It just wouldn’t be springtime in Lawrence without the aromatic flowers, fresh produce and neighborly atmosphere that crop up this time of year in a certain Vermont Street parking lot.

There, just after sunrise Saturday, the peal of a bell will signal the official opening of the Lawrence Farmers Market’s 28th season and the return of a more personal style of shopping.

	Market hoursThe Farmers Market will be open 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Saturdays.

“You can talk directly to the person who produced what you’re buying so that if you have any questions about what kind of processes we use, how we treat our land, what our philosophy is on growing, you have the real person to talk to,” said Mary Jo Mensie, market board member and a vendor who sells vegetables and herbs.

The market will open at 6:30 a.m. Saturday in its traditional location, the parking lot on Vermont between 10th and 11th streets, with musical entertainment by “The Boys from the Prairie” and hot breakfast food from Hy-Vee. The market, sponsored by Downtown Lawrence Inc., will remain open through Nov. 9 from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Saturdays.

There’s been a push for several years by a market committee to move the market from its 64-space lot on Vermont to a 120-space lot in the 800 block of New Hampshire Street. Marketers would also like to add canopies there for some stalls to make the market more weather-proof, several electrical hookups and a permanent restroom facility. But funding from the city and county has not been available for the move.

The committee recently received a $1,000 grant from the Kansas Rural Center, a nonprofit organization that helps rural farm economies. Committee chairwoman Barbara Clark said the money would be used to start a Friends of the Lawrence Farmers Market group to build awareness about relocation and improvement of the market.

About 65 vendors have reserved space for this year’s market and will offer a diversity of items. Asparagus, radishes, green onions, spinach and lettuce are among the vegetables now at their best. Exotic farm-raised meats elk, emu and bison will be available fresh frozen from the producers. Bakers will offer sweet fruit pies, homemade breads and other baked goods.

Shoppers also will be able to choose from bouquets of flowers cut from local fields or make their own arrangements from buckets of individual flowers. They can even grow their own by selecting from annual bedding plants and perennials available at the market.

With the market opening the day before Mother’s Day, Mensie said it might be just the place to find a unique gift.

“The first market will probably have more gift items than usual because everybody knows its Mother’s Day the next day,” she said, adding that one vendor would be bringing handmade jewelry for the occasion. “You might find exactly the right thing.”