Findlay Market reminds me in so many ways of the time I spent studying abroad in Paris, France, where there really aren’t any supermarkets or grocery stores. In Paris, if you want groceries, flowers, or even a new pet, you go to the market. There are markets all over the city and they’re just beautiful – always bustling with friends, family, and the smell of freshly baked bread. After my time in France, I had a newfound appreciation for the marketplace. Going there has always been a mixture of a family tradition and a field trip: my mom shopped there with her parents and brother every week growing up, but after spending my childhood in the suburbs, it was always hard for her to find the time to take me down there for family grocery shopping trips as often as she’d liked – which makes me even more excited for the idea of Findlay After Four, a new campaign Findlay Market launched just last week.

Findlay After Four is a new way to promote shopping at the market on Thursdays between 4-6 p.m. The goal is to make sure Findlay Market frequenters and newcomers alike are aware of the market’s hours.

The hope is to drive more shoppers to the market and begin to chip away at the confusion around market hours. Even though Findlay is packed with shoppers and vendors during the weekends, but things tend to quiet down during the week – especially later in the day, but Findlay After Four is looking to change that while encouraging vendors and merchants to stay open until the market’s later hours.

Every Thursday, Findlay Market has a variety of activities planned to encourage people to take the time to visit the market and shop. Beginning at 4 p.m. later today, there will be a cooking demonstration by a guest chef, and recipe cards will be handed out so shoppers can take them and find ingredients for the dish throughout Findlay. Christian Moerlein and MadTree beers will be available at the OTR Biergarten, and there will be a raffle and giveaways. There will be new activities each Thursday through August.

I’m especially excited for a new excuse to make the trek from West Chester to Findlay Market. I feel so lucky to have such a link to my mom’s past and her family traditions, as well as a way to connect with my hometown in such a diverse environment. Not only is Findlay Ohio’s oldest continuously operated public market; it’s also a year-round home to dozens of food merchants selling meat, fish, fresh produce, flowers, cheese, and – my favorite part – it boasts the largest tea selection in the Midwest at Churchill’s. It’s also a gathering place for street performers, farmer’s markets, shoppers, and people watchers.

If that isn’t enough to convince you to take a field trip to Findlay Market, Findlay After Four is spearheaded by hometown greats including Julie Gosdin of Cincinnati food blog Wine Me, Dine Me; Bob Schwartz of Cincinnati’s 5chw4rz blog; Annette Wick of TheseWritingShoes blog; and Barb Cooper from Daisy Mae’s.

My mom, Kyle, and I took a trip to Findlay just last week to do some grocery shopping and grab some lunch. It’s always a great experience that makes me nostalgic for Paris and happy to be in Cincinnati all at the same time. Here are a few photos from our trip. What’s your favorite memory of Findlay Market – or if you’re not from the Cincinnati area, do you have a marketplace in your city? What’s it like?