Farmers' Market at Lakewood Ranch — Local services in Sarasota

I would give this 5 stars if I was just rating the vendors however this is about the market setup.

The pavement and lack of shade makes this market brutal. For some reason they decided to make it start at 10am instead of utilizing the cooler early morning hours during the middle of summer. The walkways are very crowded and there's no real effort by the venue to provide water or cooling respite to the visitors.

People bring their dogs and scorch their paws on the notably hot pavement despite efforts by businesses to bring the issue up and post signs. It's really just sad to watch and I'm glad I've never seen one of them actively in heat stroke but I'm sure that has happened.

Overall there are many better markets in the area that won't bring these issues to the table and have actual coordinator staff visible so that things can be addressed.

This is a relatively new farmers market so there's hope they receive feedback and correct...

Spent a good hour+ walking through this Farmer's Market (4 adults plus 1 senior in a wheelchair). They have a good selection of vendors, most of the pricing seems pretty reasonable, and the experience as a whole was very pleasant. We like the setting and the setup as it is not too big yet not too small, you have room to move around without feeling cramped, and the available seating to rest or just take in the view of the water makes for a relaxing and enjoyable outing. Bought some made from scratch baked goods, most of which were very good. Didn't buy any fruits or veggies this time but they looked beautiful, were presented well, and seemed priced fairly. We would definitely visit this farmer's market again (probably not weekly but somewhat regularly just because it was such a...

This place has so many vendors! Wow! Unfortunately, it doesn't have enough parking for the massive hoard of church-goers who descend upon it like locusts once they've made sure they put their time in and won't be going to Hell! That happens around 11am, so the trick is get there when it opens at 10am. These people are rude, too, just standing in the middle, blocking everyone else, doing that while screaming into their cell phones, pushing, shoving, and not getting out of the way in front of vendors. Rude! When we came back to our car, there were FIVE cars waiting for our spit! FIVE!!!!!!! That's ridiculous!!!!!! They need more parking spots, crowd control people, and nicer customers. Really! I did manage to buy some great produce by pushing my way through...