The popular UBC Farmers’ Market is back. Support local farmers, small businesses, entertainers, and buy goods at vendor stands every Saturday from 10 to 2 p.m., through to November 30 at 3461 Ross Drive.
The market reopened on June 1. During opening day, farm tours were led by market guides and included stops at the Indigenous gardens, which feature over 40 varieties of medicinal plants. Tours also covered the farm’s beehives, tomato gardens, greenhouses, and the apple garden.
Throughout the summer and into the fall, evening markets will also be held at the farm on Tuesdays from 4 to 6 p.m., and a third market offering the farm’s produce will be held Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. outside the UBC Bookstore.
In addition to the farm’s fresh produce – certified organic through the North Okanagan Organic Association – a wide range of vendors will be on-site to offer a wide variety of goods such as coffee, fresh breads and baked treats, organic vegetables and fruits, drinks, crafts and cooked food. There are also live local musicians to listen to while browsing the market.
Like in 2023, staff have made the decision to not keep hens at the farm, which means their popular eggs will not be available again this year. That decision is expected to be reviewed, and staff are hoping eggs will return sometime in the future.
This popular attraction is described by UBC Farm staff as the only multi-vendor farmer’s market in Vancouver on a working farm. Because of this, it’s important for visitors to adhere to certain rules: pets are not allowed except for service animals, visitors are not allowed to walk on cultivated fields and pick or destroy any vegetation, and visitors should refrain from being too close to farm and research equipment.
ELINA HAILAIJIAO IS A STUDENT AT UNIVERSITY HILL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL