.weebly.com

Deserving special mention is the Springs Farmers’ Market, which opens for the season on May 27. Heavily Amish-flavored, the Springs market is probably the region’s second-largest with more than 80 vendors selling produce, home-baked goods, quilts, artwork, tools, antiques and handcrafted items.

The Springs market will be open every Saturday from 8:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. through September 23. But be warned: Go early. Many of the goods there sell out quickly. Visit SpringsPa.org for more information.

Truth be told, I never quite understood my daughter’s and granddaughter’s affinity for the combination of root beer and pierogies. But I guess things like that can grow on you at a farmers’ market.