After a cold winter, a crippling February ice storm and a soggy spring, the crops are finally in. 

Local farmers will be bringing red and green tomatoes, green beans, peppers, cucumbers, turnips, squash, English peas, broccoli and cauliflower to the Earth’s Bounty Festival in downtown Meridian on Saturday. 

The market opens at 8 a.m. and closes at noon at Singing Brakeman Park downtown on Front Street.

“Some of our customers have been disappointed for the last couple of months that we didn’t have much fresh produce,” said Earth’s Bounty chairman, Maureen Lofton. “Our produce is from our region. We don’t haul it in from California or Oregon, so it’s not like going to the grocery store. Our slogan is ‘Local, Fresher, Better,’ and that’s what we mean.”

Adding a new element to the fresh produce will be Mary’s Microgreen Market, which features plant shoots that can be added to entrees, salads and smoothies. She has a wide selection, including beets, mustard, kale, broccoli, salad mix, wheat grass, Swiss chard and pea shoots.

Participating farmers will accept vouchers from the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program, and the monthly gift bag will be awarded to a father, so register yourself or a dad you love. While you shop, country musician Daniel Houze will entertain, and you’ll want to see the Meridian Police Department Mounted Patrol with its Clydesdales. They’ll stop in for a visit, and you can’t miss them. 

Our presenting sponsor, Greater Meridian Health Clinic, will offer several free health screenings. New vendors include The Sudsery, featuring an array of aromatic bath balms, and Evans Expression of Elegance, with fresh baked goods. Returning vendors will tempt you with cinnamon buns, freshly baked bread, salsa, home-canned goods and a host of cookies, cakes, muffins and other treats.

During Saturday’s festival, we’ll award the prestigious Andy Smith Excellence Award, which will be given to the 2020 season vendor who best exemplified the vision and passion of Andy Smith, one of the founders of the Earth’s Bounty Festival.