Damn

One of the more fun things to do on a Sunday in Baltimore is to go to the Baltmore Farmers' Market. It's typically open from mid April to the end opf November underneath the JFX (I-83) overpass right next to the (unfortunately closed) Hollywood Diner of the Barry Levinson film fame.

You can get lots of great produce, some street food, the fresh off the machine donuts are da bomb, and commission a writer to type up a poem or suchlike on an old manual typewriter. 

There is a storm on the horizon though, with the market due to open April 13, and for a long time it appeared that there is no one to run it.

It’s a sign of hope — that after the business has made it through the lean winter months, it’ll start to make money again, said Dorian Brown, who owns Neopol Smokery with his mom. There’s the chance to gain new customers and catch up with old ones. And it’s just plain fun. “I think it stands up against any farmers market” on the East Coast, he said.

But this year, Brown and other vendors say they’re worried about the market’s future. Others said they’re questioning whether the event, which dates to 1977, is still a priority for city officials. “We’re obviously concerned,” Brown said.

In January, representatives for Mayor Brandon Scott announced they were seeking a new operator for the market. The news came three months after Scott canceled the city’s contract with the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts, which had previously run the farmers market and other events. Though the request for proposals closed Feb. 21, the city has yet to announce a successor.

There have been reports that BOPA will be brought back for a final year, and that the search will continue.

………

In an email, [Baltimore Mayor Brandon] Scott spokesman Kamau Marshall said the city is still reviewing applications for proposals to operate the market. They received eight responses, of which five met the criteria for selection. BOPA will continue to manage the market until a replacement is found, and the group will assist with the transition to a new operator, Marshall said. Funding for this year’s Baltimore Farmers’ Market comes from BOPA’s existing contract with the city. Baltimore is currently negotiating a new contract with BOPA for the next fiscal year, which starts in July.

I'm not sure where this is going, but it appears that vendors have not been kept in the loop.

I do hope that it opens on schedule, it's the best place to get Romanesco (fractile) broccoli.