Hudsonville has been trying to revitalize its downtown over the past few years with the addition of restaurants and walkable spaces. One of these areas is the Terra Square event center located right off Chicago Dr. On Wednesday’s and select Saturday’s during the summer, the farmer’s market sets up shop in this space.

This past Wednesday, my daughter Alaina and I decided to go and check out the farmer’s market. Now I’m used to the sprawling markets of Fulton Street Farmer’s Market in Grand Rapids and the Holland Farmer’s Market which take up an entire block. I knew the one in Hudsonville would be smaller, I just wasn’t prepared for how much less of a selection there would be.

Parking was easy as we were able to get a spot right next to Terra Square. As we were walking up, the first thing I noticed was two ladies singing to provide entertainment for the shoppers. While I appreciated the gesture, the music they were performing just wasn’t for me. But I’m sure others would enjoy it. As I strolled on, I noticed about 4 or 5 booths set up outside and thought to myself “this is it?” Such a small size and not a lot of people made me really self conscious about taking pictures. Two booths were selling vegetables so I stocked up on sugar peas, green beans, asparagus and redskin potatoes. While the produce looked good, I also thought the prices were higher by about $0.50 than what you might find at Fulton St. or in Holland.

Seeing that the rest of the booths had flowers and popcorn, I thought our time at the market was going to be over in about 3 minutes. But then the market opened up more and spread inside the Terra Square building with about 10 more booths. These booths included a bakery, a man selling grilling rubs, Love Inc, someone selling Essential Oils, and a few other items. There also was an elderly man selling vegetables, so I bought some asparagus from him too.

The nice part about this inside area is the activities they had set up for kids. Alaina enjoyed playing with plastic balls set up in a kid’s pool, even though she had difficulties recognizing the need to share with other kids. We then moved over to the table where she colored a flower and put a few stickers on it (which later ended up stuck to the seats in the back of my car!).

After spending about 15 minutes at the market, I had enough and we headed off to Sprinkle’s donut shop where we had a daddy/daughter donut date. Alaina had a chocolate with sprinkles while I enjoyed a fried cinnamon. We even bought some cronuts for mom (and dad) to have later on.

So would I go back to the Terra Square Farmer’s Market? Yes, since it’s close to my house. I like being able to pick up fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the summer (especially since I’ve had terrible time with produce at Meijer lately). But would I make this a destination like I do with Fulton St and Holland? No.

As for Sprinkle’s, they are worth a trip out of your way. They are also expanding with stores opened now in Allendale, Rockford, and Ada. Check them out when you get a chance!