SPORTS + OUTDOORS

Urban Harvest is partnering with Highland Village to manage and expand the upscale shopping center’s existing farmers market in the new year. Customers can expect to find many of their usual vendor favorites plus some exciting changes that will enhance the market.

The biggest change is the decision to move the farmers market to a new day. After a short holiday break, the Urban Harvest Farmers Market at Highland Village will debut with a soft opening January 9 on its new day and time – Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (SUMMER HOURS: 10am -1 pm)

Other major cities such as New York, San Francisco and Chicago are also opening Sunday farmers markets in premier locations. With Urban Harvest’s flagship Eastside Farmers Market on Saturdays and the Urban Harvest Highland Village Farmers Market and Urban Harvest’s Discovery Green Farmers Markets on Sundays, Houston has an entire weekend filled with festivity and fresh produce straight from local growers and vendors.

Additionally, the City Hall Farmers Market resumes after a winter break on Wednesdays in February as the mid-week local lunch destination to savor while loading up on your favorite farm fresh products.

These Urban Harvest farmers markets plus the Rice Farmers Market  on Tuesday afternoons and the Midtown Farmers Market on Saturdays will collectively provide Houstonians with the opportunity to get all their local farm product needs met at one or more outstanding Texas Department of Agriculture certified markets during the week.

As a natural tie-in to the Sunday brunch tradition, the Highland Village Farmers Market will feature a farm-to-table market brunch theme each Sunday with chef- and farm-driven market menus. Other changes include an infusion of many new vendors offering a wider selection of offerings, with a focused expansion of the local farm product component to offer more produce, meats and dairy products.

The Urban Harvest Highland Village Farmers Market will also begin adding another component found at their other markets: Chef’s Corner, sponsored by My Table magazine, where chefs will do live cooking demos using local products.

“Our goal is to give as many vendors as possible a venue to sell their locally-grown and -produced items while providing consumers options of days and times that fit a variety of schedules,” says Bowen. We hope the community will embrace this new Sunday market.”

The Urban Harvest Highland Village Farmers Market will offer some exciting new opportunities to prospective market vendors, and encourages those interested to send inquiries to mark@urbanharvest.org.

Urban Harvest’s family of farmers markets includes Eastside Farmers Market, 3000 Richmond at Eastside, held Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon; Discovery Green Farmers Market, 1500 McKinney, held Sundays from noon to 4 p.m.; and City Hall Farmers Market, 400 Rusk, held Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and, the newest member, Highland Village Farmers Market, 4055 Westheimer, held Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.