Summer on Bainbridge Island is a time for rituals, as well as a time to try new things. The island’s farmers market is a place to do just that.

The farmers market is the epitome of Bainbridge community life: a place where old friends reunite and new friends meet. It’s where play-dates for dogs are scheduled, and where farm-fresh produce items on your shopping list can be checked off.

It’s also a place where a man with live bees in a case will reassure children by saying, ‘Don’t worry, they can’t get out!’ and a place where a band will be playing that song you used to listen to in the ’70s.

The market is home to vendors who have been part of the event for more than a decade. It also welcomes new businesses who have been a part of the market for merely a year, like Bainbridge Beeswax Works.

Lucille Fox, creator of Bainbridge Beeswax Works, joined the farmers market family about a year ago.

“When I started my business last year, I was looking for an outlet to start selling,” Fox said. “And because [my products are] all hand-crafted, I was able to join the market.”

Fox’s business focuses on natural candles. She decided to enter such a business after being a frequent buyer in a gift store.

“Customers always asked about natural candles,” Fox said. “After doing my own research, [I found] that beeswax [makes] the most natural candle.”

This seemed like fate to Fox, who was no stranger to the hive.

“My dad was a beekeeper, so gifts of the hive aren’t so foreign,” Fox said. “It was just an easy transition.”

After tinkering and experimenting with wax, Fox came up with her all-natural candle design.

Her products have been a great success, and Fox has truly enjoyed her experience at the market.

“My experience [at the farmers market] has been fantastic,” Fox said. “It’s well-run, well-organized, and a great space, and we get fabulous foot-traffic.”

Fox and her candles are at the Farmers Market just about every Saturday. She also sells in Fremont on Sundays.

To learn more about Bainbridge Beeswax Works, visit www.biwaxworks.com.

Another local business at the farmers market is Clara’s Wok, a Pan-Asian culinary establishment run by Clara Tan.

Clara’s Wok incorporates flavors from Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, India and China.

“We do Asian fusion,” said Tan’s daughter, Gisella Gonzalez. “But [we] mostly focus on southeast Asian food.”

Clara’s Wok has been an integral part of the market for about nine years, and has gained quite the community following.

“It’s fun,” Tan said. “We have followers that are really loyal. There were people who moved away to New York, and said that every Saturday they think about my food.”

“They couldn’t stop thinking about my lemonade,” Tan continued. “So when they came back, they brought their whole family and bought like 10 lemonades!”

Her fresh-squeezed strawberry mint lemonade is legendary on Bainbridge.

With such a steadfast following, Clara’s Wok is often flooded with hungry islanders every Saturday.

“It’s fun to serve customers,” Gonzalez said. “But some days it gets pretty crazy.”

In fact, food often sells out around 12:30 p.m. on some Saturdays.

Along with the farmers market, Tan hopes to continue her passion through catering and events, cooking classes, and possibly selling her food at Bainbridge Island Brewing in the Coppertop development.

“I want to thank the community,” Tan added, “and all my loyal customers that come every Saturday. I hope that more people come to the farmers market.”

To find out more about Clara’s Wok, visit their website at www.claraswok.com.

In addition to businesses like Bainbridge Beeswax Works and Clara’s Wok, there is also a myriad of vendors who are connected to local farms, where fresh fruits, vegetables, flowers and dairy products can be purchased.

The Bainbridge Island Farmers Market is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday, in Town Square at the front lawn of Bainbridge Performing Arts. To explore the list of vendors and events at farmers market, visit www.bainbridgefarmersmarket.org.