Bloomington Farmer's Market
One hour in the Bloomington Farmer's Market was clearly not enough. By the time i had a chance to sample the local produce, grab an iced coffee, pet an exotic bird, and dance with African drummers, it was time for our group to leave. I accomplished a lot in those sixty minutes, but I could have easily spent the entire day at the farmers market.
Every Saturday from April to November, the City of Bloomington hosts a community farmer's market next to City Hall. From 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. all are welcome to come support their local farmers and locally made products, while listening to the local musical attractions.
I was amazed at the wide variety of music I could hear as I approached the outer edges of the market. I entered was startled by the appearance of a scarlet macaw perched on the back of a bicycle. The creature's owner stood next to his bird and we spoke for a while. "The people here would much rather come to a market, than go to a mall or supermarket. This is a much more social place," he told me. This idea of socialization in the market place has not been destroyed despite the focus on commercialization and saving money in today's markets.
After seeing the macaw, i proceeded to an African drum circle. A man in indigenous African garb smacked a drum with his hands as a woman in costume danced to the beat. After studying the field of participatory music in class, I immediately recognized this as a participatory musical performance. The woman dancing was joined by a small child who wandered into the middle of the space. Everyone was keeping there distance from the drummer and dancer, making a distinct line between audience and artist. Although this group was clearly a participatory act, the Americans could not identify that they were encouraged to participate. The American crowd turned a participatory musical act into a presentational act because of their behavior. I begged the people with me to join them in order to experience the performance for our class. One of my classmates, Jacob Moore, decided to join me, and together we tried our best to follow the dancer who led the tiny group of women who had joined before us. We danced and discovered that African dancing is fun, and hard.
With my spirits lifted, I ventured into the rest of the market. I grabbed a smooth iced coffee and my girlfriend snacked on a chocolate chip muffin that was available at a bakers tent. We browsed the aisles of fresh produce, and after seeing such a wide variety of fruits and veggies, my girlfriend punched a small basket of fresh, tart blackberries for $3.
Besides African drummers, the Bloomington community farmer's market offered a wide variety of musical performance. A majority of the artists played folk music, which perfectly suited it's surroundings. A bearded one-man band entitled, "The Wildflower Union" sang, played bass drum and mandolin. Other artists were two piece folk groups, with a few solo artists spread out in between. Some were better than others, but this venue did not have a competitive feeling whatsoever. Instead the artists were all being given the same opportunity to perform for free and in the name of pure enjoyment and socialization.
The Bloomington community farmer's market was a wonderful environment for socialization. Live music, participatory musical groups and presentational acts filled the air with music, while crowds of hungry people surveyed the market, in search of a ripe peach. If given more time I would love to explore the market and speak to the people who frequent it, but I think my experience there was sufficient. I look forward to going to many more farmer's markets while I inhabit the great city of Bloomington, and I would encourage anyone to visit their local food market in search of that perfect peach or tomato. Happy hunting, and buy local.
~ Joe
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