If you ever thought Calgary was oversaturated with farmers’ markets, think again.

When the Calgary Farmers’ Market opened its long-awaited second location last week, in the city’s west end near Canada Olympic Park, there were 35,000 shoppers and gawkers who passed through its doors, a vendor told me… in one day!

Its high-ceilinged, 55,000-square-foot indoor building, and its some 75 vendors, seem capable of handling such mobs. I’m not so sure about the traffic.

When I visited on a glorious Friday morning, a week later, it was a game of musical cars, with multiple motorists waiting for someone to leave so they could park. The traffic spilled over from the paved lots to a gravel yard to the north.

It’s not like everyone was rushing to save money. I saw lots of meals, from the various food vendors costing $15-plus dollars. The produce and other foodstuffs are nice but not exactly cheap, for anyone expecting a rural, bare-bones experience.

But this is Calgary, where folks are accustomed to, and maybe even expect, upscale farmers’ markets. Indeed, it’s a pleasant place to shop, wander and meet with friends.

And the aisles are sufficiently wide to avoid the indoor traffic jams—known as stroller Fridays— that plagued previous incarnations of this market.

Calgary Farmers’ Market West
25 Greenbriar Drive NW, Calgary
Wednesday to Saturday 9 am-7 pm, Sunday 9 am-5 pm