Off Off Market

Ah, those traditional California farmers’ markets . . . .

The swing dancers and Tarot card readers, the bubble-blowing wizards, the ash-flicking Groucho Marx imitators, the . . . er, what does all this have to do with vegetables?

Not much, really, though downtown Ventura has never been a place to shy away from the quirkier side of life.

While there are weekly farmers’ markets from one side of the county to the other, this one has taken on a new flavor.

Oh sure, the county’s great bounty is still here. But there is more to it than locating that hard-to-find organic Chandler strawberry.

On any given Thursday, you will just as easily find someone to pluck your fortune from the stars as someone to tell you what makes a good piece of star fruit.

Got a hankering for a fresh piece of preservative-free Hungarian sausage?

No problem.

But why not take a spin on an extra-long skateboard called the “Streetfish” along the way?

They are, after all, both made locally.

To be sure, vendors of the nonvegetative persuasion are finding the market a great place to showcase their businesses.

Watch Donna Dollar practice the traditional Native American craft of weaving dream catchers.

Or catch one of the live local bands that anchor each end of the market at California and Oak streets.

There may be a city law here about sitting in the streets. But no one said anything about dancing in them.

And before you leave, don’t miss the greeting committee: a fairy princess and a wizard named Neil.

If you ask real nice, they might even dance with you.