Mmmm ... cherries. Nothing tastes sweeter than that first taste of locally grown Okanagan fruit each year.

First-of-the-season Okanagan cherries began hitting local farmers markets this week.

Although it hasn't felt very spring-like lately, the sweet, red fruit is an annual signal that summer is just about to arrive.

Chris Mann of East Kelowna Fruit Market said the Skeena variety is the first off the trees as he was doing a brisk business at the Vernon Farmers Market on Monday.

The cherries are currently being picked down around the Osoyoos area, and won't be ready in the North Okanagan for a couple more weeks.

Following the Skeenas are the Santina and then Lapin varieties, with local Okanagan cherries being in season for about another month and a half, said Mann.

Meanwhile, market manager Ingrid Baron said local strawberries are just starting up as well, while the asparagus season winds down.

Crafters have now been brought back to the market as well as food vendors, as pandemic precautions begin to be relaxed.

The Vernon Farmers Market takes place in the Kal Tire Place parking lot Mondays and Thursdays, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The Kelowna Farmers Market is on Wednesdays and Saturdays at the corner of Dilworth and Springfield. And the Penticton Farmers Market runs Saturdays on the 100 block of Main Street.

Okanagan cherries, along with a multitude of locally grown produce and artisan products are available at all three markets.