Barns Brews & Back Roads

Part of exploring should also be as close as your backyard.

We’re off to another farmers market! This one is in the town just south of where we live, so it’s only 10 miles away. It’s a very popular farmers market too – it was PACKED, but we also went on opening weekend. Franklin Farmers Market is held on Saturdays from 8AM – 12Noon May 31 through September 13. It’s located right in downtown Franklin in Youngs Creek Park, 237 Monroe St.

Farm Fresh

Of the nearly 80 stalls, 15 are local farmers selling everything from freezer beef, to fresh veggies and fruit and super popular eggs. We got there at 9AM and every stall selling eggs was sold out. There are several goat farms that sell soap, lotion and cheese. There are a few stalls that sell potted plants and plant starts. Strawberries were also a popular item flying off the shelves. My niece’s friend who has a honey farm has a stall, and it’s the bees knees😅. I couldn’t resist – I probably should have though, but seriously their honey is amazing – Sugar Creek Farm. And my number one tip I learned from my niece (and her honey farmer friend) is that local honey is a natural allergy relief and has natural antioxidants that boost overall immune function. The secret for it to be effective is the honey has to be produced within in your area (no more than 50 miles away). But I’ve also bought local honey while travelling and I swear it helps with the sniffles – shout out to Keez Beez in Key West.

Bread Basket

There are multiple options for baked goods including breads, muffins, brownies, sandwich breads, cinnamon rolls. My other niece got blueberry oatmeal bars from Sweet Treats by Janis and said they were excellent. Some of the cinnamon rolls were ooey gooey looking but I resisted. Don’t worry there is also Cosmic Dog Bakery and a few others selling dog treats. There were sooooo many dogs there! All shapes and sizes and one that looked like a mini horse that we think was a Himalayan Sheep Dog. And a friendly Maine Coon kitty in a stroller wearing a fancy bandana that let me pet her. Oh yeah, and they bought the fancy bandana at one of the stalls selling handsewn items.

Brews

There were two coffee stalls, I picked the first one I saw because they had a “sunrise latte” which was lavender, honey and orange – it sounded good. Not my best option because it wasn’t a shop that sold coffee, they sold soaps and lotions and were using coffee (made via Keurig😐) as a way to drive people to buy the soap. The other coffee stall, Pearl Coffee Company is an actual mobile coffee vendor and never had a line shorter than 30 people deep. If I had to do it over, I would have waited in line. I did stop while walking to the the Farmers Market at Coffeehouse Five (41 W Monroe St) and it was standing room only with a very long line and we were meeting the family so I moved on. Coffeehouse Five is a local coffee roaster that is a “for benefit” coffee shop and they use their net revenue funds for counseling and mentoring programs. In addition to the coffee being top quality, it’s nice to know you’re supporting a cause. Just get there super early on a Saturday.

Crafts and Handiwork

There were a lot of stalls selling original art, handsewn items, jewelry, leather goods and quilted items. Honestly I felt like there were more stalls selling craft items than fresh produce and farm fresh foods, but I think it’s just because the farm stalls are spread out throughout the market.

Parks and Rec (I mean, it is Indiana)

This Farmers Market is located inside the Youngs Creek Park in Franklin which is right off the courthouse square in downtown Franklin. If you’re not from Indiana (or the Midwest in general) all small (and some large) towns that are the county seat have a courthouse in the middle of town and a square block around the courthouse filled with shops and restaurants called “the courthouse square.” Franklin over the last ten-ish years has really built a nice courthouse square with popular restaurants, shops and boutiques. My favorite bites and brews are Blue Cactus, Shale Creek Brewing Company, The Willard, Greeks Pizzeria and Tapp Room and the best breakfast/lunch you’ll ever have at Ann’s Restaurant (but it’s closed on the weekends).

At the park there is also an amphitheater that hosts local bands throughout the summer on Saturday nights. There are pickleball courts at the north west end of the park and a giant playground and splash pad at the south end. The playground is a great way to entice kids to be good while your shopping the market – if you’re good you can go to the playground.

And if you go for the farmers market, you should stick around for a matinee at The Historic Artcraft Theater. The Artcraft, which first opened in 1922, used to show first run movies until 2000, and yes it was where Dave and I had our first official date – we saw the movie Twister. In 2003 the Franklin Heritage Foundation acquired the Artcraft and began the full restoration of the Art Deco theater, and now shows second run movies sponsored by local businesses. Everything from Blue Hawaii to Sing! to Mean Girls. Before each movie they play the National Anthem and a cartoon – like the good old days. For evening shows there’s also a small stage show where you see a brief skit, a prize giveaway based on the movie being shown and an award for the person who travelled the farthest to be there. https://www.historicartcrafttheatre.org/

There are a lot of things to see and do in downtown Franklin – it’s a great day trip if you’re close enough!