Does This Make Me a SOAR Head?
Market in Chicago's Streeterville neighborhood is one of the week's openings
Does This Make Me a SOAR Head?
Local Food Forum is a level playing field for all of the Chicago region’s farmers markets, as represented by this week’s now-long day-by-day listing below. I do have personal favorites, though, and not surprisingly, they tend to be fairly close to where we live in Lakeview.
One of these is the SOAR Farmers Market, located in the downtown Chicago neighborhood of Streeterville (SOAR is the acronym for Streeterville Organization of Active Residents).
This market, which opens for the season Tuesday morning, is about as urban as it gets, located on the plaza in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art and very close to Michigan Avenue’s Magnificent Mile, the historic Water Tower and the 875 N. Michigan Ave. skyscraper better known as the Hancock building.
Yet once inside, the SOAR market has a strong vibe of a neighborhood market that happens to have a great lineup of vendors (most of which are familiar from the region’s larger markets).
I’d actually only heard about the SOAR market prior to 2020; I was a regular at Green City Market in Lincoln Park and also worked in an office clear across downtown for several years, which rather ruled out a farmers market stop on the way to work. But the onset of the COVID crisis forced Green City to forgo its Wednesday market through 2020, and SOAR, a quick hop down Lake Shore Drive on the 146 bus, became my mid-week market mainstay.
I came to like it so much that I returned frequently in 2021 (also the year I started publishing Local Food Forum), even after the other mid-week markets returned to their usual schedules. And I plan to pop in for tomorrow’s opening day. Early. I want to make sure they don’t sell out of strawberries before I get there.
Please keep scrolling to check out this week’s full market schedule.
This Week’s Chicago Region Farmers Markets
(* =Season openings)
Monday, June 6
Edgewater Farmers Market*, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., 5917 N. Broadway, Chicago
Hinsdale Farmers Market*, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., 30 E. Chicago Ave.
Tuesday, June 7
Lincoln Square Tuesday Farmers Market, 7 a.m. to noon, Lincoln & Leland, Chicago
Low-Line Farmers Market*, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., adj. to Southport Brown Line, Chicago
SOAR Farmers Market*, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., 220 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago
Sycamore Farmers Market*, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., 133 W. State St.
Woodstock Tuesday Farmers Market, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m, Historic Woodstock Square
Wednesday, June 8
Andersonville Farmers Market, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., 1500 W. Catalpa Ave., Chicago
Elmhurst Farmers Market, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.,, York Rd. and Valette
Garfield Ridge Farmers Market, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., 6072 S. Archer, Chicago
Green City Wednesday Market, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., 1817 N. Clark, Chicago
Ravinia Farmers Market, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., Jens Jensen Park, Highland Park
Riverside Farmers Market, 2:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., 10 Pine Ave.
Uptown Farmers Market, 2:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., 4620 N. Broadway, Chicago
Thursday, June 9
AMITA St. Mary and Elizabeth West Town Health Farmers Market, 1 p.m to 6 p.m., 2233 W. Division St., Chicago
Austin Town Hall City Market*, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., 5610 W. Lake St., Chicago
Barrington Farmers Market*, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., 200 Park Ave.
Daley Plaza Chicago City Market, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., 50 W. Washington St., Chicago
Glencoe Farmers Market, 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Wyman Green
Growing Home Farm Stand, 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., 1844 W. 59th St., Chicago
La Grange Farmers Market, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., 53 S. La Grange Rd.
Libertyville Farmers Market, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., Cook Park and W. Church St.
Lincoln Square Thursday Market, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., Lincoln & Leland, Chicago
PCC Austin Farmers Market, 10 a.m. to noon, 330 N. Lotus Ave., Chicago
South Loop Farmers Market Grant Park, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., S.E. corner of Roosevelt and Michigan, Chicago
Friday, June 10
Back of the Yards Farmers Market, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m, 940 W. 50th Pl., Chicago
Lake Bluff Farmers Market, 7 a.m. to noon, Village Green
Lake Zurich Farmers Market, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., 200 S. Rand Rd.
