Community Market Grapevine May 20

Starting this Saturday, the Farmers Market will run from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. instead of 8 a.m. until noon. This one-hour shift comes from an acute observation after two weeks of the market: there is just not much going on in downtown Floyd at 8 a.m. Saturday morning. Lunchtime is pretty happening and we’re packing up. So please reset your market clocks this week as we make our adjustments.

Bring the kids down this Saturday as we are holding a free transplant “workshop” for children to learn how to transplant and take home some free plants to care for. We’ll have seedlings ready to pot-up of various flowers, vegetables, and fruits. We’ll also supply the potting soil and the larger pots along with the know-how. You supply the kid. This is a great and easy opportunity for our children to learn about gardening and where their food comes from while taking a plant home for further teachable moments, all the while learning to care for something outside themselves – and it’s easier than a puppy.

Local cherries will be available this week, ushering in the tree-fruit season. Good Food Good People should have local sweet cherries available to compliment the popular fresh strawberries already available from Kester Clark Farm. It’s always a treat when the local fruit starts coming in again and we should have a full slate this year through the stone fruits, to pears and finishing off the season with apples of all sorts.

This week’s Smackerel Report (any Winnie the Pooh fans out there?): Big Pine local smoked trout from Good Food Good People on thinly sliced, toasted Sweetwater Bakery bread smeared with plain goat chevre from Sterling Bridge Dairy. The snack that became a meal because I couldn’t stop eating it!

The artisans certainly appreciated our beautiful and protective Community Market pavilion during the downpours last Friday night. The rains dampened the Artisans Market – both literally and figuratively – but these artisans are a hardy and persistent bunch and will be back this week with a truly amazing diversity of crafts. Friday from 4 p.m. until at least 8 p.m., you will find a furniture maker, a flute maker, heritage plants, herbal remedies along with jewelry, pottery, photography, soaps, teas, and more all from our ultra-artsy community. While our goal for the Farmers Market is consistency, diversity and newness each week will keep the Artisans Market strong and vibrant.

I spent most of last Saturday morning at the Farmers Market and while we men don’t gossip (we just “talk about stuff”), I must admit I learned much about my community on the personal level. I heard news about marriages (good and bad), business reports (good and bad), pregnancies (“She’s how far along? You can barely tell.”), new girlfriends (he’s very excited), to friends moving back to town (Oh good, another customer). Now I would never dare put any of this juicy news in print. But if I see you at the Farmers Market …well, we’ll just have to talk about that.

Special Note: Mark your calendars for next Saturday, May 29th, the official Grand Opening Celebration for the Farmers Market. Music, kid’s activities, special food treats and more.

See you at the Market!

Mike Burton, Director of SustainFloyd