One of the things that many people love about Lawrence is the Farmers Market.

The market has a joyous kind of all-American, small-town feel.

“I see people in the morning come down to the market, and I hear that they have come down to meet each other, catch up, have a cup of coffee and tap their toes to the music,” says Emily Miller, market coordinator.

“They’ll sit there eating a scone while talking to the vendor about the product,” she says. “There’s a connection to the people who produced it.”

There will be some new faces and offerings among the booths this season.

There are 13 vendors who are either new to the market or who have obtained a permanent place for the first time on each of three days per week that the market is open.

Miller says from 15 to 30 vendors set up booths Tuesdays and Thursdays. That number grows to roughly 50 on Saturdays.

“The priority consideration is that they have to grow (or prepare) the food that they sell at the market, and it must be grown in Kansas. Those are the two factors that help us really preserve the agricultural heritage that is around us and support our local producers,” Miller says.

Here’s a look at three new, full-time vendors:

Betsy Faubion and Michael Bates, of Doolittle Farms, sell produce, salsas and herbal salves. Faubion, co-owner, and Bates, an apprentice, are among the new, full-time vendors this season at the Lawrence Farmers Market. They were pictured Saturday at the market.

Making whoopie (pies)

Jennifer Lair owns a business called Jezebel Catering.

When she’s not busy catering, Lair cooks lunch for members of Kappa Delta sorority at Kansas University. That’s where she has a state-certified kitchen.

Lair sells baked goods — cakes, cookies, crumb bars and tarts — at the market that are intricate. People walking by her booth often comment, “It’s art.”

Among her products are a lemon tea cake topped with fresh raspberries, blueberries and a caramelized lemon glaze, loaves of spinach-and-feta-stuffed French bread, roasted vegetable tartlets with fresh mozzarella, and whoopie pies.

“They’re a very traditional New England treat, a cross between a brownie and a cookie. There are two of them (cookies), and in the middle there’s confectioner’s cream. It’s eye candy, especially for young people,” Lair says.

Incredible concoctions

Doolittle Farms, an 8-year-old operation that is based on an 80-acre farm just south of Leavenworth, is run by Betsy Faubion and Cathy Hawes.

The two women grow a variety of heirloom tomatoes, hot peppers and fresh herbs. They use their produce to make a hot pepper jelly, black bean-and-corn salsas and a spicy-sweet grilling glaze, all of which are carried at the Community Mercantile Co-op, 901 Iowa, and Lawrence’s Hy-Vee Food stores.

From left, Jason Littlejohn, his mother, Meredith Littlejohn, and brother Jeremy Littlejohn, are among the vendors at the Lawrence Farmers Market. The family sells produce and Meredith's handmade sock monkeys. They were selling their goods Saturday at the market.

The salsas are a big hit at the farmers market, where many people like to sample a bite on chips or crackers.

“We grow the peppers right here on the farm. It’s got organic black beans, tomatoes and hot peppers. We feel like we’ve really come up with a great product,” Faubion says.

They also sell tomato, pepper and herb plants, a variety of lettuces and other greens, pickled dilly beans, elderberry syrup and blackberry jam.

Market shoppers have grown to love their homemade Asian spring rolls, too.

“We have them at the market every day that we’re there. They’re (filled with) basmati rice with fresh herbs, carrots and cucumbers. The sauce is something that we made that’s got a little bit of zip with some hot peppers and peanuts in it,” Faubion says.

Jennifer Lair, owner of Jezebel Catering, offers gourmet sweets at the Lawrence Farmers Market. Lair, a new, full-time vendor, was pictured Saturday at the market. Lair sells baked goods such as cakes, tarts and whoopie pies, pictured above.

Quarter-size blackberries

Littlejohn’s Sherwood Farm is operated by Val and Meredith Littlejohn and their sons, Jason, 33, and Jeremy, 31. The family started the operation in 2001.

The 44-acre farm is located three miles outside Richmond, at the southern end of Franklin County.

The Littlejohns grow a variety of produce: tomatoes, asparagus, romaine lettuce, turnips, snow peas, snap peas, strawberries, rhubarb, elderberries, currants, gooseberries and blackberries.

The farm also has about 145 fruit trees, mostly peach, apple and nectarine. This spring, the family planted 660 grape vines and about 500 raspberry bushes.

Customers at the market seem to savor the family’s blackberries and peaches. So does Val Littlejohn.

“The blackberries are a thornless hybrid that get the size of a quarter, and they are absolutely delicious. Myself, I am really looking forward to those peaches. When they come off the tree, you have that beautiful, peach aroma, and when you cut one, it’s nice and ripe and has that good flavor,” Val says.

The Littlejohn family is pleased to be among the market’s permanent vendors.

“What we saw as far as people’s acceptance of the market and the city’s support of it, this is the place we want to be,” he says.