Sunday, on a glorious, bright sunshiny day, the New Amsterdam Market held a celebration for May Day called Floralia, complete with Maypole (above). I’ve never been much for recognizing this pagan feast day or the communist-era counterpart. I’ve always been envious, however, of my European friends when they had this day off, as it seemed a bit random. Of course, we have our Labor Day in September instead, so I guess that counts.
This was a great chance to catch up with vendors that I hadn’t seen in a while (Liddabit Sweets, Nordic Breads), discover some new delicious treats (Pie Corps), and even to run into a friend and her husband (Karen of Markets of NYC). Everyone seemed to be enjoying checking out the different products, eating the offerings from the prepared food vendors, and generally just hanging out in the city on a really nice day. As I told Robert LaValva, the market manager, I’d seen several food folks over the course of the previous week who had chimed, “See you at the market on Sunday,” when we all realized we’d be convening at the event, so there was definitely buzz about the day.
Here’s some of my market photos:
Except for the fact that the juice dripped a bit too much, my friend who ate it said it was a great flavor combination and that the goat was really well cooked.
But we decided instead to head to the South Street Seaport itself to have a cool drink in the sunshine and to watch all the tourists go by. What a great way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon!
Buon appetito!
(With sincere apologies to the vendors I didn’t mention by name, but my camera battery died mid-market as there was so much to take in and photograph. The list of those who are selling at New Amsterdam Market this season can be found here.)