Indoor Market
Market hours: Saturdays,10 am -1pm
February 6, 2010
We are officially welcoming Keely Weik-Anderson to the Market Master Team - long overdue since she has been a primary manager of the winter market for some time. Keely will be taking over vendor coordination from Renee Betar, who will focus on managing the master calendar and scheduling guest artists, musicians and non-profits. Patti Sederquist will continue as our Special Events coordinator. Kay Carroll will continue to manage the operational and administrative responsibilities for the market. All four of us backstop each other so on any given market day one of us will be lead Market Master.
We have a future vendor information meeting which will be held on February 27 at 1:30 pm at the Litchfield Community Center - following our next farmers' market.
Questions regarding availability of the hydroponic greens that were at the winter market last year (Two Guys from Woodbrigde), the reason they are not at the market this year is a logistical and economic one. Starlight Gardens, while not hydroponic, is new to our winter market this year and provides similar unusual greens. Starlight comes to the market representing their product themselves. The hydroponic grower cannot send someone to the market (he is a small operation and he works a higher traffic market on Saturdays). Having his greens available last year meant a VOLUNTEER from the market had to pick them up Friday, store them overnight appropriately and bring them to the market Saturday and sell them. The numbers show that this method was barely a break-even, without including volunteer time and travel expenses. Simply put, the demand was not high enough to support the model. If there is a ground swell of interest in bringing it back, let us know and we'll consider it. We love his product and he loves us, but that isn't all that goes into the decision.
This week: Snootyfood is offering a 50% sale on garlic herb butter, vegan garlic spread, and chutney! Pickles are available but NOT on sale. There is a very low supply of Beltane goat cheese since this is the freshening season. They'll be back in business by mid-March. Griffin Farmstead also sells goat cheese and will have some available this Saturday. Lastly, Goatboy Soap is bringing both Valentine gift packs AND a baby goat!
Hope to see you Saturday at the market!
Musical Guests
Tom Hanford is returning to the market again this week. For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of hearing him play, Tom is a singer/guitarist who has been bringing joy to young and old for over two decades. Marty Brennan is joining him. Marty is also a singer/guitarist who plays classic blues and country. In times gone by Marty has jammed with Bob Dylan, Jorna Kankonch and Dave Van Ronk.
Guest Appearance
A brand new baby goat will attend with Rick Agee of Goatboy Soap. The Agees work hard on socializing their young goats with people so that they are comfortable at the markets, fair, etc., that they attend.
So stop by and gently welcome our little visitor - of course following whatever guidelines Rick suggests.
Recipe and Gardening Book Exchange
This exchange continues to get lots of positive comments from our customers, so we intend to continue it. Books that have been available for more than 3 markets and have not been exchanged will be donated. Believe it or not, we actually have a system which allows us to keep track of that.
Vendors
Arethusa Farm Dairy --- fresh, high quality milk
Bantam Bread --- breads and pastries
Beans, Inc. --- whole grain baked goods
Beltane Farm --- goat cheese
Berryledges Apiary --- honey, bee products
Boxed Goodes --- organic dried herbs, spices, beans, rice
Brookside Farm II --- maple syrup
Coffee - Tea - Etc. --- locally roasted, fair-trade coffee and tea
Cato Corner Farm --- jersey cow cheeses
Goatboy Soap --- all-natural goat's milk soaps, lotions and lip balm
Gresczyk Farms --- eggs, hydroponic lettuce, squash and potatoes
Griffin Farmstead --- goat milk products
Laurel Ridge Farm --- grass fed beef
March Farm --- vegetables, fruits, baked goods and cider
Newgate Farm --- fruits, vegetables, baked goods
Olive Oil Factory --- olive and grapeseed oils, vinegars
Snooty Foods --- organic and natural specialty foods
Starlight Gardens --- organic winter salad mix, spinach
Sweet Chow Granola --- ready to bake granola
Wave Hill Breads --- three grain pain de campagne, croutons, chips and JUST CUBES - for stuffing, croutons, and bread pudding
West Shore Seafood --- ready to heat ravioli, crab cakes, soups
Winding Drive --- local jams and jellies
Litchfield Community Center
421 Bantam Road
Litchfield, CT 06759
860-567-8302
Indoor Market Dates:
February 6th and 27th, 2010
March 13th, 2010
April 10th and 24th, 2010
May 8th, 22nd and 29th, 2010
We need your help getting the word out about the indoor winter market. We are the ONLY all winter market in the NW CT Hills, but many folks don't know about us. While last winter's market was successful, we want to bring in more customers. More customers would allow us to expand the variety of offerings and make it worthwhile for our vendors to participate week in and week out.
Continuing activities:
- Visiting artist space is available upon request.
- Non-profit space is also available upon request
- Market master tent will continue to feature recipes and sell the very popular Bolga Baskets to help support market expenses.
Volunteers are welcomed and encouraged!
Volunteers are always welcomed! There is a lot of set-up at the beginning and packing up at the end. We also encourage high school students to help, we will track and document your hours for community service, future resumes and college applications.
There’s something for everyone at the market. See your neighbors, enjoy the offerings and support CT-Grown products. It’s CT food, fun and community for all ages!
Mission
- To help Litchfield Hills/Northwest Connecticut communities help themselves in building sustainable and equitable food systems, as catalysts for k-12 and adult education programs that integrate health goals with sustainable agriculture goals. Our aim is to help collaborative teaching and learning communities work together as advocates for change.
- Our focus is at the intersection of the goals for reducing obesity and increasing wellness and the goals for increased sourcing of local, sustainable foods, while supporting economic development, community building and sustainable agriculture initiatives.
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