NewBo City Market Kids Day – Grand Opening

NewBo City Market opened for business this weekend — I wanted to go on Saturday, but given the long list of chores to be done around the house, I decided it made more sense to wait for Sunday and Kids Day!

The market itself looks fantastic!  The atmosphere is great, and the vendors all did a great job making their storefronts look amazing.  We didn’t eat lunch there, but we will definitely be back to try some of the various foods.

One thing I will say — it was PACKED.  The top picture above was taken during a break in traffic, and there weren’t many of those to be found.   Which is good for the vendors!  I haven’t decided if I hope it quiets down just a little, or if I hope it stays this crazy busy year round.  That said – parking was not difficult, we were able to easily find a place to park and didn’t have to walk far to the door, so don’t let that steer you away from visiting!

We didn’t plan it this way — but the first place we saw when we walked in the side doors was That One Cupcake Place.  I’m no stranger to Teresa’s cupcakes!  They had Vanilla, Pumpkin, Cinnamon and Monster cupcakes… and there was a LINE!  I almost felt bad for the business next to hers as the line practically crossed the whole store, but it just goes to show you that it’s not just me that thinks her cupcakes are amazing!  By the time we were leaving, they were sold out and Teresa was feverishly working in the back to get more out to sell.  We snagged a dozen, a few were dropped off at Aaron’s work after the market and a few went home with LeeAnn…  Somehow, I only ended up coming home with four…  probably for the best, when I come home with a dozen, I tend to share two and eat the other ten — and I wish that was exaggeration!

We had to make a quick stop to snag a drink – LeeAnn and Averie got smoothies from Get Fresh.  It was so crazy busy over there that I didn’t get a picture, but I shamelessly pulled one from their facebook page showing their booth.  I tasted the green juice – I’m not a fan of most green things – but it was actually pretty tasty considering it was chock full of spinach and kale – I was expecting a strong desire to chase it with Averie’s smoothie – but not the case.  I definitely suggest trying it out!

After that we walked down to the opposite end of the market just in time for an acoustic duo performance by The Nadas.  Averie had a blast dancing with the other kids.  I had heard of them before, but hadn’t actually listened to any of their music.  Good news – they’re on spotify.  Guess what I’ll be listening to on Monday at work?!

I didn’t think we’d ever get Averie to leave the dance floor – but once she heard there were animals outside – she was ready!  She was still a little wary of the donkey after her visit to the pumpkin patch.  She has actually since told me that the donkey only bit her fingers because he couldn’t see past his nose to know her fingers weren’t food.

After the animals we went through some of the kids activity stations.  Averie got a cup to fill with corn and sift out money — which meant she walked out of the market with more money than she walked in with — how often can you say that?!  She also made a pasta necklace to take home.  There were a few other stations that we skipped over — plenty for kids to do!

Then it was time for an ATA demonstration by Evans ATA Black Belt Academy.  The performance was great — Averie watched closely and was the first to yell out “ME” when they asked if there were any kids that wanted to come try too.  She did pretty good for a 3 year old!

We trekked back inside and I couldn’t resist the lure of the popcorn on our second pass by CR Popcorn  and Averie and I each got our own small bag of the “New Bo” mix — Cheddar and Caramel corn.  We will definitely be getting more!  As an aside – did you know that the CR in CR Popcorn doesn’t stand for Cedar Rapids?  It’s the initials of the 10 year old entrepreneur behind the shop.  Pretty cool!

We made a couple more quick stops on the way out the door.  First off was Pappardelle’s Pasta.  Again, I had to shamelessly steal a photo of their storefront from facebook – good bloggers remember to take such photos!  I can’t help it – I was distracted by all of the deliciousness.  I picked up some marsala cream sauce and whole wheat garlic pasta.  After breaking off a tiny piece of the pasta when I got home, I have a feeling that I may have to devote an entire blog post to their delicious food!

Last stop before we left the market was Betty and Bobo’s Better Breads.  Again — I failed at getting photos of their storefront – but it’s right next to the cupcake stand.  They were nearly out – there was only biscotti and whole grain bread left.  Good news, I love whole grain bread.  Averie was given a sample of granola as well, leave it to a 3 year old to be honest – they asked what she thought and she said “I don’t like it”.  I ate the rest, it was tasty and would have been perfect on yogurt — it just wasn’t ‘sugary’ enough for a 3 year old’s taste buds I think!  The bread will be delicious with dinner tonight I’m sure!

After the market we made had to get gas and drop off cupcakes for Aaron at work.  Then it was time to head home and take a nap.  Unfortunately, only Averie took a nap.  I’m pretty sure I probably could have used one too!  She did at least make sure to tuck in all of her stuffed animals first!

The NewBo City Market has hours three days a week, and I would definitely recommend going to check them out to grab some local grub!  They’re open late enough that you can go after work and get dinner on Thursday (4-8 pm).  Saturday’s 8-8 hours mean you could manage to snag any meal of the day there and Sunday’s 10-6 make it a perfect stop for brunch and fresh ingredients for dinner later that day!

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