BEVERLY HILLS : First Year Is Fruitful for Farmers’ Market

The Beverly Hills Farmers’ Market will add music, a petting zoo and arts and crafts programs for kids Aug. 6 to celebrate its first anniversary.

Held each Sunday in the 200 block of North Canon Drive, the market has expanded to include nearly 35 vendors of food and freshly picked fruits, vegetables and flowers, said Denise Rene, who manages the market.

For its second year, the market will increase the number of vendors offering specialty foods and add live music and children’s activities, she said.

Beverly Hills is one of several Westside communities to open farmers’ markets in recent years. Growers come from throughout Southern California to sell produce ranging from exotic mushrooms and Asian pear apples to bonsai plants.

Upscale Beverly Hills is not frequently associated with such a down-home event, but the street market has enjoyed notable success, market organizers said.

“Beverly Hills is one of the strongest markets,” said Mark Wall, coordinator for Southland Farmers’ Market Assn., which helps cities operate farmers’ markets.

The market takes in about $15,000 to $16,000 every week, which is higher than most comparably sized markets, Rene said. The growers agree to give Beverly Hills 4.5% of their collective revenue, and an additional 1.5% to the market association.

Wall said some farmers worry that the Westside may have too many markets, but surveys show that each new market draws its own clientele, usually from a three-mile radius.

“Usually it takes two or three years for people to get in the habit of shopping out of doors and eating seasonally,” Wall said.

Some customers of the Beverly Hills Farmers’ Market probably already are in the city for lunch or other shopping, he said.