Barbecued ribs, freshly picked produce, arts and crafts, and live entertainment ...it's San Luis Obispo's lively Farmers' Market! Held every Thursday night, Farmers' Market is a street fair and produce market. No dogs allowed, City Ordinance. Locals and visitors alike can shop for the county's freshest produce and flowers, devour delicious ribs and sandwiches, browse local shops open late, and enjoy assortments of live entertainment. Recognized as a leader of such activities in California, Farmers' Market is held on six downtown blocks of Higuera Street, between Osos and Nipomo streets. The area is closed to all through traffic to make room for this fabulous event. City Ordinance prohibits dogs from attending. Please leave your four legged friends at home. Look out for a six-foot bear — that's mascot "Downtown Brown" giving out hugs and paw shakes to Market-goers.

The purpose of Thursday Night Promotions is to promote business in the downtown core. The event is organized by, administered by, and paid for by the Downtown Association. The Downtown Association is an advisory body to the City Council and is created and operated under state and local laws. The Downtown Association administers Thursday Night promotions in order to:

* create a positive image of Downtown San Luis Obispo
* expose community members to retail stores and services offered Downtown
* generate foot traffic on Thursday nights
* provide a forum for community activities
* maintain the Downtown as the center of retail, social, and civic activities enhance the community as a whole

Where is it held? Farmers' Market is held on Higuera Street in downtown San Luis Obispo, between Osos and Nipomo Streets. Watch for special activities on Garden Street too. Where can I park? Try the municipal garages located at Palm and Morro streets and Marsh and Chorro streets, where the first 60 minutes are free. Overhead clearance is 8' feet. Several small City-run parking lots are also nearby. You can park free on side streets. But don't park on the street after 5:30 p.m. anywhere you see "No Parking" notices attached to parking meters, or in private parking lots.

When is Farmers' Market? Farmers' Market takes place every Thursday (except Thanksgiving Day or if it's raining). Barbecues and entertainment begin at 6:00 p.m. All activities close at 9 p.m

Farmers' Market involves more than 120 vendors. Farmers park their trucks in the center of the street and restaurateurs wheel out massive barbecue pits for grilling ribs, chicken, sausages, tri-tip and even barbecued calzones under the evening sky. There are various food booths that offer everything from pizza-by-the-slice to warm-from-the-oven cookies.

You'll also find freshly harvested fruits and vegetables (all delicious and many exotic), bouquets of garden-grown flowers, hand-pressed cider and other seasonal treats.

The Downtown Association, established in 1975 to address the needs of Downtown Merchants as a whole, is an advisory body to the City Council funded by sales tax proceeds from its district. While not an actual department of the City, as a government agency it follows the same guidelines as any public entity. All meetings are open to the public and with meeting notices posted at City Hall. Downtown Association boundaries are semi-irregular but form a rectangle around a Downtown core bordered by Santa Rosa, Palm, Nipomo and Pacific Streets. Nearly 600 businesses are licensed within this district. (See map elsewhere on this website).

Link to the City of San Luis Obispo web site: www.slocity.org

Link to the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce web site: www.slochamber.org

Old SLO Trolley
Trolley service is provided from both of the parking structures and at convenient locations within the downtown core. The fare is 25cents. Hours of operation are:

Thursday

3:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Friday & Saturday

12:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Sunday

12:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.