San Luis Obispo, California Farmers Market on Thursdays

Take a cue from SLO when it comes to celebrating Thursday. SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA has sizzled, smoked and BBQ'ed the Thursday evening blues away since 1983 with a street fair and weekly Farmers Market.  When you hear the beat and feel the heat on  Higuera Street, it's time to boogie down for some tri-tip beef, and celebrating done Central Coast style.

"It's a wow!" said Angela Marino, who has been to the street fair more than once, and relishes the smells of Central Coast cooking that utilizes oak wood for flavor. Liking it so much, it was one of the events that got Angela and her boyfriend to pack their bags, leave OC behind, and relocate to the land of good living.

So what makes San Luis Obispo so special?  Diana Cotta of the San Luis Obispo Downtown Association, organizers of the Thursday Night Farmers Market, points to the great weather, diversity of crowds and lifestyle as ingredients that make this event sing & dance.

For tourists seeking simply to visit and have fun, the action begins each week around  6:00 p.m. and finishes up 9. Locally grown produce, food vendors, arts and crafts, and entertainment span a six block area, allowing tourists to really soak up the vibes of this hidden gem of cool. The combination of university students with progressive ideas, urban escapees from LA and San Francisco, and farm belt conservatives, make for diversity in the restaurants and pubs that line the blocks along the marketplace where this weekly celebration brings laughter to the streets.

Located between Osos and Nipomo Streets, guests find barbecue ribs, vegan,  pizza, roasted corn-on-the-cob, crepes, tamales, churros, strawberry desserts, and hummus, plus the usual Kettle corn and other snacks.

San Luis Obispo ’s Thursday Night Farmers Market is held faithfully each week, excluding special holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas when it falls on Thursday.

Where to stay: Try the Travel Lodge, a budget hotel that I thought was just fine for a mere fraction of the price of other hotels on the block.  I actually was booked into the older portion of the popular Apple Farm and checked out before the night was over. Spiders crawling on the floor, a soft bed, small room costing too much all added up to disappointment. How do you like them apples? If you stay at Apple Farm, stay in the newer section of the hotel.