Every Thursday Tacoma hosts a Farmers Market on Broadway, in the heart of the city. As I walked down 9th Street, this gentleman's soft saxophone droned in the cool air. 
The Market has between 80 and 90 of the finest farmers, craftsmen and processors in Washington State, selecting only premium vendors who sell fresh farm produce, fresh flowers and nursery stock grown on land they own or lease in the state. 
Also offered are processed farm goods, baked goods, high quality handmade crafts and ready-to-eat food prepared onsite. Citizens concerned with the image of the city founded the Tacoma Farmers Market in 1990. Parts of the downtown area were deserted and dilapidated, run down. Three primary goals led to the birth of the Farmers Market. One was to dispel the perception that downtown Tacoma was an empty, unsafe place. Another was to create a sense of community by means of a Market that provided fresh, high quality produce. The third goal was to create a lively street atmosphere around Antique Row and the Theater District. In just a decade there as been a resurgence of building and restoring, which now makes this historical area one of the prime areas for entrepreneurs and investors. The Tacoma Art Museum, the Glass Museum, and the Washington Historical Museum are all within a short walking distance. On every third Thursday of the month, admission is free to these museums, providing an opportunity to see rotating displays.
The Farmers Market drew crowds of people on its very first day. People were delighted with the quality of the fruits, vegetables, prepared ethnic foods and handmade crafts. Over the next several years, the Tacoma Farmers Market grew substantially. Today there are between 80 and 90 vendors that draw between 4,000 and 6,000 customers every Thursday from May to October. 
I always bring home a bouquet of flowers, as they are very reasonably priced, and I can add additional greenery and flowers from my own garden to make quite a spectacular center-piece for my coffee table. 
The Farmers Market is not far from Taraz's employment, the "One Heart Cafe", so I walked down there, too, to see if he was working his shift. This cafe offers sandwiches, mouth-watering desserts, smoothies and 'made to order' espresso drinks. It is in a fine old building, enhanced with a lot of art-work, hanging plants, and antiques. People sit at little tables, enjoying their morning coffee. It felt like just the place to hang out, relax and visit. Students from the nearby branch of the University of Washington were hunkered down with books, peering over their laptops. Taraz had his laptop sitting on a display shelf, so that in a moment he can feature the photographs and artwork on his blog.
I had a chance to visit with Taraz, and he showed me around. I also met his boss, who has several espresso-cafes in the old historic area of Tacoma. Taraz alternates between both establishments, and is also doing some film-making for his boss, a project featuring kids at the YMCA. He plans to commute to these jobs when he and Megan move to Olympia in September, saying "this is my dream job - I get to mingle with people in an artful environment, and do my creative work on the side". 
I'll finish out this post with this photo - these girls are putting all their practice to good use, earning a few dollars at the Market. They were so sweet, and really performed well. The owner of the 'One Heart Cafe', whose motto is, 'think love, be art, drink coffee' offers this on his website:"Believe me, the Lord is like the sun; different races, religions and ideologies leave Him completely indifferent. It simply does not bother Him whether you are yellow, black or red, whether you are a Jew, a Catholic, a Protestant or even an atheist. We are all His children and He cares only about our qualities and virtues:our love, wisdom, honesty and generosity."
- Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov
