Farmers’ Market Making a Presence on Prince-Arthur Street

Crowds once flocked Prince-Arthur Street for it was a vibrant cobblestone corridor, between St-Laurent Blvd and St-Louis Square, popular for ethnic restaurants and alfresco terraces. For years now, the only thing flooding this street are several vacant buildings. Prince Arthur now serves as a mere transportation passageway for pedestrians and cyclists to reach popular boutiques, restaurants, and clubs that lie on St-Laurent Blvd. All this goes to say that this formerly recognized street is in need of a serious facelift in order to reconnect with Montrealers and tourists alike.

Being an area with great potential and the history to prove it, the City of Montreal is spending $2 million to revive Prince Arthur Street. This revitalization project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2016, in time for Montreal’s 375^th anniversary. The city’s goal is to retransform this bleak strip into a more welcoming and lively space with new fountains, seating, and public art.

While we can hardly wait for next year, the borough of Plateau-Mont-Royal is making the first of many changes yet to come by teaming up with L’Autre Marché to launch Le Marché Prince-Arthur this month. The market will be open every Thursday (from 3:00pm to 7:00 pm) from August 13^th to October 15^th.

Participating in this project will be about 15 local farmers and artisans offering fresh produce including fruits & vegetables, meats (such as lamb and duck), baked goods, honey and roasted nuts, as well as microbreweries and jewelry craftsmen. As part of the market experience, there will also be entertainment each week by the MusiMétroMontréal musicians (from Montreal metros) and makeup artists for children. For the market launch on August 13^th, the dancers at Studio 88 Swing will put on a fascinating performance, and Mabrasserie will be offering beer tasting for visitors to enjoy.

A program and complete list of vendors will soon be made available here.

Featured image: Instagram user @jackieruedaphotography.