You never notice a specific type of car until you buy it. Then, when you’re looking for your car in the supermarket parking lot, there are suddenly twenty more just like it. Thankfully, the battery hasn’t died in the key fob yet, and you can beep the horn and flash the lights until you find it.

Apparently that is now my luck with farmers’ markets. Both times I’ve traveled for work in the last month, I’ve stumbled across markets without even trying. While the first one was fairly anemic, the one in Parkersburg, WV this past week was hopping.

The first thing I saw were these posters prominently displayed in public places around town – this one, in my hotel lobby.

The market setup (the day before) with the Wood County Courthouse in the background. A great setting in downtown Parkersburg.

Signs set up in the lot nearby for guaranteed parking spaces.

And when I checked it out over lunchtime on Friday, it was bustling. Just how you expect a farmers’ market to look.

My overall impressions? The advertising was fabulous, very professional and eyecatching without looking too slick. The vendors were a nice mix of local produce and value-added goods. The band in the nearby shell kept people tapping their toes. Having the market over a lunch hour (10am-2pm) is a smart move in a city that rolls up the sidewalks after 5pm. Having WV Extension information there (both a table with a person to talk to and lots of pamphlets and handouts with recipes for food found at the market) is a great way for people who aren’t familiar with vegetables sold there to figure out what to do with them. And I even bought a market reusable bag. Because I’m a sucker for reusable bags.

Can’t wait to stumble across the next market!