Warm-season markets turn town squares into weekly gatherings of growers and makers. Few states pack their seasons with as much ceremony and spectacle as South Dakota.

Markets in Sioux Falls and Rapid City run through the growing season.

What sets it apart

Vendors sell produce, meat, honey and handmade goods. Small as it sounds, it is exactly the sort of thing that defines the experience on the ground.

Harvest festivals in fall celebrate the end of the farming year.

Why it matters

In the end, the story here is really a story about the northern plains and the people drawn to them. For the crowds who return year after year, it has become a fixture of the South Dakota calendar.