When students first arrive at Tufts, there is a common list of locations that they can expect to see at some point during their four years. The Museum of Fine Arts, Faneuil Hall and Newbury Street are just a few of the common tourist spots that Boston boasts. But there is one experience that students are unlikely to have unless they spend their summer taking classes at Tufts or interning in the city. Beginning in May each year, the SoWa Open Market takes place on Sundays throughout the summer in South Boston and gives visitors one day each week filled with music, art, crafts and food from local Boston artists and vendors.
Unfortunately, SoWa isn't exactly close within range of Tufts' Medford/Somerville campus, but for a lazy Sunday afternoon it can be the perfect reason to get out and explore the local vendor scene in Boston. For those many carless Tufts students, SoWa can be reached by taking the Red Line to Broadway and walking about half a mile to Harrison Avenue.
The open market is broken up into three sections:
A farmers market, a crafts market and a vintage market. The first two contain what one would usually expect from any outdoor fair or festival. Food vendors provide goods composed of organic, locally grown ingredients and craft vendors sell their handmade designs, ranging from uniquely shaped soaps to sterling silver jewelry.
In terms of food, SoWa offers a variety of food trucks that park along the outer walls of the crafts section. From Vietnamese-inspired cuisine to barbecue ribs, visitors are guaranteed a large range of choices when it comes to grabbing lunch. The farmer's market contains more specialized goods, with stands serving samples of honey, granola, cheese and baked goods. Danish Pastry House, a favorite of many Tufts students, even had a stand, proffering pastries and breads to passers-by.
Cyndi Jacobs of The Best Damn Granola said she has been vending at SoWa for the past two years. When asked why people should come and buy food here, rather than at a grocery store, Jacobs explained, "[Vendors] use fresh, local ingredients here, and everything is made by small, local companies. The vendors are also always changing, so people can come back each week and see something new."
The third section — the vintage market — is a welcomed nuance to the typical market scene. Located indoors, the market provides each vendor with a section of the spacious, interconnected rooms to sell their products. Items spotted in this section include vintage jewelry from Givenchy and Chanel, an old newspaper reporting on the death of Princess Diana, vintage silk blouses and recycled silverware bent into bracelets.
Kathleen Bitetti from Tangerine Boutique discussed the uniqueness and durability of vintage clothing. "It's great stuff at an affordable price, and no one else will have it," she said. "If they've lasted this long, then they're going to last you a long time."
Ari Carrigan, another vintage clothing vendor, is partial to selling bold, printed designs made of finer materials, in addition to colorful shoes and jewelry. Carrigan has been a vendor since 2009, and reasoned, "A lot of this stuff is being reproduced now, but you're not going to get the same quality as you would with vintage."
For those uninterested in second-hand clothing or jewelry, the vintage market also contains an array of furniture, dishes, decorations and even video games.
The crafts section, although perhaps the least unique of the three, still contains some interesting products for the visitor who has everything. Large stones turned into clocks, recycled beer bottles blown in to cups and bowls and soaps shaped like cupcakes are just a few of the novelty items visitors may find.
One of the most popular stands in the crafts section is, in fact, not selling a product at all, but rather capitalizing on a current feather hair trend. At Lana Soussan's Feather Fiend stand, located near the front of the entrance, girls line up to have her weave feathers into their hair. Soussan said she has been visiting SoWa for eight years, but never had anything to sell. "This is my first year vending. I do hair, and then this whole fashion trend came along, so I gave it a chance," she said.
Although the SoWa Open Market resembles a typical fair or farmer's market in many respects, its unique additions like the vintage market and the variety of food trucks make a visit down to South Boston well worth the effort. Anyone interested in finding something fun to do on a warm Sunday afternoon should hop on the Red Line with a friend and prepare themselves for a day of craft browsing and overeating.
