Wednesdays in Willamette Summer Street Market

The best part about «Wednesdays in Willamette» is that it has a neighborhood street party vibe. Rather than stroll through the market and shop, it is integrated well with the shops and restaurants along Main Street so when the sun is shinning, the patios fill up and it is a fun place to hang. Changing the name from «farmer’s market» to «street market» was a good one, since there really is a mix of vendors and it isn’t dominated by produce.
The challenging part about the market is that it feels a bit sparse compared to neighboring markets (Oregon City, Milwaukie, and Lake Oswego). It also snarls up traffic along Willamette Falls Drive on Wednesday evenings.
The market has evolved over the past several years and they’ve tried different formats, including moving it to a different day of the week and a different venue. This is the back-​where-​it-​all-​started version of the market and I do like having a hump day event to look forward to in my ‘hood during the summer.
The market kicks off at 4:00p, but the beer/​wine garden, hot food vendors (some booths, others are food carts), and live music start closer to 5:00p and wrap up at 8:00p. The best plan is to stop by one of the local restaurants for a HH cocktail early to get parking and grab a table then finish the evening with a stroll and some shopping. Pick up a fresh bouquet of flowers, farm fresh fruits and veggies, an ice cream from Scoop, or coffee from Transplant Coffee (serving Water Avenue coffee). The vendors may be limited, but they also have a nice selection.
I am hoping that the market will continue to grow and thrive and add more vendors. They are doing a great job publicizing the market and including different special events (cake walk, rummage sale, etc.) and live music every week.