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Downtown Farmers' Market: Sept. 15

Things to Do in Downtown Des Moines

Date: Saturday, Sep. 15, 2018 7:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Location: Historic Court District

Event Information

Featuring nearly 300 vendors from 50 Iowa counties, the Downtown Farmers’ Market in Historic Court District in Downtown Des Moines (DSM) offers scores of tasty treats each summer on Saturdays. Visitors can enjoy locally grown produce, farm fresh eggs, baked goods and Iowa-raised meat, including beef, pork, chicken, goat, rabbit, lamb and tilapia! The adventure doesn’t stop there either. Guests can enjoy local artists, live music and entertainment, ready-to-eat foods, special programming and learning opportunities all in the course of a Saturday morning. Whether it’s seasonal flowers, locally produced wine or a new culinary adventure, there’s always something to experience at the Downtown Farmers’ Market.

This event is free and open to the public.

UnityPoint Health – DSM Programming

Hops for Hospice and Palliative Care 

Vendors

Search for your favorite Market vendors and discover new ones in the complete vendor list

Entertainers

Enjoy live music from local performers while you shop. This week, hear these performers:

  • Ace Jones: Ace Jones is a singer-songwriter from Marion. He plays acoustic, folk, rock, pop and easy listening music. He sings a variety of original songs and covers, self-accompanied by his guitar.
  • Heartland Mini-Railroad Express: Kids are invited to come take a ride on the Mini Railroad! Located on 2nd Street, South of Court Ave. the Heartland Mini Railroad provides young visitors a fun and unique experience while shopping The Market.
  • Kirk Sloan Classical Guitar: Kirk Sloan is an instrumental soloist on classical guitar who has performed at venues around DSM. His classical guitar arrangements include both classical music and popular tunes.
  • Opus Taylor: Opus Taylor is a group of Iowa musicians that have been performing together for nearly six years. They perform classic rock and blues covers as well as original compositions.
  • Party of Four: This local group of eight musicians has been entertaining at The Market for several years. They sing a capella in styles including jazz, folk and contemporary.
  • Piano Man Richard Spierenburg: Starting piano at a young age of 6, Richard Spierenburg is a professional piano bar musician. He has 150 songs memorized, and for the requests that he doesn't know, as long as he's heard the song, he can look up the chords and play it. He sings as well as plays the piano, so have your requests ready!
  • Professor Von Air, Balloon Artist Extraordinaire: Professor Von Air has been performing since 1996 at events all over Iowa, the Midwest and overseas. In addition, he has taught balloon art and clowning. He specializes in balloon art, silly magic and games.
  • The Last Laugh Comedy Theater: The Last Laugh Comedy Theater is a family-friendly comedy act. They perform games like those seen on TV's "Whose Line Is It, Anyway?" getting the audience in on the action by using their suggestions and even getting them up on stage to play. They make sure all of the public performances are family-friendly and engaging for audiences of all ages.
  • The One-Woman Symphony: Merging technology with a classical violin, Genevieve's setup includes her acoustically-amplified violin and prerecorded backing tracks, giving her the name "The One-Woman Symphony," as she performs music from a wide variety of genres.

Community Corner

Stop by the Community Corner on Third Street, south of Court Avenue, to find out what is happening in Greater Des Moines (DSM). Local charitable organizations — welcomed as Saturday Salutes at The Market — promote learning opportunities, Downtown events and community resources each Saturday. This week, check out the Saturday Salutes:

  • Friends of Iowa CASA & ICFCRB: Friends of Iowa Court Appionted Special Advocates (CASA) and Iowa Citizen Foster Care Review Boards (ICFCRB), together with community volunteers and others, promote and support volunteer advocacy for abused and neglected children and public awareness of the importance of safe and permanent homes for all children. Stop by the booth to build and decorate your own 3-D home or to find out more about Friends of CASA and ICFCRB.
  • Iowa Author Fest: Iowa Author Fest supports the creativity of our local Iowa authors, artists and musicians in their journey to bring their work to reality and promote their written word, art and music. The purpose of the Iowa Author Fest is to promote local authors and foster networking between authors and others in similar creative fields.
  • Neil Smith National Wildlife Refuge − People for Pollinators: Neil Smith National Wildlife Refuge − People for Pollinators partners with schools and businesses around our community to help pollinators survive. They provide educational materials, site planning assistance, vegetative maintenance expertise and seeds or plants to get the garden up and running. Stop by the booth to receive a take-home "pollinator package" and learn how you can help and why pollinators are important.
  • Polk County Master Gardeners: The Master Gardener program is a volunteer service training program whereby adults are given advanced training in horticulture in exchange for volunteer service to the community. They will be promoting upcoming events and distributing seasonal educational information.

Market Extras and Special Programming

Enjoy unique programming from Market sponsors during your visit. Learn more about all the Market programming, including special Market deals happening every week. This week, check out this special programming:

  • Iowa Wild
  • MidAmerican Energy