Escapes: To market, to market in Harrisonburg, Va.

A tantalizing whiff of barbecued buffalo wafted through the market stalls.

Standing in front of a “Blueridge Bison” sign, two young guys were handing out samples as fast as they could cook them. Jesse Groeneweg was also passing out cards that read “Bison, what cows want to be when they grow up.”

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(Julia Duin) - TheHarrisonburg FarmersMarket began in 1979 as a collection of seasonal vendors. Now, morethan 50 vendors sell vegetables, bread, eggs, dairy products, meats and even funky crafts.

The meat was from Second Mountain Buffalo Farm, just west of Harrisonburg, Va. And this, Groeneweg confided, was the young men’s first time trying to sell the stuff at the Harrisonburg Farmers Market. Next time, they’d bring a second table and a cash box to handle the crowd, he said. Because there definitely was a crowd milling about the Turner Pavilion.

Harrisonburg, a rural college town, was hardly a foodie destination in my book until I dragged my 5-year-old daughter and a friend to its famed Saturday farmers market. The city posts directional signs for marketgoers just off Interstate 81, so it’s not difficult to find the place, a few blocks from James Madison University. We headed straight for the pavilion, where we encountered Andy Yoder, co-owner of Shady Haven Cheese.

“We don’t get rich [here], but this helps,” he said, motioning to his homemade pimento cheese and cheese balls. “This market’s been very good to us.”

We walked past tables stacked with butternut squash, duck eggs, sweet potatoes, white turnips, fresh breads, soaps, butters, honeys and mushrooms. Some of the Mennonite vendors were selling jams with exotic mixtures such as apricot-pineapple-sage. Others were funky craftsmen, such as metalsmith and photographer Seth Barch, who had chain-mail garb on display.

My daughter liked the earrings he made out of recycled aluminum cans, but I was on the lookout for cheeses and yogurts. My friend wanted free-range eggs. The latter sell out quickly in farmers markets inside the Beltway, but they were plentiful here in Virginia’s agriculture belt.

We moved about the stalls, slowly filling up a cooler we’d brought along. I struck up a conversation with Guy Freeson, who drives about 20 miles from his family-owned Chari Eco-Farm in Staunton to display beef and poultry products. “It’s a very good market,” he said. “The demand for local food and knowing your farmer is huge.”

People come from several states to buy food that comes more or less directly from cows, hens, goats, buffaloes and the herb garden. This market dwarfed others I’d visited in terms of sheer amount of protein. It’s close to dozens of Rockingham County farms, from which it’s easy to transport fresh meat, eggs and dairy products. One vendor had whole hogs available. Another was handing out plates of mouth-watering sausage and eggs.

One woman sat alone at a table bedecked with photographs of JMU scenes. Her son, who suffers from Guillain-Barre syndrome, had taken the photos, she said.

“Are we making a living?” the mother asked plaintively. “No, but when you’re unemployed, it’s something.” Moved, I plunked down $4 and bought a photo card of a farm ringed by low green foothills.

Meanwhile, my daughter, who loves any sort of music, had wandered over to two JMU students who were tuning up a violin and a banjo. Live music at the market begins at 10 a.m. The money isn’t huge, the musicians told me, but people are appreciative.

As their folk melodies rang out, a breeze blew through the place. I spotted Josie Showalter, the market manager, wandering about the crowd. The market began in 1979 as a collection of seasonal vendors; it was incorporated in 1993, and she was hired in 2007.

“The market has really boomed in the past four or five years,” Showalter said. “When I started managing it, there were 20 vendors.”

She oversaw fundraising for the $300,000 open-air pavilion, which was completed in 2008 thanks to community support and sizable donations from two families. More than 50 vendors now show up.

“Two things make this market appealing to people: the quality and diversity of products,” Showalter said proudly. “People rave about the gorgeous food. And it’s not just a place to shop. People come to hang out, drink coffee and be with friends on Saturday mornings. When you talk with the person who has the chickens who laid the eggs you will eat tomorrow morning, that’s a lot better than grabbing a carton from the supermarket.”

After stopping by the tearoom in the Harrisonburg visitors center, we grabbed a quick lunch at a Thai restaurant. Finally heading back home with a cooler full of veggies and dairy products, I couldn’t help thinking that the supermarket might have been cheaper.

But going to market was a lot more fun.

Duin is a Maryland writer.

STAYING THERE

Joshua Wilton House

412 S. Main St.

540-434-4464

www.joshuawilton.com

Built in 1888, this elegant Victorian mansion is across the street from the market. Rooms from $145.

Stonewall Jackson Inn

547 E. Market St.

540-433-8233

www.StonewallJacksonInn.com

Large, airy house. Rooms from $139.

EATING THERE

Taste of Thai

917 S. High St.

540-801-8878

www.taste-of-thai.com

Enormous servings and very popular. Entrees $9 to $25.

Mrs. Hardesty’s Tea Room

212 S. Main St.

540-432-8942

www.hardestystea.com

Salads, quiches and sandwiches $5.25 to $8.25.

PLAYING THERE

Harrisonburg
Farmers Market

228 S. Liberty St.

540-476-3377

www.harrisonburgfarmersmarket.com

7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesdays and Saturdays; June through September, also 4 to 7 p.m. Thursdays.