St. Charles Indoor Farmers Market, 9 a.m. to noon, Baker Memorial Church
Schaumburg Farmers Market, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., 190 S. Roselle Rd.
Saturday, June 11
Aurora Downtown Farmers Market, 8 a.m. to noon, Water St. Square
Batavia Farmers Market, 8 a.m. to noon, N. River St. betw. Wilson and Spring
Brookfield Farmers Market, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., 8820 Brookfield Ave
Deerfield Farmers Market*, 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Park Ave. betw. Jewett Park & Hazel
Division Street Chicago City Market, 7 a.m. to noon, Chicago
Downers Grove Farmers Market, 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., 5001 Main St.
Downtown Evanston Farmers Market, 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m, University Place and Oak Ave.
Elk Grove Farmers Market, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., 901 Wellington Ave.
Garfield Park Neighborhood Market*, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 135 N. Kedzie, Chicago
Grayslake Farmers Market, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 201 Center St.
Green City Market Lincoln Park, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., 1817 N. Clark, Chicago
Green City Market West Loop, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., 115 S. Sangamon St.
Homewood Farmers Market, 8 a.m to 1 p.m., Martin Ave. betw .Ridge & Chestnut
Horner Park Farmers Market, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., 2741 W. Montrose Ave., Chicago
Huntley Farmers Market, 8 a.m to 1 p.m.,11704 Coral St.
Kankakee Farmers Market, 8 a.m. to noon, S. Schuyler and Merchant
Mercado de Colores, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., 4345 W. 26th St. Chicago
Naperville Farmers Market, 7 a.m. to noon, 200 E. 5th Ave.
Northcenter Farmers Market, 8 a.m to 1 p.m., 4101 N. Damen Ave., Chicago
Oak Park Farmers Market, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m, 460 Lake St.
Park Forest Farmers Market, 7 a.m. to noon, 152 Main St.
Palatine Farmers Market, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., 137 W. Wood St.
Park Ridge Farmers Market, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., 15 Prairie Ave.
Plant Chicago Farmers Market, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Davis Square Park
61st Street Farmers Market, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., 6100 S. Blackstone Ave., Chicago
South Chicago Farmers Market, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., 9000 S. Mackinaw, Chicago
South Loop Farmers Market Printers Row, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., 632 S. Dearborn St., Chicago
Streator Farmers Market, 8 a.m. to noon, 200 N. Park St.
The Lincoln Park Farmers Market, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., 2001 N. Orchard, Chicago
West Humboldt Chicago City Market, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 3601 W. Chicago Ave.
Winnetka Farmers Market, 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., 510 Green Bay Rd.
Woodstock Saturday Farmers Market, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m, Historic Woodstock Square
Sunday, June 12
Buffalo Grove Farmers Market*, 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., 951 McHenry Rd.
Glenwood Sunday Market, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Glenwood Ave. betw. Morse & Lunt, Chicago
Hyde Park Farmers Market, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., 54th St. & Old Lake Park Ave. West, Chicago
Jefferson Park Farmers Market*, 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., 4818 N. Long Ave., Chicago
Logan Square Farmers Market, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., 3107 W. Logan Blvd., Chicago
Mount Prospect Lions Club Farmers Market, 8 a.m to 1 p.m., Northwest Hwy. & Main St.
North Park Community Market*, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 5510 N. Christiana Ave., Chicago
Pilsen Community Market, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., 1811-25 S. Blue Island Ave., Chicago
95th St. Farmers Market, 8 a.m to 1 p.m., 1835 W. 95th St., Chicago
Roscoe Village Farmers Market*, 8 a.m. to noon, 3149 N. Wolcott, Chicago
Skokie Farmers Market, 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., 5127 Oakton St.
The Dole Farmers Market, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 401 Country Club Rd.
Wicker Park Farmers Market, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., 1425 N. Damen Ave., Chicago
Coming Up Next Week
Wednesday, June 15: Ravenswood (Chicago) Farmers Market
Friday, June 17: Mundelein Farmers Market
Saturday, June 18: Crystal Lake Farmers Market; Glenview Farmers Market