CALABASAS : Farmers Market Starts Saturday

Giving residents a chance to shop for produce the old-fashioned way, Calabasas will begin offering a weekly farmers market Saturday, with fruits and vegetables from all over Southern California.

“This is especially appropriate for Calabasas, which is the last of the Old West, because this is how it used to be done in the old days. Farmers brought in their wares once a week, and that’s when everybody did their grocery shopping,” said Phyllis Jones, a local historian and organizer of the market. “It was the highlight of the week.”

At least 22 growers, some from as far away as San Diego, Riverside and Oxnard, are expected to spread their harvests, including asparagus, corn, onions, avocados, grapes, fresh flowers and honey, at Calabasas Junction, El Canon Avenue and Calabasas Road, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Many of the growers offer certified organic produce. One has developed a hybrid between the tangerine and Japanese grapefruit, which Jones said is “almost too sweet to believe.”