A Sunday Bazaar
SoWa Open Market offers food, arts, and vintage finds
Rows of tents in the SoWa Arts Market entice visitors with an array of crafts, unique apparel, jewelry, and handmade art. Photo courtesy of New England Open Markets
Each Sunday from May through October, a three-block area along Harrison Avenue in the South End is transformed into a bustling bazaar offering fresh produce, artisan foods, jewelry, and arts and crafts—courtesy of the SoWa Open Market. Drawing hundreds of shoppers from Boston and beyond, the market gives visitors the chance to shop local, meet the artisans, growers, and makers, while spending a leisurely day in the sun.
SoWa—short for South of Washington—refers to the section of the South End that runs from Massachusetts Avenue to Herald Street and from Shawmut Avenue to Albany Street.
The SoWa market is actually three different markets. In addition to a farmers market, with some 60 stands selling locally grown produce, flowers, and gourmet foods, there’s the SoWa Arts Market, heaven for anyone looking for well-made and innovative arts and crafts, jewelry, silk-screen-printed T-shirts, prints, and pottery. The Arts Market runs the gamut from functional to funky.
The SoWa Vintage Market, which is open year-round, is in an adjacent building. Here, you can dig and sift through curated collections of dusty knickknacks, vintage trinkets, and curious tchotchkes.
Should all that browsing whet your appetite, the SoWa Food Truck Court hosts 35 food trucks serving a variety of items, from grilled cheese sandwiches to pizza and tacos.
The SoWa Open Market is every Sunday through October 26, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the South End. The farmers market is at 500 Harrison Ave.; the Arts Market is on Thayer Street between Harrison Avenue and Albany Street; the Vintage Market is at 460 Harrison Ave.; and the Food Truck Court is at 540 Harrison Ave. By public transportation, take any inbound Green Line trolley to Copley Square, then the number 9 bus to City Point/Copley Square via Arlington Street and get off at the Albany and East Berkeley stop.
Paula Sokolska can be reached at ps5642@bu.edu.
Comments & Discussion
Boston University moderates comments to facilitate an informed, substantive, civil conversation. Abusive, profane, self-promotional, misleading, incoherent or off-topic comments will be rejected. Moderators are staffed during regular business hours (EST) and can only accept comments written in English. Statistics or facts must include a citation or a link to the citation.