By admin 
The Davis Farmers Market, with its rows of bountiful produce, fresh baked goods and crafts, is still going strong after 50 years.
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On Saturday, crowds of market-goers young and old gathered in Davis’ Central Park to celebrate the anniversary of the event that regularly brings together students, families and lifetime residents of the town.
Mariah Conder, 29, said she’d brought her husband and two young sons to both honor the event and pay homage to an important figure: her grandfather.
“He was an almond farmer and sold almond products here for a long time, and he passed away last year,” she said. “I haven’t been since I was a kid, but I just saw that it was going on, and I came down.”
Between 7,000 to 10,000 people pass through the market on a typical Saturday, according to Randii MacNear, the market’s executive director. She’s been involved since the early years, helping to shape the market into the phenomenon it is today.
Over the years, MacNear said, she’s watched the market become a center of community life, in part because of the comfort it has brought to everyday life.
It became “a place of safety for people, and consistency and reliability, and simplicity,” she said.
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“What the market creates in people is the way life is supposed to be.”
Those moments of ease, she said, were among her favorite memories at the market.
“The students love this place because it makes them feel less homesick,” said MacNear, referencing students of nearby UC Davis. “I have had many, many students come up to me and say, you know, I came here, I didn’t know anybody. I came to a farmers market and I feel like I have family.”
The market’s vendors, some of whom have been there for generations, say they’ve found family there as well.
Alex Barth, of Capay Canyon Ranch, stood behind a grape-laden table Saturday at her family’s market stall. She manages sales of the fruit for her family’s farm, which also sells almonds and raisins at the market.
Barth, 22, said she grew up amongst the market’s stalls.
“My dad used to sell his grandfather’s apricots and cherries here, and then he started selling our grapes when he was my age,” she said.
From those early years, the market’s community meant a lot to her, Barth said.
“I know all these guys. They watched me grow up since I was 4 years old,” she said, gesturing to the vendors around her. “They would always give me fruits and stuff, and I just love walking around. It’s a big family here, and we all trade stuff and support each other.”
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