RAECHEL DAWSON
UW News Lab
It was a typical Northwest morning: clouds, cool breezes and coffee. And yet, when produce vendors and early risers were suddenly jerked awake by the loud beat of a drum, it was a signal that this was not a normal day.
It was the kickoff of the 37th annual Redmond Saturday Market, which runs every Saturday through October at the corner of Leary Way Northeast and Bear Creek Parkway.
The Redmond High School band welcomed the crowd and Redmond Mayor John Marchione cut the ribbon to signal the commencement.
And one thing was certain: Those who were there could not ignore the aroma of Italian pizza, tamales, jelly-filled pies and other tantalizing goodies.
“They have really good food,” exclaimed Mary Schloredt, a Woodinville resident.
“The tamales are to die for,” added Schloredt’s husband, Mark. “And then there’s a man that sells $8 meatball sandwiches. Then we just discovered this lady down here that sells these little mushroom beef pea pies, (and) there are muffins with all this jam …”
The Schloredts know good food. Mark Schloredt explains that Mary, besides being a “five-star” cook herself, had a mother who was in the food business for 35 years. They say she was even a chef on TV.
Veraci Pizza, a wood-fired pizza business in Seattle since 2004, is one of 18 new vendors at the market this season.
Owner Marshall Jett said they are “excited to be here” and have wanted to be a part of the market for a long time.
Marshall said his business has many fans on the Eastside from Bellevue and Kirkland; also, Veraci Pizza caters weddings and is a vendor on the Microsoft campus in Redmond.
Willapa Hills Cheese, owned by Stephen Hueffed and Amy Turnbull, also set up shop for the first time this season in Redmond. Their dairy farm is located in Doty, Wash., west of Centralia.
“We mostly specialize in blue cheeses,” said helper Michelle Grome. “We raise a little over 100 sheep on our farm, and then we get our cows’ milk from a neighbor.”
But the Redmond Saturday Market was good for more than just food.
Kazoua Yang and her husband, Cher Cha, help out with Cha’s mother’s tulip and vegetable business, ES Garden. Yang said she’s been at the market for “quite a while.”
“I just love how everybody’s so friendly with each other,” said Yang. “This market, it’s not like the other markets where you’re not really interacting with other vendors.”
As the clouds began to part just before noon, the band, Swamp Soul started warming up as well. Their French Cajun/Louisiana sound heated up the crowd with a little help from the meager sunshine.
“It’s a folk music,” said accordion player John Morris. “Basically, the Cajuns were French people.”
Morris explained that when the French immigrated to New Orleans, they brought their fiddle instruments. The accordion was added to the sound in the 1900s by the Germans.
Band member Tina Tanaka said Swamp Soul will return to the Redmond Saturday Market on Sept. 29.
James Ponder, Saturday operations manager of the market, said later it was “a good first day. Overall, a steady turnout.”
Ponder estimated the market saw roughly 2,000 customers throughout the day although he said there’s no way to tell for sure.
For more information on the market, visit redmondsaturdaymarket.org. The market runs every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Oct. 27.
Raechel Dawson is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory.
