Huddled masses emerged in droves on Easter Sunday for an annual rite of spring that was heralded with more enthusiasm than past years because of Baltimore's brutally cold winter.
The Baltimore's Farmers' Market & Bazaar is back.
"Spring's coming when the farmers' market opens," said Joyce E. Green, who owns Verde Beads handmade jewelry.
"It gives us hope," her sister Norma L. Green said.
"That it won't snow anymore," Joyce E. Green added.
More than 6,000 people flocked to the downtown Baltimore market below the Jones Fall Expressway near Holliday and Saratoga streets to peruse 57 vendors offering everything from granola and homemade rawhide dog treats to fresh apples and gourmet pickles sold whole out of giant barrels.
While many people in fleece jackets or peacoats did not peel off their winter attire as they walked around in 60-degree weather, others threw caution to Sunday's brisk winds and arrived in jean shorts, tie-dyed shirts and assorted T-shirts. Music from a saxophone player mixed with the smells of fresh doughnuts, barbecue and fragrant candles. Lines stretched 15-people deep or more for some market favorites such as Zeke's Coffee, Konscious Katerers' jerk trout or Farm to Face falafel, which include drizzles of Sriracha and honey.
"I love this market, this is my favorite market," said Diane Starkell of Terra Verde Candles, which offers a large selection of soy candles with scents such as patchouli and apple maple bourbon. "Love the energy here and the variety."
The market, now in its 38th year, would have been more crowded if not for the holiday, which also kept some farmers at home, organizers said. The icy and freezing winter also delayed some crops and also left some farmers without produce to sell.
Last year, the market saw crowds of between 5,000 and 12,000 and became so crowded that organizers expanded the market's footprint south this year, closer to Saratoga Street, providing more room to move around.
"We're having a great, great beautiful Easter Sunday," said Sandy Lawler, market manager.
People have been anticipating the market for months, she said, posting Facebook comments on the bazaar's page asking when the market would reopen.
"Welcome back!" and "Glad to see the weather's nice" were among some of the often-repeated comments that vendors such as Jodi A. Kresel, owner of KaJo Pets treats, heard Sunday.
"You could see it in the faces with smiles," said Sadrena Gerideau, who makes and sells homemade jewelry from crystal beads and woodwork. "It was a bad winter so this is something good happening today."
Among those ambling around was Laurelyn Irving, who took home a pillow-sized bag of kettle corn and a Bible-verse inscribed bracelet for a friend with cancer. Irving, who works as a conflict mediator, moved to Charles Village from Bakersfield, Calif., about a year and a half ago. She endured both the snowy winter of 2014, and this winter,which included the coldest first three months of the year on record in Baltimore.
Irving was "dying for spring," she said.
Wearing a black leather jacket and purple scarf, she said she needed a sign to know that the dreary days had passed. Typically, she said, she might look to see cherry blossoms blooming but instead found the sign she needed downtown.
"When I found out the farmers' market was opening on Easter, I had to be here," she said. "It's very festive and cheerful and kind of hopeful. Spring is here."
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