Summer Fridays. Sure, there's the emerging beauty company of the same name (Their tagline? "That Friday feeling for your skin."), and their treatment mask Jet Lag (for those wanting dewy skin…iconic beauty editor and fan of glow-y complexions, Jean Godfrey June would def approve!) which took the worlds of skincare and Sephora by storm last year, but I'm talking about actual Fridays this summer in the OS.

One thing you'll want to scope out for sure is the Farmers Market at Goddard Park. Don't know about you, but for a variety of reasons (unspecified as of this moment...mostly because only on coffee number 1 while drafting this), I never seem to make it to any of those weekend markets. So, let's blame the snooze button on my smart phone alarm and move on to the short list of all the reasons you'll adore this end of week, open air outing in Warwick. (Or is it EG? I mean, I’ve seen it listed both ways online.)

1. It’s super dog friendly. We spied lots of people with dogs (kiddos too) there last year as well as several dog bakeries, including our friends at Jack's Snacks. Great excuse to leash up the pups and go. (Pssst ~ You'll find treats for your pups and lots more for you. We spied marshmallows, cookies, and local honey on one occasion.)

2. Go green, using your plastic. No need to stress over cash. Most of the vendors accept credit and debit cards (also, snap/ebt, wic checks, and senior farmers market checks, a noteworthy iniative to encourage elderly RI'ers to shop these markets). I used a card ly to buy an iced coffee and a new mug from the Dave's Coffee booth - thankfully putting an end to the morning drama and back and forth at our house over that single Dave's mug in the cupboard.

3. Plenty of shade. There's throwing shade, then there's the shade of a gorgeous old tree at that park. There are lots of shady ones in the vicinity of the market, and when we were there ly, there was even a gentleman under one playing a guitar and singing.

4. Plant yourself. Ok, I'm really speaking to parking here, and the simple fact that there's plenty at GP. I mean, is there anything worse then getting all hyped up and excited for an event or destination, only to get there and have a mini freak-out over a lack of parking options? I think not, and not the case there.

5. Local produce for the win! The market at GP offers a nice, easy to navigate representation of locally farmed (Did you know that there's something like 1200 farms including everything from field crops and orchards to wetlands and aquaculture in RI?) and in season fruits and veggies. In the past, we’ve picked up some absolutely delicious and affordably priced native (heirloom) tomatoes, eggplant, and cucumbers, all grown without any nasty chemicals.

*Note: The Farmers Market at GP is open Fridays from 9am to 1pm, May thru October, weather permitting.