To many Portlanders, the Saturday summer Farmer’s Market held at Deering Oaks is sacrosanct.  That’s why I can’t understand why the market gets upstaged—at the same time and place–by the yearly Festival of Nations.  Couldn’t that event be held on a Sunday and not interrupt the coveted farmer’s market?

Though as one vendor put it, “It only happens once a year,” in response to my griping.  The market itself was pushed to the far end of the park, along a byway called Bowling Green (never heard of it).  Parking was just about impossible.  Maybe it’s time that the market finds its own dedicated space, perhaps in an open field in Bayside where parking is plentiful. As is, the city of Portland is stricter on parking during the market.

Festival of Nations at Deering Oaks

I found a space to park a few blocks away along Park Avenue.  That roadway is so busy that crossing the street to get to the park side is a dangerous maneuver.  Still, I went in and didn’t like the vibes one bit and did an abrupt turn around.  I went to the market for specific items such as local fennel, onion, blueberries, sour cherries and my weekly stash of eggs from Alewive’s Brook Farm.

Various vendors at Cumberland Farmer’s Market, where the prices are often less such as blueberries for $6 instead of $8 in Portland

There are certainly other markets in the region.  Brunswick’s Crystal Springs Market is a fabulous venue where you can get everything from hard-carved bowls, locally roasted coffee, organic vegetables, baked goods, meat, fish and more on the idyllic farmstead of Crystal Springs managed by the Topsham-Brunswick Land Trust. Other Saturday markets within a half-hour drive include Saco,  Kennebunk and Bath.

At the Cumberland Farmer’s Market held at the Cumberland Center Town Hall

Still it’s a 50 mile jaunt round trip Brunswick and the others, and I wasn’t in the mood for the trek.Then it occurred to me to drop in on the Cumberland Farmer’s Market, only 7 miles away at Cumberland Center.

Kay Fowler at Cumberland Farmer’s Market; new this year are her pastured chickens  raised at the farm on Greely Road.  They are true barnyard chickens, loaded with flavor and average 6 to 8 pounds

It’s a small market with under 15 vendors.  But they sell a select cache of farm goods.  Cumberland Center is a pretty little enclave off the route 1 strip–rural, country, nearly otherworldly from the city hustle-bustle.