Ripe, red tomatoes. Tender sweet corn. Strawberries and stone fruit. This is why Coloradans look forward to summer every year.
The Grand Junction Downtown Farmer’s Market Festival welcomes the season each June and runs through September on Thursday nights from 5 to 8:30 p.m. The Farmer’s Market takes over Main Street from 3rd to 7th streets. Park in the parking garage at the corner of 4th and Rood, which is free after 4 p.m. The breezeway between 4th and 5th makes access to Main Street a snap.
Grand Junction Farmer’s Market Festival organizers have accurately included the word festival in the event because there is far more going on than tomatoes and corn. There is live entertainment, art demos, sidewalk sales, artists and craftspeople, food vendors and tons of delicious produce.
The market is a popular Grand Junction social event. Locals stroll up and down Main Street, visiting with friends, filling up restaurants, mastering the fine arts of guiding dogs and strollers, and, of course, buying produce.
Popular farmer’s market vendors include Roan Creek Ranch featuring grass-fed beef and lamb and Troyer Poultry offering whole chickens raised just north of Olathe. It is worth braving the long lines for the delicious green chile burritos from Main St. Chiles. The combination of soft flour tortilla, melted cheese and hot roasted green chile turns the simple into sublime.
Great Harvest Bakery Company offers high-quality baked products, including American-style loaves and their acclaimed cinnamon bread. Swing by the Z’s Orchards booth for spring garlic, heirloom tomatoes (beefsteak, yellow and green zebra), English peas, Bing cherries and fantastic strawberries.
Create a feast for kings with all of your Farmer’s Market treasures. A sample menu could include:
• Chicken liver pate with grilled crostini and Bing Cherry-Balsamic relish
• Heirloom tomato salad with Feta cheese and olive oil
• Rotisserie chicken with spring garlic cream sauce
• Sauteed English peas and lettuce with nutmeg
• Truffle-infused Carolina gold rice pilaf
• Cognac macerated strawberries with pound cake and whipped cream
