The birds are singing, the grass is greening, and the trees are blooming. All the signs say spring is here, and after a long winter of potatoes and winter squash, everyone is craving fresh food. If you feel like lunging into your lawn with an open mouth, we understand your hunger.

There is something unique in the food you can get from the market. Something in those greens feels different, almost like the sun hasn’t had much time to escape the leaf, and you’re eating its raw energy. And the taste of those strawberries makes you marvel at the wondrous ability a plant has to make such sweet flavor. It is all coming very soon, so put that zucchini back on the shelf, and don’t be seen with lawn in your teeth (unless you’re eating dandelion greens) - the Williamsport Growers’ Market is back!

Opening day is Saturday, May 2, with sales beginning at 8am and ending at 1pm. Every year the opening date seems to come sooner. Maybe the farmers are mastering the specialization it takes to produce an early crop, maybe it’s global warming. However they were sped along, here are some of the items you’ll be able to find within the first few weeks:

For home landscapers, there are a few vendors offering potted plants. Barbie Meyer with Twin Oaks sells ornamental shrubs and bushes. Dave Mundrick has bedding plants, and for edible landscapers, Ironwood Acres sells native perennials, a lot of which produce fruit. There will be a few growers offering vegetable and herb starts, and sometimes you will find something a little unusual such as hanging bean baskets, ground cherries or Stevia starts.

The vegetable lineup for the month of May starts with asparagus, rhubarb, radishes, beets, peas, lettuce, and canned goods, moving into squash, spinach, mesclun, and a few others. These come predominantly from Ananias of Mountain View Farm, Elam Stolzfus of Gobbler Knoll Farm and Jacob Stolzfus of Wolf Hollow Farm. Strawberries will arrive around mid-June from Elam, and Harold Kreider will surprise you with how fast he has greenhouse grown tomatoes, although Elam and Jacob get them there quickly as well.

Memorial weekend will bring this market’s only certified organic vegetables from Anne and Eric Nordell of Beech Grove Farm. Anne brings a wide variety, but the greens especially stand out in beauty and quality. As the season grows warmer, you’ll find pretty much all of your common table veggies plus a few odd ones. Heirloom tomatoes, okra, mushrooms, parsnips, tomatillos and odd-colored eggplants surprise those who can recognize them, and later, on the plate, for those who couldn’t. As for fruits, this market will have most you can think of coming later from Ecks, Fran Gardner, and Bill Weller of Schoolhouse Garden Market.

If I have not tempted you enough with produce, let me tell you what else you will see here. Heather Griggs will begin serving organic fair-trade coffee from a new roaster May 16. While you’re sipping you can also browse the huge selection of baked goods coming from Katie Yoder of Mountain View Farm, Allison Kaminsky, and a few others. Allison with Simply Mediterranean is unique in that she mills her own grain and pays the high price of using organic ingredients and/ or market-available produce for some part of her products. There are also multiple vendors selling meats. Steve and Becky Forman have pork and chicken, Holly and Dave Alberts can grill you a burger at Misty Mountain Farm’s tent, or you can get a hot dog from Jim Carpenter. You’ll even find elk, lamb, and wild Alaskan salmon at some point. Milky Way offers grass-based, sustainably raised milk products, and for dessert, if you have passed up all the fruits and baked goods, skip yourself and get your dog a biscuit from Black Dog Bakery.

Of course, there are non-edibles like homemade soap from Sharon Dimichele. Phillory Ball of Steam Valley Fibers will arrive later with her own wool and wool products, dyed predominantly with plants. New this year is Becky Kurth offering organic body care and herbal teas, and there is honey, maple syrup, pottery, and beautiful, bountiful flowers.

There are a few events occurring this year. The Health Expo tied to the 50 million pound challenge, recently written about in the Sun Gazette, will be May 16. The Penn College celebration of local food tasting is September 12. In between, you will hear an occasional musical note coming from acoustic instruments, tuned to the genre of bluegrass, Celtic or folk. We hope to develop this aspect, as music brings a beautiful new element to the market.

In essence, be a Growers’ Market CSA. A CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) usually starts with a one-time payment to the grower and a subsequent delivery each week of fresh produce. To translate this to a market scenario would mean that the customer pays each week, monthly or for the season and picks up a box of fresh vegetables sometime Saturday at the market. This option may appeal to those not capable of making it to the market early Saturday to get the freshest produce, or to hermits. The market CSA can be discussed with Valerie LaCerra at 570-326-3806.

In case you are not convinced you should come to the market, we will give you a few idealistic reasons to think upon. Purchasing locally produced products consumes less fossil fuels, gives you healthier food, and strengthens your local economy. Depending on the producer, choosing naturally grown or organically grown produce or meats can conserve water, prevent erosion, feed soil life and fertility, which gives you a better quality product, taste and nutrition-wise. In some cases you can support artisans who are preserving valuable skills and ways of raising crops or meats not common on industrial farms. And lastly, community is developed by interaction with your market vendors and discussion with your friends about when they need help tilling their garden. This reinforces the social aspect of the market, which may be the most important reason to come. It would be great to have your support and friendship. Come visit our stand, Little Willow Farm; we would love to see you there.

The Williamsport Growers’ Market can now be found on the Web at Facebook.com. Search for Williamsport Growers Market. It takes place every Saturday on the corner of Hepburn and Little League Blvd, in the parking lot across from Helmrich’s Seafood.