With over 60 Virginia vendors and hundreds of patrons, the Ix Art Park Farmers market bustles with energy every Saturday of the year. It is a picturesque scene set against the backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and if you’re lucky, the sun will be shining brightly through the crisp fall air. I love spending a morning at the market wandering around the booths and admiring the craft of local businesses.
About a 30-minute walk and a five-minute drive from central Grounds, the market at Ix Art Park is not too far from the University. It’s perfect for a grocery run or a social outing — I visit the market every few weeks with friends. Here are my tried-and-true suggestions to make the most of your shopping experience.
Fresh produce
I recommend two booths that sell fresh fruits and vegetables sourced from local farms — Lesley’s Garden and Singing Earth Produce. Both vendors arrange their produce under large tents to accommodate a sizable flow of patrons making their selections. These are great farms to support if you want to stock up on some nutritious essentials for the week ahead.
This weekend, these two vendors had a variety of seasonal offerings, including pumpkins and squash. Lesley’s Garden boasted a large array of flowers in addition to dry chilis, tomatoes, corn, carrots, purple cabbage and homemade pickles. Singing Earth Produce was selling radishes, potatoes, peppers, onions and garlic. From the signs posted on the booths, I learned that these vendors offer The Fresh Match Program which will match up to $50 in SNAP — Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — benefits to use on fresh fruits and vegetables.
The market also has specialty food vendors if you want to splurge on items that you can’t find at the grocery store. I suggest stopping by Wegner Grapes for some Concord grapes — they are locally grown in the Shenandoah Valley, and they are incredibly juicy and sweet. Opposite Wegner Grapes this weekend was Edgewood Apiaries which sells local raw honey in addition to a catered selection of honeycomb, soap and candles. I sampled the raw honey, and it had a light, almost fruity flavor, unique from other brands of honey I have tried before. I would recommend picking up some of their honey to stir into tea or drizzle over baked goods.
Food and drink
In my opinion, the most important stop at the market is Frolic Coffee. They are a family-owned business that roasts their coffee locally in Charlottesville with organic beans sourced from Ethiopia, Honduras and Peru. At an extremely affordable price — $3 for a 12 oz customizable iced cold brew — this has become my favorite stop at the Farmers Market. Once you pay for your drink, you’re handed a cup with ice to fill with as much cold brew as you like. Then, you can add milk, agave nectar or simple syrup to suit your preferences. There are plenty of other drink options as well, including batch brew hot coffee, pour-overs, chai and matcha.
After you get your coffee from Frolic, make a beeline to the bright yellow tent of Bee Conscious Bakery, an environmentally friendly, family-owned farm that sells their homemade pastries at Ix Art Park. They offer a variety of cookies and muffins, all made with organic ingredients, but I go for a personal favorite — a blueberry and lemon scone. The scone is always so moist, and it is a perfect balance of sweet blueberry and tangy lemon, finished with a dusting of sugar.
On my most recent trip to the market, I discovered LG’s Elixir, which sells organic cold-pressed juice. They only use 11 all-natural ingredients, including turmeric, ginger and habanero pepper among others. I love fresh juice, so I had to try a sample, and it really woke me up with its acidic tang. It’s also a nourishing option thanks to the antioxidants in all the natural ingredients. I will definitely come back next week to buy a bottle. While most booths are at the market each week, LG’s Elixir is there only on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month, so plan your visit accordingly if you want a taste of their refreshing “elixir.” Corner Juice aficionados, this one’s for you.
Artisanal goods and flowers
The market also has many vendors selling artisanal goods, from handmade jewelry to arts and crafts. One of my favorites is the Charlottesville Poem Store, falling at a unique intersection of arts and community building. You name a topic, and the vendors will write a poem for you on the spot — on a vintage typewriter. A personalized poem makes for such a thoughtful gift for friends and family. The store also has literary-inspired pins, bookmarks with poetry quotes and small art prints for sale.
Another popular booth is Orion Family Farms, a queer-owned flower farm in Buckingham, Va. Customers can DIY their own flower bouquets and choose their vases or paper wrapping. “Pay what you can, pay it forward” is the motto of Orion Family Farms, so their customizable flowers operate on a pay as you will basis.
It is such a fun activity to do with friends — while you all get to choose your flowers together, each bouquet turns out completely different. However, these run out fast — there were a few times last semester when I tried to make a bouquet, but the flowers were all taken by the time I got there. I’d stop by Orion Family Farms around 10 a.m. to ensure that you’ll have a great floral selection for your bouquet.
While these are my top recommendations, you truly cannot go wrong with any vendor at the market. Each booth has great offerings, and there is always something new to discover.
The market isn’t just a hub for business — it’s a beautiful kaleidoscope of community. It’s one of the few events that brings together local artisans, city residents and students to enjoy food, art and culture. It’s for this reason that the market has become a staple of my time at the University, and I highly recommend a visit.
The market is open on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. from October to March and from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. from April to September.
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