Overview
On a Wednesday afternoon, the parking lot and greens at Pen Park fill with folding tables, pop-up tents, and the slow shuffle of people who have come straight from work with a canvas bag over one shoulder. This is Farmers In The Park, a City of Charlottesville market that sets up at Pen Park from 3:00 to 7:00 PM on Wednesdays. It is a midweek market, which gives it a particular rhythm: less of the errand-list urgency you get on a weekend, more of the after-work wander, kids running the grass while a parent lingers over a table of tomatoes.
The setting does a lot of the work. Pen Park is an actual park, not a lot pressed into service, and the market spreads out under open sky with room to breathe between the stalls. You can make a full loop, double back for the thing you talked yourself out of, and still have time to sit for a minute before the vendors start folding up at seven.
What you'll find
Farmers In The Park is run by the City of Charlottesville's Parks and Recreation department, and it draws the same kind of vendors that supply the city's other markets: growers with the week's produce, makers of local and international foods, and artisans selling arts and crafts. That mix is the point. You come for the produce and leave having also picked up something you weren't planning on, because a stall two rows over had it.
Because it's a producer market at heart, what's on the tables tracks the season. Early in the year the spread leans green and leafy; by high summer the tables sag under stone fruit and squash and whatever the growers cut that morning. The prepared-food and craft vendors round out the rest, so the market functions as both a grocery run and a small social event.
The midweek timing is worth planning around. A Wednesday market catches produce partway through the growing week, and it gives you a reason to break up the stretch between weekends. If you keep a mental list of what you're out of, this is the market to bring it to.
Part of the city's markets
Farmers In The Park is one of three markets the City of Charlottesville runs, alongside the long-running City Market and the seasonal Holiday Market. They share an organizing hand and a roster of vendors, but each has its own character, and Farmers In The Park's is set by the park itself and by that unhurried midweek hour.
If you're new to the market or want to check the current vendor list and any schedule notes, the city keeps the details on its markets page: Charlottesville Farmers Markets. For questions you can reach the department at (434) 970-3371.
If you're going
The market is at 1300 Pen Park Rd, Charlottesville, VA 22901, which puts it a short drive from Crozet down Route 250 and into town. Come on a Wednesday between 3:00 and 7:00 PM, and give yourself the back half of that window rather than the front if you want the full spread up and running.
Bring your own bag, bring small bills, and bring a little patience for the parking, which is the usual trade-off for a market held in a real park. Then take the loop slowly. The pleasure of a midweek market is that nothing about it is rushed, and the best way to shop it is to match that pace: walk the whole thing once before you buy anything, then go back for what you actually want.
More other in Crozet
Frequently asked questions
Where is Farmers In The Park?
Farmers In The Park is located at 1300 Pen Park Rd, Charlottesville, VA 22901, USA, in Crozet, Virginia.
What are Farmers In The Park's hours?
Monday: Closed Tuesday: Closed Wednesday: 3:00 – 7:00 PM Thursday: Closed Friday: Closed Saturday: Closed Sunday: Closed
How do I contact Farmers In The Park?
You can call (434) 970-3371 or visit http://www.charlottesville.gov/citymarket. Hours and current information are most reliable directly from the business.
What kind of business is Farmers In The Park?
Farmers In The Park is categorized as other in our Crozet directory. See the description and quick facts above for what makes this listing distinctive.
Sources: charlottesville.gov