It was hard to tell this last Saturday if the crowds were due to the fact that it was Fourth of July weekend or simply that the rain had kept folks from doing other activities. But the packed Farmers Market was wonderful for vendor and customer alike.

While the marimba music rang through the air, the freshness was vividly displayed. Rick Steffen’ red napa was eye-catching; Twitter Creek’s daikons were stunning; Synergy Garden’s green onions were thick and lush. Hilltop Farms’ crisp greens in bags or boxes, Snowshoe Hollow’s dense kale, and Luba’s Garden’s bright chard — all were offering up the best veggies available in town.

There was one baffling disappointment. Aaron at Citizen Salmon had brought a bunch of fresh salmon. Not frozen, but headed and gutted on ice for the best fresh fish you can get. And at the end of the day he was not sold out. How is this possible?

I recently had an opportunity to visit Nanwalek where a group of students were delighting in catching and processing a bunch of fresh salmon for their school lunches. It was a sterling example of how a food system should work: fresh, healthy, sustainable, multigenerational. They gave me a fillet to take home and I prepared it for a friend who was visiting. I didn’t realize she didn’t like eating fish. But even with a long-standing conviction like that, she was won over by the amazing experience of eating a caught-that-day fresh salmon.

So I just want to make sure everyone knows about this opportunity at the Market. Skip the dip, as Aaron would say. If dipnetting isn’t in your cards, send Citizen Salmon a text at 907-299-3811 and arrange to pick up your fresh salmon at the Market on Saturday. Sourced from local fishermen, you can’t get anything better.

And don’t forget to sign up for Kids Vending Day on the 17th so that your kids can step up into a multigenerational food system.

Come on down to the Market, rain or shine, for the freshest veggies and the freshest fish on Saturdays from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. and on Wednesdays from 2 p.m.-5 p.m.