Baltimore Farmers Market & Feast of St. Anthony Festival in Little Italy

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This will be another great day in Baltimore exploring two cool outdoor events in the same area. The Farmers Market is our first stop starting at 10:00 am, and then we'll walk over to catch the Feast of St. Anthony Festival around 12:00 pm. Come hungry because this all-day event is about experiencing tasty foods, buying fresh produce, and finding room in your stomach to eat more. We'll also find time to drink some wine in honor of the Saint...

Our SHR group did this event last August for the Feast of St. Gabriel and had a blast. So this year, we'll start the festivities two months earlier in June with the Feast of St. Anthony!

Baltimore Farmers Market at 10:00 am

We'll first meet at the Farmers Market located under the I-83 freeway. One side of the market area faces Gay St. under the freeway overhead. There's a popular vendor there with a smoking grill cooking delicious sausage and beef. The tantalizing smell and long line of customers mark the spot. That's where we'll meet up at 10:00 am to start looking around. Check the market aisles if you're late or don't see us.

This is not the standard farmers market found most places. It's a Baltimore institution that's really a vibrant outdoor food emporium filling a whole city block in a huge open space under a major freeway. It runs from April to December every Sunday morning from 7:00 am to 12:00 pm. The market features a regular cast of local produce vendors and prepared food stalls ranging from crepes to grilled sausages, Asian specialties, curries, Cajun food, fresh orange juice, real ice cream, grilled turkey burgers, fresh-made mini-donuts, super coffee, and much more. Mmmm....

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Because it's a city-regulated market with many repeat customers and selected vendors meeting high standards, people know what to expect and where to look for what they want. It's truly what a great farmers market should be...

In addition, the Baltimore Farmers Market is always a colorful place for watching a diverse hoard of people enjoying fresh food and produce that comes from local farms in Maryland. Getting there at 10:00 am gives us time to look around and buy what we want before the market closes down at noon.

The best plan is to walk around to see what's available, and then go back to buy what you want to eat there or take home. Plan to spend a good hour exploring the market. Things start winding down around 11:00 am, so don't wait till the last minute to buy what you want because the vendors will be sold out and packing to leave.

I usually park for free on a side street about two blocks away going toward Little Italy, which works well for this event since we'll be walking in that direction to the festival afterward. I plan to drop off my produce at the car and grab some vino on the way.

Full details about the Baltimore Farmers Market, the vendors, the standards for produce, and where to park can be found on the official website:

http://www.promotionandarts.com/index.cfm?page=events&id=3

The Feast of St. Anthony Festival in Little Italy at 12:00 pm

http://photos2.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/a/2/5/a/event_213161562.jpegAfter visiting the Baltimore Farmers Market, we'll walk a few blocks over to the Feast of St. Anthony Festival. Special thanks to Donna for alerting us to this cool street festival that typifies what we love about Baltimore.

St. Anthony was a beloved Franciscan monk, and a renowned preacher and biblical scholar in the 13th century. Unfortunately, he suffered from poor health and died when he was just 36 on June 13, 1231. Pope Gregory IX quickly made him a saint one year later in 1232.

The shrine to St. Anthony is located in Padua, Italy where he finished his life's work. Italian immigrants from that area kept their traditional Feast of St. Anthony as a festival in America to celebrate their religious and cultural heritage.

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Baltimore's Feast of St. Anthony Festival is known for having an array of awesome Italian foods to try at street stands. It supports the local parish of St. Leo's, and brings the neighborhood and visitors together in "la dolce vita" for an great afternoon. So let's get our Italian spirit and zest for al fresco food, drink, and street fun going in Little Italy. We certainly won't go away hungry!

http://photos2.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/c/c/3/a/event_213172282.jpegIf you arrive later, look for the festival and our SHR group near St. Leo's church at the intersection of S. Exeter St. and Stiles St.

Call Jake at 703-798-8435 if you have questions or need to find out where we are.

This will be a free-flowing afternoon where we'll follow the muse that always leads us to having a good time in Baltimore.

I hope to see you there!

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