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It's Watermelon Time in Chicago!

  • Writer: Bob Benenson
    Bob Benenson
  • Aug 5
  • 2 min read

One of Peak Season's Last Puzzle Pieces Makes Its 2025 Debut


First of season watermelons at a Chicago farmers market
Photo by Bob Benenson

How 'bout them... watermelons? My very early morning visit to downtown Chicago's SOAR Farmers Market on Tuesday (August 5) turns up these beauties at the stand of Nichols Farm & Orchard (Marengo, Illinois), checking off another bucket list item for this Chicago region growing season.


I asked Nichols friend Steve Freeman what color the fruit inside was. He told me they were red, and then to prove the point, he cracked open a melon on the edge of one of the orange container and cut me off a slice. I don't know if it's even possible for fruit to be even sweeter than that melon.


Early morning scene at SOAR Farmers Market in downtown Chicago
Photo by Bob Benenson

I am always an early riser, and it's easy for me to motivate myself to get to a market early to beat the heat and traffic. I arrived right about the market's 7 a.m. opening time, and while SOAR draws plenty of shoppers each Tuesday between 7 and 2 p.m., there was plenty of elbow room for us early birds.


The market is located on the plaza in front of Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art.


Early morning scene at SOAR Farmers Market in downtown Chicago
Photo by Bob Benenson

SOAR* is in the Streeterville neighborhood, which is home to Lurie Children's Hospital (directly across the street) and the Northwestern medical campus nearby. It draws a lot of customers from the medical community, including the two women in hospital garb on the left of the photo.


*SOAR stands for Streeterville Organization of Active Residents


A produce haul from an August Chicago farmers market
Photo by Bob Benenson

My market haul: basil, field tomatoes and green peppers from Nichols (the tomatoes are in the middle of the Venn diagram of my plans to make tomato basil soup and ratatouille; cremini mushrooms from River Valley Ranch (Burlington, Wisconsin); SunGold cherry tomatoes from Noffke Family Farms (Coloma, Michigan); and peaches and plums from Ellis Family Farms (Benton Harbor, Michigan).



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