The Original Farmers Market at Third & Fairfax feels like a party pretty much every day of the year, thanks in part to the decorations, the roasty-nutty scent in the air, the boisterous beer-and-ball-game crowd at the center bar, and the kids licking the frosting off the Bob's donut dinosaurs. It's the fabled "third place" -- not work, not home -- where people just come to be together, have a bite, gossip. And is it fiercely adored by locals and tourists alike. If we could throw our arms around that long-standing clocktower, we most certainly would.
But the big party is next year -- Farmers Market turns 75 -- and along with a huge, summertime bash, a couple of books and other special events, the Market is asking people who have spent some time hanging out at the green tables and chairs to share their memories of the much-loved hangout. But even if you just visited once, perhaps passing through on the tour buses that visit the SoCal staple each day, you are also invited to send in your experience.
The Market is asking that your memory be concise -- 250 words or less -- but other than that, the sky -- or the clocktower? -- is the limit. We're wishing we'd kept track of how many Loteria nacho plates we've personally consumed over the years. By ourselves. The number is shockingly high.
If you don't want to do a paragraph on your own, there is a questionnaire on the site to help juice the noggin. After all the recollections are collected, the Original Farmers Market will be posting them around the stalls throughout 2009 (will yours be chosen?), and on the web site.
