It's winter. Let's go to the farmer's market!

In cities like Detroit and Philadelphia, markets have become year-round destinations, offering classes, crafts and music, as well as a surprising range of fresh products.

On a recent Saturday morning at Eastern Market in Detroit, street musicians filled the air with jazz as vendors finished setting up for the traffic of the day. Shoppers flocked, enjoying winter produce, condiments and chutneys, fresh cuts of beef and more.

Although farmers markets are usually associated with warm months and lush fruits and vegetables, Eastern Market and others like it across the country are becoming cold-weather travel destinations as they add handicrafts, entertainment, and indoor experiences like courtyards of cooking that the Detroit market sometimes offers during the cold months.

Some, like the Original Farmers Market in Los Angeles, the Detroit market and the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, have been in operation for so long that shopping, dining and entertainment districts have sprung up around them, creating urban ecosystems worthy of wintery weekend getaways.

"There is now ais quite a destination associated with the markets themselves, and often their events are unique to the communities they serve," said id Ben Feldman, executive director of the Farmers Market Coalition, a nonprofit organization for markets across the UNITED STATES. Take, for example, the BBQ Cook-Off and Commissioner's Cup Festival at the South Carolina State Farmers Market, which takes place every March in ‌Columbia, or the Chili and Beer Tasting Event at the State Farmers Market in Milwaukee which starts every February.

‌‌Mr. Feldman added that while farmers' markets focus on what's in season, vendors extend the peak of the season by creating baked goods, jams and other products from crops they've grown, while others rely on greenhouses or "semi-circular hoop". » houses to bring more produce to market in winter. The revenue, Feldman said, benefits the immediate community.

For cities with warmer climates, it's easy to stay open in the winter. California, for example, has dozens of markets year-round. Those in the coldest cities often have pavilions to protect themselves from the cold. The Nashville Market, for example, has a Market House, where shoppers will find prepared foods and cafes, including a wine tasting room.

Here are five markets worth a day or two of exploring, even in cold weather.

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