The Farmers Market at Lakewood Ranch has come a long way. When it was first established in 2017 at the Sarasota Polo Grounds, The Market was open on Wednesday nights and had fewer than 20 vendors. Within three years, The Market had moved to the parking lot of the Lakewood Ranch Medical Center where it was open on Sundays and soon grew to 65 vendors. In 2021, The Market relocated once again to Waterside Place where it currently makes its home every Sunday year-round from 10am to 2pm. 

“The Market was the first event to take place at Waterside Place. We had one tenant open at the time, Good Liquid Brewing,” says market manager Morgan Bettes-Angell. “We were drawing thousands of people over to Waterside when the town center wasn’t even established yet. Since then we’ve grown to just over 100 vendors. In season, we draw about 6,000 to 9,000 people to the market each Sunday, and we have around 3,500 to 4,500 attendees through summer.”

It’s no accident that The Market is such a staggering success. Bettes-Angell is an experienced event planner who pays attention to every detail. Though the vendor list is long, it has been carefully curated.

“We’re really lucky that we get so many applications from so many people. We try to stick within certain categories that we feel fit farmers’ markets, so your farm and garden, kitchen, handmade, artisanal and then of course food and drink,” Bettes-Angell says. “When we look through applications we do try to pick things that stand out. We’re really scouring, looking for the best, looking for new, looking for different. We’ve also had some of our vendors with us since the very beginning, who believed in what the market could be.” 

And as good as they are, The Market experience goes beyond the meticulously chosen vendors. There are also other activities and amenities for visitors to enjoy. Get in some mindfulness and movement before The Market opens with Yoga in the Park, which takes place right by the water from 9am to 10pm. Yoga is free for community residents and $10.00 for nonresidents. Local organizations also partner with The Market to offer entertaining and educational programming in The Kids’ Zone, which is located in the green space next to Green Liquid Brewing Co. Kids can do fun science experiments, learn about robotics and more. There’s also a brother-sister duo who offer face-painting and balloon twisting for tips as they save up for college. And then, there’s the music. Each week in the pavilion, there’s a different live musical act, typically local artists in the singer-songwriter vein. And all of this takes place in an incredibly picturesque environment. 

“I think the unique thing about having The Market at Waterside is the view. We’re right there on the water. We have a ton of seating, so you can find a quiet corner or you can find seating right on main street for people watching and dog watching. There are so many spots to make a little camp with your food and finds and meet your friends,” says Bettes-Angell. “Waterside Place was just a game changer. I mean, that was the destination that the market was always going to move to. But having been through the polo grounds and the hospital parking lot, it was like—‘Oh my goodness, we’re finally home!”