On May 3rd, 2003, 25 farmers, 26 food and craft vendors, 1 bleary eyed band and a handful of staffers woke before the sun and set out to transform an under-utilized city park into bustling pop up farmers’ market. There were over 3,500 visitors that first day and if you ask some of our longtime staff and vendors, a lot of those folks are still up with the sun every Saturday morning to fill their well-worn canvas bags with produce and chat with farmers that have turned into friends.

We’ve been lucky to have loyal customers as well as longtime partnerships with local growers, like Katie Kraemer-Pitre of Tecolote Farm. Last week we got to talk to Katie about her tenure at the SFC Farmers’ Market Downtown (formerly the Austin Farmers’ Market) and about the importance of markets as a community space and for the continued success of her farm. As she or any farmer will tell you, sustainability means a farm that is still going to be here next year. Click here to watch Katie on Fox 7 Good Day Austin!

People shop at the farmers’ market to feed their families, reconnect with their food, some just for the ‘gram, and others because the market is a gathering place for the community. To celebrate this momentous occasion we invite all our shoppers to a 15th Anniversary Party this weekend where it all started, in Republic Square. Get swept up in shopping while Mariachi Alma de Tejas, a student led band out of UT Austin, serenades you with songs of love. Head over to the photobooth to snap a pic with your friends, or just hang out on the lawn sipping on lemonade as you listen to Tejano Band Ricardo Negreto Y Los Diamantes. Head to the deck at 10:30am to wish the market many more, witness the cake cutting (free cake for everyone!), and let the kiddos go wild on some piñatas.

Thank you to all of our loyal customers, steadfast growers, our innovative foodies, Suzanne Santos, the Downtown Austin Alliance, Austin Parks Foundation, the City of Austin, hardworking crew members and everyone else who has left their mark on the farmers’ market these last fifteen years.

See you at the market!