LOGAN SQUARE — It's farmers market season again, and this year the Logan Square Farmers Market will be bringing even more tasty choices to market shoppers.
This year the market, hosted by the Logan Square Chamber of Commerce, is launching its "associate vendor" program.
The program allows vendors who cannot participate every week to sell their products on a part time basis by sharing a space with full-time vendors.
It also allows those with long drives to split time between multiple markets over the course of a Sunday.
"Time-wise, it just doesn't make sense for them to come all the way to the city for one market, but they sell good stuff and we want people to have access to it," said chamber executive director Paul Levin.
That includes Breslin Farms, a father-daughter team that grows organic beans and grains out of Downstate Ottawa, an hour and a half away.
Another one is Pair Tree Preserves, made in small batches for part of the season.
Aside from those developments, Levin said things will stay the same at the market.
Tula Yoga teachers will be leading yoga on the grass from 10 to 11 a.m. again, but this year Levin said they will try to do it every week.
The market will also continue to host acoustic music acts at a tent at Albany Avenue and Logan Boulevard. This Sunday, The Last Kind Words — a guitar and mandolin duo — will perform.
"So you show up, do your yoga, have something to eat, listen to some music, buy some food, then go home," Levin said.
Like last year, non-profit groups will also have booths set up to educate the public about their various causes. This Sunday will feature Food and Water Watch, a group concerned with food and water safety.
In Humboldt Park, the Puerto Rican Cultural Center launched the Paseo Boricua market last Friday at 2628 W. Division St. It will be held from 2 to 7 p.m. Fridays and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays until early October.
PRCC Deputy Director Militza Pagan said they brought it back this years after previous markets fizzled out a few years back.
"Now we're sort of trying to bring it back in a different way," she said.
Specifically, shoppers can pre-order canastas, Spanish for baskets, of produce ahead of time.
For $12.50, buyers will get a canasta with 14 pounds of any produce that they can then pick out at the market.
Orders must be ordered and paid for by 3 p.m. Thursday by calling (773) 227-7794.
The canasta service stems from a produce delivery service the PRCC tried in recent months where they picked out the baskets and dropped them off at various sites.
"We tried that for a little bit, but then we realized people sort of prefered to pick their own produce," Pagan said.
Later in the year, produce from local growers will also be available, all in an effort to bring more fresh fruits and veggies to the neighborhood.
"The focus of this program is to address the lack of fresh produce in Humboldt Park, specifically East Humboldt Park," she said.
Other area markets won't launch until June, including the city's brand new Logan Square Night Market to be held in Palmer Square at Palmer Street and Sacramento Avenue.
It will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays from June 26 to Sept. 4.
The city's West Humboldt Park farmers market will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays from June 29 to Oct. 26 in the Neighborhood Housing Services parking lot, 3601 W. Chicago Ave.
More information about the city-hosted markets can be found here.
