Santa Rosa Downtown Farmers' Market

For a short run of Sundays in high summer, Old Courthouse Square at the center of Santa Rosa becomes a certified farmers' market, open 11am to 2:30pm from July into September. Agricultural Community Events, the nonprofit that runs the city's year-round Community market, manages it. Local agriculture comes first, with produce from the county's farms, followed by artisan foods, prepared food and handmade goods across the square. Growers at a certified market sell what they raise themselves.

The late start sets it apart. This is a market for after a slow breakfast, and it carries on into lunch, so a summer Sunday downtown can begin here and wander outward. With the square at the city's heart, it is the easiest way for visitors staying in Santa Rosa to meet the county's growers without getting in the car.

The season is short, which is part of its charm: a handful of summer Sundays, gone by the time the harvest is in.