There’s a party in Malibu every Sunday and the whole community is invited. Local residents and visitors get together at Civic Center Drive for the weekly farmers market, rain or shine from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The sights and smells attract hundreds of people, visitors and local residents, to the market. Music wafts over from a stage, children are playing and people are sitting down for some lunch. Among the booths, shoppers pick from a long display of fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh flowers, breads and bakery, fresh juices, natural soaps, candy apples, seafood, an assortment of cheeses—you name it, it’s there.
“We love it,” singer and actor David Charvet said. “We come here every Sunday.”
The words vegetarian, vegan and organic are everywhere at the market, where fruits and vegetables are delivered fresh.
Raul Taborga, the owner of one of the vegetable stands, said his vegetables are all picked the night before and the driver drives them down from their family farm in San Luis Obispo at 3 a.m.
Taborga is an agronomist engineer with more than 18 years experience with organic produce. He sells at the farmers market every week, donating a percentage of his profits to benefit Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
Travis McKnight owns a fresh orange juice stand. His farm is family-owned and dates back to 1917 in Fillmore.
“These were on the tree yesterday,” McKnight said, as he squeezed oranges out to make a fresh cup of orange juice.
Aaron Kitler lives in Santa Monica and operates a goat cheese stand at the Malibu Farmers Market. The cheese comes from his family’s farm, which is an animal rescue.
“We have a no-kill, no yell policy,” Kitler said. “No pushing or pulling of goats. No stress of goats.”
But it turns out it’s not only the foods that are fresh at the farmers market. The vibrant colors and scents of the fresh flowers make every visitor stop in admiration.
“They are as fresh as fresh can be,” Johnny Castaneda said of the flowers he sells. “They are from our fields to the customers tables.”
Patricia Cevallos owns Pacific Succulents, where she creates beautiful potted succulent arrangements. She even makes the pots herself out of cement and sponge rock.
Originally from Guayaquil, Ecuador, Cevallos’ fascination with succulents began in 2006. It has grown to the point where she now has a studio in a vintage greenhouse in Malibu and makes succulent arrangements for people’s homes, gardens, offices and as gifts all over Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Brentwood and Beverly Hills.
Pets aren’t forgotten either. The Lucky Lab offers gourmet organic homemade doggy delights, including bacon snaps, chicken and veggies, peanut butter biscotti, pumpkin snickerdoodles, and much more.
Don’t have a dog, but want one? The Forgotten Dog Foundation offers adoptions of rescue dogs from the streets, shelters, and foreclosed homes.
The Cornucopia Foundation established the Malibu Farmers market in 2000, in an effort to help fund their mission to develop programs for children and adults, teaching sustainability through an understanding of the natural world.
The foundation believes the problems of pollution, global warming, resource degradation and a broken sense of community can only be solved by a significant shift in our mindset and actions. Cornucopia seeks to effect this change in nature-inspired settings with fun, imaginative programs and workshops for all ages. All proceeds from the farmers market help sustain their Environmental Learning Center.
The farmers market is open every week, rain or shine. For the winter season, a large tent has been put up to protect from possible rain.
