BEST BET

Sweet yellow corn, ripe nectarines, fragrant berries and plump tomatoes. The fields are ripe with the best of the late-summer harvest, and the bounty is right around the corner in downtown Monrovia.

For a tasty treat, make an outing to the city’s Farmer’s Market this Friday afternoon. Wander among the booths featuring locally produced honey, home-cured olives, herbs, sprouts, nuts and dried fruit, fresh fish and seafood, and cut flowers.

Since the market opened in March, it has taken on something of a country fair atmosphere, with pushcarts selling hot dogs and Popsicles, neighbors greeting each other, and the city water conservation team handing out balloons and urging people to turn off their taps.

The vendors, all of whom must grow the food they sell, join in with the fun by calling out their

bargains, handing out free samples and underpricing each other. Many of them travel to Monrovia from northern Ventura County, and some even come from as far away as Central California, said Russ Stewart, chairman of the Monrovia Downtown Merchants’ Assn.

The market, at Lime and Myrtle avenues, is open from 3 to 6 p.m., and the best produce is available early. Bargains, though, are sometimes available later in the afternoon from vendors who don’t want to truck vegetables back to the farm.

One high-tech touch amid all this back-to-nature atmosphere: A toll-free number has been established for information on the locations and times of San Gabriel Valley farmers’ markets. It is (800) 952-5272.