With pent-up demand after a drive-thru version in 2020, the 16th season of the Cedar Rapids Downtown Farmers Market will return in person with hopes for expansion by the end of the season.

Running 7:30 a.m. to noon every first and third Saturday of the month from June 19 to Oct. 2, the market will start with 100 vendors spaced out using only one side of streets. The kickoff this year is a significant increase from the 30 to 50 vendors that were present last year, but down slightly from the approximately 180 vendors present before the pandemic.

Where: Downtown Cedar Rapids, looping through Second Avenue SE, Second Street SE, Third Street SE, Fourth Avenue SE and Fifth Street SE.

When: 7:30 a.m. to noon on the following Saturdays: June 19, July 3, July 17, Aug. 7, Aug. 21, Sept. 4, Sept. 18, Oct. 2.

Vendors: To see a map of the market and vendor locations, visit cedarrapids.org/events/farmers-market/venue-map and click on the map.

Precautions: Vendors and attendees are encouraged to wear masks. The Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance asks patrons feeling ill or experiencing a fever to stay home from the market for the health and safety of the community.

“We’ve seen a lot of strong engagement with anything that we put on social media or in communications — people are really wanting this information,” said Melissa McCarville, strategy director for Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance. “People are pumped.”

Read the full article on the Cedar Rapids Gazette website.