America (Farmers Market Edition)

What if your local farmers market tells a true story about what our country really is?

June, 2024

Blessings to All Y’all People of Conscience, 

This past Saturday, Lapidus & Myles found ourselves sharing our music and message at the Sandy Springs Farmers Market. As far as June mornings go (at least here in Atlanta) the weather was simply divine. A gentle cloud cover, consistent breeze, and moderate temperature set the conditions for a beautiful morning. The two of us performed right in front of City Hall, right between the artisan chocolate guy and the “please hide your baked goods from me so I don’t eat them ALL” guy. We enjoyed taking a more laid back approach to our music. Calling tunes based on our mood (all original of course) and improvising a good bit, exploring new dimensions of the songs and ways of interpreting them. As the two of us have been individually very busy lately, it was a morning of reconnection. It felt really good. 

It got us thinking--- what if the vibe at a typical neighborhood farmers market reflected something true and enduring about America? What if the simple premise of people gathering in a communal, public setting, to exchange goods and share a morning together in a gentle and mutually agreeable way-- what if THAT is who we really and truly are as a country? What if all the red/blue/purple/ fake news/real news/ not in my backyard/ social media/ fear-mongering insanity--- what if we set all that aside? What if we all met, in our communities, in our neighborhoods, in our towns, in our cities, in our common spaces. What if we simply came together to connect and greet one another in kind and mutually agreeable ways? What if you had vegetables to sell and I came and bought them, and we had a human moment where we looked one another in the eye. And there were dogs, and families, and music, and arts and crafts, and artisan food items from myriad world cultures, and people of varied races, ethnicities, backgrounds, and identities. And there were police officers helping make sure everyone felt safe and comfortable. And the mayor even showed up. What a proud moment for the mayor to come and see what Sandy Springs is and can be. 

Atlanta is a big city. And there are probably 30 farmers markets spread out across the greater metro area. How many farmers markets take place on any given June weekend all across America? There must be thousands. If even a fraction of those farmers markets had the kind of energy that the Sandy Springs Farmers Market had, well that’s a darn hopeful thing in our opinion. 

As with anything, there are those who are shut out and left behind. We know and recognize that being able to attend a farmers market is, on some level, a luxury not readily available to every American. Knowing that, how much more so should those of us who are privileged to be able to attend appreciate the gift of doing so. And how much more so should we call attention to the simple yet authentic vision of what America is as reflected in the simple fact of a farmers market. 

Action Item

We have limited availability to travel to communities this summer, fall, and into winter 2025. If you’d like to explore that, we’d be honored to connect. We also remain ambivalent in our commitment to keeping our social media/ digital presence alive so that we can “play in the sandbox” so to speak. Connecting in those spaces would be helpful if you’re amenable: 

FB-- @WeAreLapidusAndMyles and IG: Lapidus&Myles. YouTube @lapidusmyles