The Des Moines Waterfront Farmers Market is coming into the last month of this season and hopes that shoppers who have not yet visited will accept our offer of 2 hours free validated parking for the Saturday markets. There have been empty parking spaces all day on both North and South lots. Just show your purchases at the market info booth. If you are a Des Moines resident and have a vehicle registered in Des Moines, you can get a yearly pass at the Marina office. This coming Saturday is our annual Kids Back to School/Safety Day. Look for lots of things to do and see. Remember there are no free lunches for the rest of the season.

  • Food Tucks – Nosh, Jemil’s, Charlie’s Buns N Stuff
  • Music – 5 Buck Band
  • Community Groups – Marcy DUI, Recology, Friends of DM Library, JOBS Daughters, MaST
Don’t forget to stop by the Edward Jones booth and chat with Mike Wilcox, longtime sponsor, about your financial needs, especially if you are approaching retirement. Be sure to check to see if you qualify for our healthy eating initiative for low income families called Fresh Bucks, Come to the market, swipe your EBT card and it will double your dollars (up to $10) per person. Check out new sponsor Kristy Dunn’s booth. She is a long time Des Moines resident. She was on the Des Moines Arts Commission for several years and is currently serving on the Human Services Advisory board. She is raising her family in our great little city on the sound and loves working with her community. As a John L Scott realtor, her passion is people and finding them the right home and property is always her main goal. Seniors don’t forget that the market and the King Conservation District, with partner Sound Generations, are offering the HYDE Shuttle providing local door to door transportation to and from the market for seniors 55 and older and people with disabilities of all ages living in Des Moines, Normandy Park, Burien and Sea-Tac. Call 206-727-6262 to schedule a ride. The rides are every other week: Sep 9, 23. Upcoming Events To keep up with all the special events, featuring what’s fresh and entertainment at the market, please log onto the web site and this weekly column. You can also keep up on the activities by visiting the market’s Facebook page. We have discontinued the e-newsletter. Thanks to our sponsors: The market takes place in the north Des Moines Marina parking lot, at 22307 Dock Ave S.: ]]>

10 replies on “Wanolitto's Musings for this Saturday's Des Moines Waterfront Farmers Market”

  1. So, I can go to city hall and as a Des Moines resident have the privilege of paying to park in a park/lot that my taxes have been paying for over a span of 20 years. In addition, I now pay Transportation District Fees and have not seen a single mile of new pavement in that entire time in the entire city. Good luck to the market, the Council put the nails in the coffin.

    1. You do realize that your taxes do not pay for the marina, boaters do from their moorage fees. Also, the farmers market will validate 2 hours of parking, so if you’re too cheap to pay $1 per hour, you can still get it for free.

  2. So, I can go to city hall and as a Des Moines resident have the privilege of paying to park in a park/lot that my taxes have been paying for over a span of 20 years. In addition, I now pay Transportation District Fees and have not seen a single mile of new pavement in that entire time in the entire city. Good luck to the market, the Council put the nails in the coffin.

    1. You do realize that your taxes do not pay for the marina, boaters do from their moorage fees. Also, the farmers market will validate 2 hours of parking, so if you’re too cheap to pay $1 per hour, you can still get it for free.

  3. Thanks for the reply from a gentleman that doesn’t even have a real first name. If you honestly believe that all costs, associated with running the marina and the park are paid for by moorage fees and rentals, you are sadly mistaken. The marina and parks operations are directly subsidized by my property and sales taxes. If true costs were charged to moorage and rental customers, the marina would be a ghost town. This would likely make the condo owners happy as their views would be blocked even less……..There are concerns about the lack of customers at the Saturday markets that can be directly attributed to the new parking fees. As a long time tax paying resident I can only hope that new members of the council once elected in November will revisit the issue.

    1. You are incorrect… I do have a first name, and a last name. Both your points have been debunked repeatedly in multiple forums.

    2. Oh Eric … your property taxes and what little sales tax you pay (voluntarily) to businesses in the City of Des Moines don’t pay for ANYTHING at the Marina. Zero. Zilch. Nill. Null. Niente. Efes. Nothing. Quit shilling for people who don’t know anything about how our city services are funded.
      As for the Farmers Market, the turnout was down, with a portion of that due to the pay parking. But most of it was lack of farms and lack of people to pick the crops and staff the booths that show up at farmers markets. If you did even cursory homework, you would have discovered that nearly all of the Western Washington farmers markets have been struggling due to those challenges. Fewer farms, fewer options/choices on what to buy, fewer people buying.

  4. Thanks for the reply from a gentleman that doesn’t even have a real first name. If you honestly believe that all costs, associated with running the marina and the park are paid for by moorage fees and rentals, you are sadly mistaken. The marina and parks operations are directly subsidized by my property and sales taxes. If true costs were charged to moorage and rental customers, the marina would be a ghost town. This would likely make the condo owners happy as their views would be blocked even less……..There are concerns about the lack of customers at the Saturday markets that can be directly attributed to the new parking fees. As a long time tax paying resident I can only hope that new members of the council once elected in November will revisit the issue.

    1. You are incorrect… I do have a first name, and a last name. Both your points have been debunked repeatedly in multiple forums.

    2. Oh Eric … your property taxes and what little sales tax you pay (voluntarily) to businesses in the City of Des Moines don’t pay for ANYTHING at the Marina. Zero. Zilch. Nill. Null. Niente. Efes. Nothing. Quit shilling for people who don’t know anything about how our city services are funded.
      As for the Farmers Market, the turnout was down, with a portion of that due to the pay parking. But most of it was lack of farms and lack of people to pick the crops and staff the booths that show up at farmers markets. If you did even cursory homework, you would have discovered that nearly all of the Western Washington farmers markets have been struggling due to those challenges. Fewer farms, fewer options/choices on what to buy, fewer people buying.

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