By Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville News belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville News, its staff or publishers.)

Much as I hate to sound like an infomercial, you have only three weekends left to take part in the social event of the season. I’m talking about the Winter Farmer’s Market that’s been running at the Center for the Arts at the Armory on Highland Avenue every Saturday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

When we first planned the market, we figured local interest would be high, but it’s exceeded our wildest expectations. We have had lines of people trying to get into the Armory and vendors selling out of product on a consistent basis. The Facebook page for the Winter Farmer’s Market has 1,894 followers. Another 255 follow its Twitter feed.

What we’ve got on our hands here is a phenomenon, a case of the right thing coming about at the right time and in the right place. Somerville in 2011 is a community actively looking to live a healthier, more active lifestyle. People want to eat better for themselves and serve fresh food to their children.

And by “people” I mean a cross-section of humans from every demographic in our city. At the Winter Farmer’s Market you’ll see senior citizens who have spent their entire lives in Somerville rubbing elbows with hipsters in their 20s standing next to soccer moms picking through vegetables with immigrant families. The appetite for fresh food in this community is massive and it is bringing people together from every walk of life.

Well over a thousand people have made their way to the Armory each week for the market. Later in the spring we’ll see the return of the farmer’s markets to Davis and Union squares, where the numbers are equally impressive. The 2010 numbers from the Union Square Farmer’s Market show that more than 2,000 people came to the market each week, peaking at more than 2,500 in September. Overall, the estimate is the Union Square market had a direct economic impact of $1.5 million last summer.

I suspect what we’re seeing is only the tip of an iceberg. Somerville’s demand for the produce, meat and other items on offer at the farmer’s markets is only going to rise. Our success recently attracted the interest of the Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources and the Northeast Regional Administrator of United States Department of Agriculture. They were curious to see exactly what is going on here in Somerville.

We get a lot of that these days. Somerville is a happening town. Come to the Winter Farmer’s Market the next three weekends (the last date for it is March 26) if you want to see it for yourself. You can say hello to some old friends, make some new friends, and go home with some bags filled with good and tasty food.