Let’s face it, San Luis Obispo is a pretty awesome place to live and go to school. For those of you who are new to the area, welcome. It won’t take long for you to see how special this place is, if you haven’t already.
This column will look at places and events that make San Luis Obispo great. Hopefully, they’ll either be something you already know and love, or maybe something you haven’t checked out yet.
This week we’ll be looking at The San Luis Obispo Farmers’ Market, held on Thursday evenings on Higuera Street. It’s officially called Thursday Night Promotions (TNP) by the San Luis Obispo Downtown Association because there’s a lot more to it than just a market. TNP Event Coordinator Diana Cotta called it “a big street fair.”
If you’re a freshman, you probably saw it during Week of Welcome (WOW), and you have to admit it was pretty unforgettable.
The event started in 1983, so clearly they’re doing something right. Cotta said it used to be restricted to businesses that were inside the city’s Downtown Business Improvement District, which consists of the core downtown area. Then, in 1984, the Downtown Association contracted with the Farmers’ Market Association. Cotta said produce vendors from all over the Central Valley were invited.
Finally in 2006, businesses that weren’t members of the Downtown Business Improvement District were allowed to participate. Now businesses from as far as Paso Robles are part of the event. Cotta said on average about 80 vendors participate weekly, but the number can go up or down depending on the season.
The large number of vendors offer much more than produce – although the produce is always great. Local restaurants and stores have booths to sell products, and there’s always live entertainment on the streets off of Higuera. Cotta said since the decision to open up the event to non-member businesses in 2006, the number of vendors that participate has seen a huge spike.
The event is unique to San Luis Obispo because of the diversity of what’s offered, Cotta said, and because it’s been so sustainable.
“Twenty-eight years for an event is amazing,” she said.
Farmers’ market might not sound all that exciting on paper, but it’s the charm of it all that makes Thursday nights downtown so enjoyable. It’s a perfect example of the friendly and easygoing attitude in San Luis Obispo.
Farmers’ market serves as a getaway from everyday life. For a couple hours on Thursdays you can just postpone the stress of everything you have to get done and enjoy what’s in San Luis Obispo beyond the borders of campus.
And SLOcals aren’t the only fans.
TNP has won a variety of awards, including the Governor’s Main Street Award for Excellence in Promotion in 1994, and an award from the San Luis Obispo County Visitors and Conference Bureau for Outstanding Tourism Promotion in 1997. She added that they’ve helped the Downtown Associations in a lot of other cities start their own farmers’ markets. They made a video approximately 15 years ago showing how the event was started and developed in San Luis Obispo so other cities can get ideas for their own. Ours is that good.
Cal Poly plays a part in the event as well, in attending and participating.
Cotta said a lot of Cal Poly groups have kickoff events at the Farmers’ Market.
It’s no surprise to go to Farmers’ and see Cal Poly students wandering around — you might even run into someone you know there.
There’s so much to see and experience at Farmers’ that everyone has their favorite part. History sophomore Alexandria Kinnee said there’s an atmosphere to the event that’s unique to San Luis Obispo.
“You don’t see a Farmers’ Market like that anywhere else,” Kinnee said.