I am almost positive I have found every collegiette’s heaven on earth right here in Boston. Said heaven is one-part craft and design vendors, one-part farmers market, and one-part food truck Mecca. This place of wonderment I am speaking of is the one and only SoWa Open Market. Considered Boston’s Original Art and Indie Design Market as of 2003, SoWa Open Market is “celebrating 10 years of local goodness.”
I actually was a regular visitor with my mom to SoWa Open Market in its very beginnings. Back then, it only consisted of a parking lot full of vendors, and I remember begging my mom to buy me a uniquely crafted headband each weekend. I still have a little collection of these headbands, collecting dust at home now that I have realized I can’t pull off the look.
This past September, however, I rediscovered SoWa with a friend and to my surprise it had expanded to cover over three parking lots. We first visited the craft and design parking lot where we were overwhelmed by the number of vendors. We wanted to make sure we didn’t miss a thing so we spent a long time looking at all they had to offer. We realized this was the perfect place to buy amazing birthday and holiday gifts. Next up was the farmers’ market where we came across pumpkins, yummy smelling fresh baked breads, and produce of all kinds. Unfortunately, we didn’t spend too much time there because we were so eager to get to the food trucks. The number of food trucks was quadrupled the amount we come across on a daily basis on Comm. Ave. We visited each and every food truck to check out their menus and to ensure we made the best food truck(s) selection. Ultimately, we ended up enjoying turkey, bacon, and brie grilled cheeses from The Bacon Truck and peanut butter ice cream sandwiched between peanut butter cookies from the Cookie Monstah truck. We left SoWa Market with our wallets emptied, our tummies filled, and a new favorite weekend activity. We are already planning on returning there on the upcoming long weekend.
If you want a little piece of heaven yourself, be sure to check out the SoWa Open Market, open every Sunday 12-4pm, May through October! You can find more information on their website, www.sowaopenmarket.com, and look out for the participating vendors and food trucks for each weekend on their Facebook page. Also, if Sundays don’t work for you or you’re into open-air markets as much as me, there is the Greenway Open Market every Saturday right by Faneuil Hall or the Cambridge Open Market every Friday right by Harvard.