Sometimes when we travel to new places we wonder how to meet the locals and learn what they are generally about and the vibe that they exude. Well if you're ever in Bend, Oregon (and are wondering the same thing) we'd recommend giving their Farmer's Market in the Northwest Crossing neighborhood a try. If I were to overly simplify the local vibe I'd describe it as laidback. Not like the SoCal surfer mindset where most things are deemphasized in importance ("Dude, you should just chill!), but more like the quality of life mindset where living and appreciating each moment carries great value ("Man, isn't it great to be HERE right now?"). Clearly participating in the proverbial "rat race" holds little value in this place. Hosted every Saturday (June-September, 10:00-2:00) you'll find a wide array of unique booths to stroll by. You might expect the fresh produce, but may be surprised by the honey, gourmet mushrooms, grass fed beef, pies, hummus, and soaps. The emphasis here is on the local products that they proudly produce. We heard about the Farmer's Market from several of the locals and they suggested that spending 2 hours is pretty typical. While we wondered if that might be more than we needed, we found ourselves losing track of time because we became immersed in meandering about just soaking up the atmosphere and chatting with the locals (both the attendees and the vendors). If we lived here I think we might just come back every week! And that's...Henry's Take. #bendfarmersmarket #bendvibe #unplug read more

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Great NWX community event. Seasonal but well worth checking out but be considerate of parking in any of the private lots. Tons of street parking. All NWX shops open, lots of booths, food, music and happy people. Note this is a no dogs event. read more

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Not a farmers market! More of a crafts fair. More booze then produce ! Slick money making overpriced operation! High prices!

Much bigger than I expected. Great selection of produce and other food products. Lots of art and jewelry. Highly recommend!

If you thought the NW Crossing Farmers Market was good last, year and it was, this year it is even better! Here's why. RELOCATED FROM SIDE STREET TO LARGER MAIN STREET: Moved up a block from Ft. Clatsop to Northwest Crossing drive and also expanded to be two blocks long. This means more room for vendors and easier access than before for everyone who wants to come shop here, from parents with strollers to kids on trikes to adults using canes and wheelchairs. All people are welcome - well done. (Equal access is not provided by Bend's other two Farmers Markets. Perhaps they should hire this coordinator to make that happen.) MORE VENDORS: More vendors this year, although still probably too view farmers in the mix with a good many, really good artisan food producers. GREAT LOCAL ARTISAN FOOD PURVEYORS: New this year in the latter category is a honest to goodness artisan gelato company, Bonta. (That the delectable Bend Cookie Company has the booth adjacent is happy serendipity!) We picked a pint of roasted rhubarb gelato to carry home with us from the eight or so varieties of gelato and sorbet. Also included artisan foods were a toffee maker, a salsa and fresh tortilla maker, Latin sauces specialty company Barcelona (all yum I can say from personal experience), a vendor offering several kinds of wicked good homemade sauerkraut, a maker of small batch homemade jam, much loved local bakery Sparrow... among many others. GROWERS OF YUMMY AND BEAUTIFUL THINGS: From the farmers we bought some great organic leafy greens, sweet snap peas, incredibly good organic heirloom tomatoes, two different kinds of aromatic and yummy Oregon strawberries (they really ARE the best ever) as well as some perfectly ripe marionberries. Also new to the market this year is a flower purveyor selling both premade mixed bouquets and making up custom ones two. The two women that staffed the booth had their hands wonderfully full of lovely flowers due to brisk sales. HORSE DRAWN CART RIDES AVAILABLE: Another good thing this year is they've moved the petting zoo to a larger lot and more away from the food vendors, plus added a horse drawn cart giving "hay rides" up and down the side street for kids and adults alike. COMMUNITY GATHERING WITH FOOD AND MUSIC: We bought a cup of coffee from local shop Sage Cafe, a cranberry pecan scone from vendor - local bakery Sparrow, sat at one of the several tables set up in the middle of the street (universal seating height too so everyone can use them - yahoo) and listened to the band Five Pint Mary play some great Celtic tunes that were a perfect fit for a summer morning. Local social enterprise restaurant Common Table also has a large booth offering food for sale as new addition this year. BOTTOM LINE: So far the NW Crossing Farmers Market folks are on a roll to provide a great local outdoor market, neighborhood market experience. I hope they'll be able to line up even more farmers to round out the mix. If they continue like this, it will be fun to watch it grow up leveraging strengths every year. But they won't make it if folks don't support it. So here's our recommendation - GO. PS PRACTICAL INFO: Hours 10a - 2p every Saturday through the summer. Port-a-potty "facilities" near the info booth. read more

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For 2020, the organizers of the market have done an exemplary job of setting protocols for safe shopping during the pandemic - single direction foot traffic lanes, sanitizing stations, lots of signs. Many of the vendors have limits on the number of customers allowed in front of their booths. All that and it's still a vibrant market. read more

Amazing! Hands down the best farmers market we have been to this summer. (Farmers markets are my jam). So many cool, locally created & made products. We purchased a large variety of things. (We we're passing through with a long drive ahead of us, so we didn't actually get any produce - I know, it is a sinful first). There were plenty of fresh produce options thought, reasonably priced & delicious looking. We bought bend sauce, hot sauce, bbq sauce, (Husband is saucy), BeRUNA seasoning, bend simple products granola, bento gelato, compassion kombucha, CBD fountain oil & gummies, fine-tuned foods energy balls, messy magic herbal hair wash, beef jerky & possibly more. They had so much more! Clothes, jewelry, meats, fish, teas, honey, lotions, furniture, wood working, meat pies (long line, we heard they run out weekly), fresh juices, dessert booths. We were there 2 hrs but could've spent a lot more time. Kids were getting impatient & ready to go. read more

Eclectic mix of stuff. Very comfortable surroundings. Easy to get around. Shops, food carts and music. Nice venue. Produce, baked goods, dog treats, soaps, honey, crafts, kombucha and more. Pretty pleased with the produce selection, add the "Curry Cart" and beer, it's a match. They don't have beer at the downtown farmers market. Not that it's a deal breaker, but it's a nice "bonus". Queen Bee Baking is here as well. GREAT bakery that doesn't currently have a retail store. The most wonderful macarons (yes, spelled correctly). Meringue type cookie with some of the most wonderful fillings - lemon poppyseed is my favorite, but there is grapefruit, apricot, raspberry white chocolate, salted caramel, you get the idea. $2 a cookie and a must have. There really is a definite extreme between the retired affluent and the slacker, work when I want to population of Bend. That might be our diversity. And this place nails it, this place meets the needs of both groups and everyone in between. This is a really good farmer's market, lots of choices, lots of variety. Worth a look, especially when it's hot because you don't roast while you are doing your shopping. read more

Went to the farmers market today after looking at their website found out Dogs are not a loud. So we left.

I dig the community feel up here. All the vendors I've interacted with are super helpful and interesting! The band they had last weekend was super good. A nice way to spend a bit of time in a neighborhood I don't normally get to. read more

Great market in a great neighborhood. Spread out, well-organized and great variety. Brick and mortar eateries and retail on the same block so many options for shopping and eating beyond the market. Loved the almond cookies and meat pies. Can't remember the vendor names though. Two thumbs up!! read more

What a wonderful farmers market! All the fresh, high quality fruits and vegetables you would expect, plus microbrews, fresh Oregon fish, music, Mexican tamales. read more