No, Seriously. Spring has Sprung

A LOT is going on in the food and gardening world here in Tulsa over the next few days. Not one, but three - three! - events are rocking this weekend, and it'd behoove us all, health-wise and pocketbook-wise and community-wise, to get our green (and not-so-green, depending on who we're talkin' about here) thumbs to all of them. 

SpringFest Garden & Market Festival, April 10th-11th, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. 

Spring is here! Are you ready to plant your garden? Let Tulsa Garden Center help you get ready. Head over to 2435 S. Peoria this weekend for hundreds of plants, gardening information, garden art, arts & crafts, food and fun for the whole family, including the kids. Get more information here. Proceeds from the festival benefit Tulsa Garden Center. 

Cherry Street Farmers Market, April 11th, 7-11 a.m.

It's time for the largest and most colorful farmers' market in the Tulsa area to come alive. I wait all winter for this day. Perhaps too eagerly - perhaps too often getting that far-away look in my eye. Oh, well. Just give me my asparagus and swiss chard and I'll walk away quietly, without hugging and kissing and pinching the cheeks of too many people. 

This is the twelfth season of the Cherry Street Farmers Market, and according to the CSFM newsletter, numerous new vendors are joining in this year - so many, in fact, that the market will expand into Quaker Street, just south of 15th. New vendors require new customers, so be sure to start your grocery shopping at CSFM this week. 

After you do your shopping and as long as you didn't snag anything super-perishable, be sure to swing by Coffeehouse on Cherry Street and grab some treats and some Topeca Coffee. I know I will. 

Herb Day in Brookside, April 11th, 9 a.m.

Fill those pretty, new green bags you snagged for these spring herb and farmers markets events at 41st Street and Peoria this Saturday with Oklahoma-produced herbs, flowers, wine, pottery and more at Herb Day in Brookside. It's easy to chat with vendors at this event, so count on making a new friends or two while you're at it.  

Next weekend is the legendary Sand Springs Herbal Affair, April 18th, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., where more than 100 vendors will bring herbs, perennials, natives and heirloom plants, along with herbal products, gardening supplies and folk art to the heart of historic downtown Sand Springs. Yeah, it's kind of a big deal. To make sure you don't miss it - you know, just in case you miss the crowd of 25,000 headed northwest of T-Town proper - commit it to your calendar now.