Ahhhh, spring is here. With it comes sprouting flowers, the return of migratory birds, seasonal allergies, and, the Saturday Markets. This last Saturday afternoon I wandered into downtown Eugene to explore the Market there. I’ve been going to the Eugene Saturday Market since I was a small child, and have never tired of wandering through the many booths weekend after weekend even if I rarely make a purchase. There are few other places you will find such a unique gathering of people.

After parking my truck in the packed city parking structure on Willamette and 7^th, I followed the general throng of people migrating towards the Market. Emerging from an alleyway I found myself in the Famers Market section where local farmers sold all manner of organic foods. Zig zagging through the busy crowd, I made my way across the street to the rest of the market.

On the corner was ‘Poetry Guy’, a familiar face to me of the downtown Eugene area. He offered freestyle poetry for spare change. Next to him was a man with a clip board asking for signatures for a ballot on equal rights in the workplace. After adding my name to the list, I began my circuit of the many booths that sold all manner of unique pieces of art and other services. Passing the fountain at the heart of the booths, I remembered back to when I was a little girl and played in the fountain with other children on a hot summer day, I wondered if they still let kids play in it like that.

Crossing the street to the food court section of the Market, I was nearly knocked backwards by the delicious aroma that wrapped around me like a warm blanket fresh from the dryer. My stomach instantly grumbled, demanding lunch. The only question was where to eat? Everything looked so damn good, and I made several rounds of the food court just trying to decide on lunch. In the end I settle on a shish cabob from the Afghani food hut, there were absolutely no regrets in that decision.

After finding a patch of stone steps to sit on near the stage, I enjoyed my shish cabob while listening to a rather skilled high school band rock out. Finishing my lunch, I dropped the metal fork in the return tub, made one last circuit of the booths, and then crossed the street to the Lane County courthouse steps. Here I took a few moments to enjoy the drum circle that always seemed to form on the courthouse steps. Satisfied, I wandered back to my truck, a pretty good afternoon in my opinion.