In honor of Sequim’s Lavender Weekend, the Sequim Farmers & Artisans Market will be open for two days, with extended hours, this upcoming weekend.

Whether you’re looking for the quintessential local experience to enhance your lavender celebration or just aiming to stock up on your weekly groceries, join us from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, July 16, and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday, July 17, to enjoy the best of the best from your community marketplace.

Haven’t been to your farmers market recently? Things sure have changed in the past several years. The market is now home to more than 55 small, local businesses with an alternating array of community organizations participating each Saturday.

The market has earned its reputation as Sequim’s one-stop shop for local necessities with a fabulous selection of seasonal fruits, vegetables, culinary and medicinal herbs, fresh flowers, mushrooms and honey. Come prepared to enjoy samplings of local wine, cider and four unique bakeries.

The aroma of cinnamon roasted nuts and smoked barbeque will greet you as you near the market grounds and freshly prepared espresso beverages are crafted on-site for you to enjoy as your browse the market.

Shoppers can treat themselves to locally grown nursery starts, hand-blended teas, spices, medicinal salves, tinctures and CBD-infused remedies.

Artisan talents are in full presence this season with knife sharpening, massage and bodywork, bike repair, jewelry, wooden wares, textiles, candles, soap, pottery, macrame, reusable household items, leather and even gnome habitats.

Hosting guests this Lavender Weekend? The market is a fun and simple way to support (and show off) the incredible talents of your friends, family, and neighbors on the Olympic Peninsula.

Live music is in full swing now with the Sounds of Sequim Summer Concert Series and is best enjoyed this Saturday by bringing a chair and settling in to see Nightingale perform live on the Sequim Civic Center Plaza steps, from 11 a.m.-2 p.m., right in the middle of the market excitement.

The full music season will have you tapping your toes each Saturday through Sept. 3, with exciting performances from Sequim favorites such as the Hot Llamas, At Large (featuring Amanda Bacon and Todd Ortloff), Mixed Company, Cort Armstrong, Anderson Lake Swamp Thing, and Ches & Friends.

Community Programs lend a hand

The Sequim Farmers & Artisans Market aims to ensure that everyone is thoroughly welcomed as we gather to celebrate our local growers and makers. These efforts are a part of the market’s Community Programs.

On Senior Appreciation Days, the last Saturday of every month, $2 vouchers are given to seniors to purchase from any vendor at the market, presented by Nutritious Movement.

On Kids Days, the first Saturday of each month, you’ll find new and exciting children’s activities and $3 vouchers offered to kiddos to purchase fresh fruit and vegetables. This program is intended to empower children to make their own healthy choices as they explore the market and is made possible by the support of Nutritious Movement and Stone Tree Farms.

Shoppers also know that if they’re one of the first 25 to present their reusable bag to market staff, they will receive $2 to purchase from any vendor at the market. This program is sponsored by BrokersGroup, as an effort to reduce waste in our community.

Recipients of SNAP — Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps — will double their SNAP electronic benefits transfer (EBT) dollars by redeeming them at the market. SNAP EBT recipients receive a $1 for $1 Market Match.

Additionally, WIC (Women, Infants, and Children)/Senior recipients in the Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) recipients receive a one-time, $40 Market Match per qualifying shopper.

All market currencies are issued at the market information booth. EBT, FMNP, and Market Match currencies may be used at any time throughout the length of the market season and allow shoppers to keep their money in the local economy.

Celebrate Lavender Weekend like a local! If you’ve heard the buzz but haven’t gotten a chance to experience this authentic, rural marketplace, be sure to stop by the Sequim Farmers & Artisans Market this weekend to join in the celebration of the most bountiful time of the year. This community event has no entrance fee and is welcome to all.

Emma Jane Garcia is the director of the Sequim Farmers & Artisans Market.

Sequim Farmers & Artisans Market

Open: 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays through Oct. 30

Special Lavender Weekend hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, July 16; 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday, July 17

Location: Sequim Civic Center Plaza and Centennial Place, downtown Sequim

More info: manager@sequimmarket.com

On the web: sequimmarket.com

Photo by Emma Jane Garcia/Sequim Farmers & Artisans Market Peruse a variety of gnome pottery items at the Ohmygator Studios at the Sequim Farmers & Artisans Market

Photo by Emma Jane Garcia/Sequim Farmers & Artisans Market / Juan de Fuca Fungus offers customers a bounty of mushrooms at the Sequim Farmers & Artisans Market

Photo by Emma Jane Garcia/Sequim Farmers & Artisans Market / The Sequim Farmers & Artisans Market has special hours this Saturday and Sunday during Lavender Weekend: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on July 16 and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on July 17.