Everybody was looking for a favorite vendor yesterday at the Baltimore Farmers' Market.

Sue Howarth was looking for the guy who sells eggs, Annie Dutton-Davis was looking for the cantaloupe guy, and Karen Mehl was hoping the tomato guy would show up.

"You get this family feel after coming here for so many years, so it's nice to see everyone in the same place again," Howarth said as she scanned the crowded stalls for familiar faces.

Howarth and Mehl, both of Catonsville, arrived just after 8 a.m. as the farmers' market opened for its 25th year. The market, held every Sunday from early June to December under the Jones Falls Expressway at Holliday and Saratoga streets, has grown into one of the biggest in the area, attracting between 5,000 and 10,000 people every year.

In addition to the crisp lettuce and glistening peas, the market's lure is its sense of camaraderie. Many shoppers have been coming for years and know which vendors are there, where their stalls are and how their health is, but can only identify them as the "tomato guy" or the "collard green guy."

Because of unseasonably cold weather earlier this year, many crops are lagging a week or two behind their normal ripening date. As a result, many stalls yesterday featured flowers, not produce. But the market still drew shoppers in droves.

"I've had this day circled on my calendar for months," said Dutton-Davis of East Baltimore. She has been shopping at the market for nearly a quarter-century.

Like many, Dutton-Davis goes to the market for the fresh food. "Look at these," she said, shaking a bag full of crabs. "You know these slept in the Chesapeake last night."

But she also clearly enjoys the social aspect of the market, and often arrives straight from church. As she strolled down the aisles yesterday, she nodded and waved to the vendors she knew.

"They're used to seeing you, and you can chat about what's new," she said. "It's almost like having a reunion."

Because it is early in the growing season, some sellers didn't make it to the market yesterday. Many of the vendor parking spaces were empty, leaving some shoppers worried that their favorites wouldn't be back.

"Oh, I hope the cantaloupe man comes back," Dutton-Davis said, eyeing an empty space.

And as customers walked under the freeway looking for their favorite vendors and the freshest fruit, one familiar face was missing. Steven R. Shores, who ran a popular pit beef and sausage stand at the south end of the market, was killed in December.

Shores' relatives have taken over the stand, where they put up a small memorial to him, and continue to serve hot beef and barbecue sausages amid a stream of smoke.

Although many of Shores' customers didn't know his full name - he was simply the "sausage guy" - they talked about him as they waited in line for sandwiches.

"Aw, that's a shame. [Shores] always knew everyone's name, knew what their favorite was," said Michael Parks of East Baltimore. "It won't be the same without him."