(Re)Discover: Columbia Farmers Market and CCUA

The Columbia Farmers Market and Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture (CCUA) at 1769 W. Ash St. are separate entities though they share an address — and similar missions.  

The Farmers Market is located in the MU Health Care Pavilion every Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon, with more than eighty vendors offering a healthy, colorful, and diverse range of fruits, vegetables, and other goods. The Midweek Market returned on May 28. The hours are from 4 to 7 p.m. Visits to the Saturday and Wednesday markets are best described as “an experience.”   

It’s not just food trucks, fresh produce, eggs, baked delights, an eclectic variety of flowers, herbs, and fungi, and fresh, locally produced beef. It’s all of that and more, often featuring live music and an inviting, energetic vibe.  

The vendor list includes Abbey Swahili Delights, Battlefield Lavender, Delysium Artisan Bakery, Happy Hollow Farm, Missouri Legacy Beef, and Raw Roots Turmeric.   

CCUA includes Columbia’s Agriculture Park, a ten-acre space in the Clary-Shy Community Park that is home to the local nonprofit’s main Planting for the Pantry production fields. CCUA is spearheading the development and construction of the Community Welcome Center, an 11,000-square-foot building that will house public event space, a commercial kitchen, a resource library, and free tool checkout.  

Public Art and the Otocast Guide  

Otocast is a free mobile app for iOs or Android that will guide you on a tour of more than thirty-five pieces of public art around Columbia. Each work of art has its own connection to Columbia’s history and is part of the city’s cultural legacy. The works were initiated by a wide range of businesses, individuals, and organizations, each with a different mission but all sharing the common view that art enriches the city.  

Some public art locations were commissioned through the city’s Percent for Art program, and they include Columbia Regional Airport, Columbia City Hall (“Keys to the City”), Eighth and Cherry parking garage, and Columbia Public Library.  

Outdoor Concerts  

If there’s an outdoor event in Columbia, chances are there will be live music. There’s also an established outdoor music scene that provides a variety of bands and tunes to satisfy the yearning for any musical genre.  

Be sure to check venues’ websites and Facebook pages for their weekly schedules. Here are just a few:  

• Sentinel Park, 602 Fay Street, in the Arcade District. Recent concerts featured Simple Road and the Boone Howlers.  

• Cooper’s Landing Riverside Resort & Marina. About ten miles south of Columbia at 11505 S. Smith Hatchery Rd., Cooper’s Landing is on the banks of the Missouri River, with a regular schedule of popular food trucks. Recent and upcoming performers include Meredith Shaw and the Borrowed Band, Open Road, Travis Feutz & the Stardust Cowboys, and The Fried Crawdaddies.  

• Pierpont General Store. The historical store at 7650 Highway 163 has been around since 1889 and added an outdoor music venue, bar, and cafe about ten years ago. Recent performers included Shiloh Country Band, Vertical Mattress, Stoplight Flyers, and The Rise & The Fall.  

• Shiloh Bar & Grill. The Shiloh patio at 402 E. Broadway is smack-dab downtown and an ideal place to take in live music in a casual setting with friends and family. Recent performers were C Rock City, Norm Ruebling Band, and Faded Youth.  

• Stephens Lake Ampitheater Concert Series, 100 Old Highway 63 (beach entrance to park).  

• Rose Park at Rose Music Hall, 1013 Park Avenue. Rose Park just hosted Wiz Khalifa, with Chris Knight among the coming concerts. There’s also a First Friday Happy Hour concert to coincide with the North Village Arts District’s First Fridays.