It’s been 15 Tuesdays. Fifteen Tuesdays of fresh, local fruits and vegetables, vibrant flowers, barbecue sandwiches, corn on the cob and pastries. Fifteen Tuesdays of chef demonstrations, live music, dancing and friendly faces. Fifteen Tuesdays of the Renton Farmers Market at The Piazza. Fifteen Tuesdays — that means there’s only one market Tuesday left — this Tuesday, Sept. 16.

“I think it’s gone wonderfully,” market coordinator Linda Middlebrooks said of this market season. “There has been only one little problem.”

That problem, she says, is rain. A couple market days were rainy this year. Luckily the drops occurred mostly during set-up and close-down, outside the 3-7 p.m. market hours.

Other than the wetness, this year’s market season has been much like the six preceding seasons.

This year’s market had about 2,000 to 3,500 patrons each week. That attendance is “very similar” to previous years, says Jim Medzegian, market volunteer and president of Piazza Renton.

Still, as Middlebrooks pointed out during Tuesday’s market, the market patrons have outgrown the seating.

“We need to buy more chairs, they’re all filled up,” she said, gesturing to the chairs under the white canopy, full of a mix of seniors, middle-agers and youngsters.

Middlebrooks and two other Piazza Renton volunteers manage the market, along with new City of Renton market coordinator Stefeny Anderson. Several others volunteer at the market.

The market started in June with 37 booths and ended with about 50. Middlebrooks says the market has a 60-booth capacity. This year’s market was also expected to raise the usual several thousand dollars.

This was the first year the City of Renton has hired a market coordinator, part-timer Anderson.

“It was amazing,” Anderson said of her first year on the job. “I was shocked by the amount of work the volunteers put in. It inspired me.”

Anderson sees familiar faces every week. The market is a community gathering spot, she said.

“You can’t beat it; it’s the most fun you can have in Renton on a Tuesday,” Middlebrooks said.

She joined in on the fun Tuesday by wearing a big white cowboy hat and red bandana tied around her neck. Tuesday’s theme was “Western Day.” The Piazza was decorated with red, white, blue and purple bandanas, hitching posts and hay bales. Sitka Tex played classic country tunes, and a vendor at the chef demo table served up chili verde.

New market features this year include a karaoke day and a Kids Talent Show.

This year’s market also has new vendors. Sound Bites Sauce & Spread Co. is one of those new vendors. The Tacoma company makes its chimichurri, hummus, pesto and other sauces and spreads from local ingredients.

Sound Bites’ newness means it got stuck with a “little challenging” booth location — on a far-flung corner of The Piazza.

But “it’s been good,” co-owner Stephen McConkey said of this year’s Renton market.

“We’ve had a lot of repeat customers.”

Theresa Lee has been a repeat Renton market customer this season. But not any of the previous six seasons. This was her first year at Renton Farmers Market.

Before this summer, the Cascade resident had considered it a pain to drive any farther than her neighborhood grocery store. But some summer reading convinced her she should eat local and organic. And what better place to do that then her local farmer’s market?

The Renton market hasn’t disappointed.

“Vine-ripened tomatoes. There’s nothing like ‘em,” Lee said Tuesday.

“I do think the food has tasted better; the vegetables have tasted better,” she added.

Tuesday she was in search of peaches — and tomatoes, of course. And maybe some carrots, green beans and onions.

Although she’ll head back to her neighborhood grocery store after market season, Lee plans to return to the market next season.

“I feel more a part of Renton since coming here,” she said.

Emily Garland can be reached at emily.garland@rentonreporter.com or 425-255-3484, ext. 5052.