Enjoy the Winter Garden Farmers Market Vibe!

Enjoy the Winter Garden Farmers Market Vibe!

Ready for a fun locals’ experience on your Orlando villa holiday? Check out the Winter Garden Farmers Market for something totally unique and original.

Regular readers of the Debbie’s Villas blog will know we love to highlight some of the offbeat and lesser-known destinations within this wonderful holiday playground. Places like Winter Park, Mount Dora and DeLand all make for excellent day-out experiences that provide a nice change of pace to the usual non-stop nature of the theme park capital of the world.

And this is especially true of the city of Winter Garden, a beautiful hideaway that is about half an hour’s drive away from many of our popular communities.

How to get there

While you won’t find Winter Garden indicated on many tourist maps, it is fast becoming THE place for locals to visit for its upbeat array of shops, individual, privately owned restaurants and special events.

And it goes into overdrive for the weekly Farmers Market, which springs to life every Saturday and provides a truly festive atmosphere for this bustling, attractive community.

The Market can be found just off the main road of Plant Street, centred on the Downtown Pavilion on South Lakeview Avenue and running for two full blocks of Tremaine Street – right next to the multi-storey car park with plenty of free parking.

From the villa communities along Highway 27 and the ChampionsGate areas, the best way to get there is simply to take the (toll) Highway 429 all the way north to exit 19, then follow Winter Garden-Vineland Road north into Winter Garden itself.

What’s at the Market

While it calls itself a ‘Farmers’ market – and it does, certainly, include fresh produce from up to 20 nearby farms – there is WAY more to this little local jamboree than just fruit and veg spread through its 100-plus stalls and kiosks, hence its popularity.

In addition to a truly tempting array of tasty treats like fresh-from-the-hive local honey and artisan bakeries, there are stalls for arts and crafts, orchids and other house plants, custom-made pet accessories, jewellery, fresh cheeses, proper lemonade and even environmentally-friendly snacks!

There are several food trucks serving breakfast and lunch options; there is live music at the central plaza; family-friendly games on the lawn; and special events periodically, like kids’ art sessions and exercise demonstrations.

It all makes for a wonderful mix of sights, sounds and aromas that are sure to work their way into your heart – and wallet. You could even snap up that special gift or souvenir that you never knew you wanted.

Best tactics for the Farmers Market

Hopefully you’ve already noted the references to the Market’s popularity. This has become one of Orlando’s must-do Saturday morning activities and, for all the fact there is free parking in the multi-storey car park and in the surrounding streets (including behind City Hall), it can fill up fast.

That means it pays to be here relatively early. The official hours are 8am to 1pm and, if you’re not here by 9am, you may find the best parking spots have already been snapped up. There is additional parking next to Plant Street Market, and at the west end of Smith Street, while there is also limited street parking off Plant Street.

Once parked, head straight for Lakeview Avenue or Tremaine Street, and you’ll quickly find yourself in the heart of things.

If you are here with young children, be sure to bring their swimsuit (or a change of clothes) as the lure of the adjacent interactive fountains and splash pad is going to be strong, and they’ll probably end up spending lots of time there!

And be sure to enjoy Winter Garden

Having made the effort to find the Farmers Market, you can easily make a full day of any visit to this charming town with all the many additional shopping and dining opportunities, plus small-scale attractions like the cute Central Florida Railroad Museum and smart Winter Garden Heritage Museum.

New restaurants are popping up all the time (witness the latest offerings of The Hangry Bison and Mangoni Italian Market), while there are two excellent choices for tea and coffee at Axum Coffee and Foxtail Coffee Co.

Above all, this is a lovely pavement café type of environment that encourages a leisurely stroll and casual window shopping. You can even be more adventurous and hire a bike from Winter Garden Wheel Works and explore the 22 miles of the West Orange Trail, one of Florida’s most delightful hiking and biking routes.

It also makes a great combination with the nearby Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive, which is just 15 minutes’ drive away.

For the latest details and events, be sure to visit CityofWinterGarden.com.

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