Happy Earth Day! Everyone knows Seattle is all about being green and to show our support we decided to let you in on a little secret. Pike Place Market has reserved parking just for electric vehicles (EVs)! Easily identified by green paint outlining the space, are nine parking spaces reserved for EVs, located in the MarketFront Parking Garage located at 1901 Western Ave. Need to charge your car? No problem. Each parking spot has access to a charging station that cost $1 per hour to use in addition to the hourly cost of parking. 

For those that don't have electric cars, there are more than 200 (300?) parking spaces available in the Market's parking garages. Park before 9 a.m. and get Early Bird parking for $15! For more information on parking at the Market visit pikeplacemarket.org/public-market-garage.

Did you know, every year more than 100 teachers participate in the Pike Place Market Education Program? With the click of a mouse, myriad educational materials about the Market's history are available in the form of lesson plans, activities, and curriculum guide! Designed to meet Common Core standards, these resources are provided for teachers to use the Market as a subject suitable for social studies, math, art and language arts units.

Unable to take a trip to Pike Place Market? You can recreate a farmers market in your own classroom and use our interactive farm map to show students where fruits and veggies are grown all around Washington state. All lessons reinforce the Market as Seattle’s original farmers market and point to how Pike Place Market’s farm team has evolved and adapted to the changing wants and needs of consumers and farmers. To learn more about the Education Program visit pikeplacemarket.org/education.

At Northwest Tastings, beautiful wood-paned windows offer amazing views of Elliott Bay by day, and the lights of the Seattle waterfront, ferries and the Great Wheel by night. Located on Pike Place Market’s Lower Level 5 (just down the ramp from Uli’s Sausage, next to the Miniature Car Dealership), Northwest Tastings is a collaboration between three local artisanal producers—Soulever Chocolates, White Heron Cellars and Glondo's Sausage Co—as well as rotating offerings from local cheesemakers.

You’ve likely seen the bright, colorful and culturally diverse artwork of Ernesto Ybarra, one of the faces of our “Local, Seasonal, Personal” campaign. We’re diving a bit deeper to introduce you to Ernesto and what inspired him to become a painter.

In 2015, as a relatively new craftsperson, Ernesto Ybarra, started selling his paintings on-and-off at Pike Place Market. Last year, he decided to make the jump to sell in the crafts market consistently. As a young man, Ernesto tried to cultivate his artistic talent through photography but ultimately found his creative freedom limited behind the lens of his camera. In search of a medium in which he could fully express himself through, he decided to try his hand at painting and never looked back.

As a self-taught painter, Ernesto has developed his distinctively vibrant style over the past 18 years. Natural inspiration for his art include his Mexican-American culture—stating “there are no rules of color in Mexico, which can be seen in the overuse and clashing of colors in Mexican art”—but much more than a Mexican artist, Ernesto emphasizes other influences on his work, such as time spent living California and New Mexico, or things he’s learned about life and his role as a son, grandson, brother, father and colleague.

When asked what he wants people to know about the Pike Place Market, Ernesto had this to say:

“There’s more to the Market than what people first think of—there’s a whole world of hardworking people, expressing themselves through their work and literally putting themselves on display for people to look at. The artists here are incredible and inspiring. We support each other and encourage each other to grow. I encourage visitors to take time to appreciate the art and to learn about the artists.”

One of Ernesto’s favorite memories at the Market is when one day after he had set up his display of paintings, a couple walked up to his table. The wife looked over his pieces, pointed out one and said, “I like that!” When her husband asked why she liked it, she simply replied, “I just do,” and bought the painting without even asking the price.

You can find Ernesto and his paintings set up in the North Arcade or, when the weather starts to warm up, on the sidewalk just outside the North Arcade.

If you’re looking for the perfect Easter ham or leg of lamb, biscuits and breads for brunch, candy or toys to fill the Easter basket, or eggs to dye and hide, stop by Pike Place Market and explore all of the plentiful options!

Order your Easter ham or leg of lamb from Don & Joe’s Meats, Bavarian Meats or Pike’s Pit BBQ.

Grab warm biscuits from Honest Biscuits, delicious breads from Le Panier, or traditional Easter Russian Apple Kulich from Piroshky Piroshky.

Serving wine or mimosas? Check out Wilridge Winery, Northwest Tastings or the cellar in the upstairs of DeLaurenti Specialty Food & Wine.

Fill up those Easter baskets with chocolates from indi chocolate, candies from Sweetie’s, and little toys and trinkets from shops like Ugly Baby, Pike Place Gifts, Robot vs Sloth or Market Magic and Novelty Shop.

And of course, you have to dye some eggs! Hop by the Market Creamery for your choice of eggs, available in a large assortment of sizes and varieties.

Visitors to the historic Pike Place Market now have the opportunity to experience delicious traditional Italian handmade pasta dishes influenced by local Northwest flavors at Pasta Casalinga, which opened March 20, 2018 in the Market’s Atrium.

With a shared passion for building community through great food and a welcoming environment, Michela Tartaglia and Nathan Gottlieb are bringing their respective Italian and Pacific Northwest roots together to create rustic, home-style pasta dishes in their warm and cozy market “kitchen.”