August is prime time for city, county and state agricultural fairs! These fun summertime events bring communities together. Farmers markets also are an increasingly popular community gathering spot.
So, what would happen if the fair theme was combined with a farmers market? You would get County Fair Time at the USDA Farmers Market at Night on Friday, August 21, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Washington, D.C., near the National Mall!
USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has managed the weekly daytime USDA Farmers Market, at 12th and Independence Avenue, S.W., in Washington, D.C. for 20 years. The daytime market is open on Fridays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., May through October.
This year, the USDA Farmers Market team is experimenting with a series of six monthly USDA Farmers Market at Night. Each night market, open from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on the third Friday of the month, will feature different vendors than those at the day market as well as different live entertainment and educational exhibits.
The August 21st Night Market will include members of Union Kitchen, a Washington, D.C.-based food incubator, who will offer many of the traditional foods associated with state and county fairs. Union Kitchen members as well as food trucks from DC, Virginia and Maryland will offer menu items served on-a-stick like savory firecracker shrimp, cake, corndogs and key lime pie. Of course, no fair would be complete without funnel cake. Food Trucks participating include Reba's Funnel Cakes, Fava Pot, Carolina Q, Crab Cab, and RockSalt. There also will be exhibits including 4-H displays from the University of the District of Columbia, other agriculture exhibitions, demonstrations, unique attractions and fun competitions. Market visitors will be able to dance to the energetic, foot-stomping tunes of Notes from the Underground, a DC-based Newgrass trio that performs innovative acoustic folk music drawing on Bluegrass, Jazz, Irish and Old-Time traditions.
If you’ve never taken a ride on the Carousel on the Mall you may get a chance on the 21st for free! 100 free tickets to ride the carousel, which will be operating until 7:30 p.m., will be among the game prizes awarded at the market.
The USDA Farmers Market is located next to the People’s Garden, a beautifully landscaped garden maintained by USDA employee volunteers and steps from the museums on the National Mall. Visitors to the August 21st Night Market can explore the garden, play corn hole and picnic on the lawn.
So if you are in the DC area, please join us on Friday, August 21 from 5-8 p.m. There will be lots to eat, see and do! Or find a farmers market in your hometown or wherever you travel by visiting USDA’s Local Food Directories. The directories are an easy, one-stop shop for information on local farmers markets, community-supported agriculture (CSA) enterprises, food hubs, and on-farm markets. All of these initiatives contribute to USDA’s Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food (KYF2) initiative, which coordinates efforts across USDA to support local and regional food systems.
For more details, follow us on Twitter @USDA_AMS. Look for the #USDAFarmersMkt hashtag for updates about both the day and night markets or visit us online.
