Balloon animals aren t something one expects to find intermingled with fresh produce and flowers at the Ames Farmers Market on Main Street.

But for Becca Wemhoff, graduate student in computer science, being Becca the Balloon Lady and entertaining the kids who come to the downtown farmers market on Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings is something she does not do solely for a living, but for a love of sharing her craft.

I work completely off of donations, she said. It s part of my philosophy.

Wemhoff said she s a popular attraction among the kids who come to the market, and it s a rare occasion when a child doesn t stop by her table to get their own inflatable balloon creation.

I would say any kid who comes to the market stops by here, she said.

Wemhoff said some of the market kids, or children of the vendors, act as her walking advertisements. In exchange for a complete ensemble of balloons, the children pick up the broken balloon pieces off the street and help to attract other children to her table.

If the kids don t have any money, that s fine with me, she said. Some people put in extra, some people put in nothing. I really don t care I don t want to turn anyone away because they don t have money.

Wemhoff said she taught herself how to make balloon creations in 1990 after buying a book on the topic.

I have probably upwards of 30 books that I ve bought, two CDs, five videos, she said. I ve been buying them for 15 years.

When a situation arises, such as a child having three balloon swords and no way to hold them all, Wemhoff has the ingenious idea of making a hat with three sword holders to fix the problem.

I make up a lot of things, she said.

Wemhoff said having balloons for the kids and music at the market is something the market s coordinators hope will make the farmers market more kid-friendly.

I love it because we ve got these built-in windows mirrors that the kids will be able to see their creations in, she said

Wemhoff said the small downtown atmosphere lends for a safe place for kids to hang out while their parents shop.

I will have parents that will drop their kids off here & and they ll go and finish their marketing and then pick up the kids later, she said. Since it s only a block long, they can keep them in view.

Wemhoff is just one of the vendors who is changing the face of the downtown farmers market.

Duane Black, president of the Ames Farmers Market, said the emergence of different kinds of vendors, beyond the traditional produce vendors, is a gradual change that has been occurring in farmers markets for the past twenty years.

Farmers markets are changing, he said. We re getting more of a variety all the time. Thirty years ago, we had baked goods and we had produce.

Some of the newer vendors include everything from Lori Ratzke s homemade soy candles to Belle s Coffee Shop, a mobile stand owned by Heidi Holland.

These vendors make up a good part of the farmers market from when it starts in May, until produce vendors make more of an appearance around harvest time, through the market s end in October.

Even though other vendors are offering more of a variety at farmers markets, Erin Pederson, ISU graduate student in counseling psychology, said she mainly comes for the fresh produce.

I want to support the local farmers, and also I like to try to find organic if I can, she said.