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The market, which also features a weekly art demonstration and prepared foods and baked goods, will be open from noon to 3 p.m. every Thursday through Oct. 27 at McLevy Green, at the corner of State and Main streets.
“I can remember being here last year and filling my bag with so many good things,” said Mayor Joe Ganim, who launched the first day. “We’re off to a great start.”
Sponsored by the Bridgeport Downtown Special Services District, the market features Smith Acres and Killam & Bassette Farmstead, which offered corn, onions, blueberries and even some early season tomatoes.
In additions, shoppers enjoyed fresh Dixie Donuts from Whisk+Brush, cookies, quiche and bread from Leisha’s Bakeria and Riverside Baking Company, fresh eggs courtesy of Hot Chicks Eggs, Heidi’s Elegantly Casual Cuisine and Organic Girls Cosmetics.
Guitarist Glen Roth entertained the crowd with jazz and pop standards and artist and body painter Alicia Cobb put the finishing touches on a dramatic dragonfly down the chest of a very patient friend.
Downtown Special Services District President Michael Moore said his organization aimed to reinvent the market this year, in part, by moving it two hours later and adding art and music to “celebrate creativity in Bridgeport.”
The city also announced the lineup for the popular Downtown Thursdays concert series, which will kick off five nights of free concerts July 21. Each concert is from 5:30 to 9 p.m. and some feature several bands, said Kelvin Ayala, project manager for I Luv Bpt, which organized the evenings.
First up is a Latin night with Vinny and Ray with Orquesta Afinke. The July 28 show features local funk favorites Pocket Hotties, The Nate Barnes Sound and What Up Funk.
On Aug. 4, alternative rock and party anthems take center stage with Total Hacks, Symphonic Bodega and Remember September. The Aug. 11 lineup is still to be determined and the series will conclude with the highly popular Old School, Hip Hop and R&B night Aug. 18.
Leisha Young, owner of Leisha’s Bakeria, said she was pleased with the market’s opening-day crowd. She already had sold out of her watermelon/beet/honey/onion salad by 1:30 p.m.
“I’ve had a good reception,” she said. “It’s a little more inviting this year, more vendors.
To learn more about the Downtown Thursdays concerts, visit downtownthursdays.com. For more on the downtown market, visit its Facebook page.
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