On the Town Common,
Saturdays, 9:30 - 1:30
 
July 3, 2010
Dear :
 
Come celebrate the Fourth of July weekend at the farmers market! If you are planning a special feast for the Fourth, try some lobsters from Lane's Lobsters or Lawton's Farm hot dogs made from grass-fed beef, along with the first sweet corn and peaches of the season from E. L. Silvia Farm. Flats Mentor Farm, a favorite vendor from previous years specializing in Oriental produce, will join the market again this week.

Stop by the market manager's tent to talk to high school students about their garden at the high school and buy some of the produce they are growing. You can also enter a raffle to win a beautiful quilt made by members of the Winchester Artists Network.

After the scheduled musicians perform at the market this week, there will be an informal jam session on the common with some of the farmers, market organizers, and any musically inclined customers at the market. Bring your instruments and join the fun!

If you haven't already seen it, be sure to check out the  article about the farmers market that appeared in yesterday's Winchester Star.

This week we launched our system for advance ordering from participating farmers and other vendors. Customers will be able to place an order through the farmers market website between Wednesday morning and Thursday evening and make only one payment online, then just stop at the market manager's tent at the market on Saturday and pick everything up all at once. We hope this system will make shopping at the market easier for people who have busy schedules on Saturday or on days when rain is predicted.

Check the farmers market website for additional information about the market, including vendor profiles, frequently asked questions, and the schedule for artists, entertainers, and the rotating business, food, and community group tents. Visit the website for Sustainable Winchester, the sponsor of the farmers market, to get information about current projects, monthly meetings, and volunteer opportunities.
 
Remember that the market will take place rain or shine throughout the season. Try to bring your own shopping bags to the market, and please ride your bike or walk to the market if you can. If you drive, park your car in the Aberjona or Shore Road lot to leave parking spaces surrounding the common open for short-term parking near downtown businesses. The Aberjona lot, which runs along the commuter rail track across from the post office, is free on weekends, including the permit spaces in the end of the lot.
 
We look forward to seeing you on the common on Saturday.

Sincerely,
Winchester Farmers Market Organizing Committee
 
This Week at the Market

       

Vegetables:
beans (green, wax), beets (golden, red), bok choi, broccoli, chard (green, red), collard greens, corn, cucumbers (pickling, salad), escarole, kale (green, red), kholrabi, lettuce (Boston, green leaf, red leaf, romaine), peas (english, sugar snap), radishes, spinach, squash (summer, zucchini), greenhouse tomatoes (cherry, grape, yellow, red), vegetable plants
 
Fruit: apples (Mcintosh), apple cider, black raspberries, blueberries, currants, golden raspberries, gooseberries, peaches, raspberries, rhubarb, strawberries

Herbs: basil (green, purple, Thai), chives, cilantro, dill, mint, sage, stevia, thyme, dry herb and spice blends, herbal tea, herb plants
 
Other products: grass-fed beef, bread, homemade candy, chocolate, cheese, eggs, fish, flower plants, herb plants, honey, jams and preserves, lobster, maple syrup
 
Entertainment: Liz Buchanan and Gordon MacFarland; informal jam session on the common

Artist: Denise Konicek, fabric and quilts

Community Group Tent: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
 
Business Tent: Cheridan Kader, jewelry 

Food Tent: Deborah's Kitchen, homemade jams and preserves; Sweet Lolo's, handmade candy

Featured Vendor: Fiore di Nonno

Fiore di Nonno of Somerville has joined the market this year with handmade mozzarella cheese made fresh daily by Lourdes Fiore Smith. Fiore di Nonno's small batch mozzarella is a cows milk mozzarella handcrafted from curds produced by small family farms in upstate New York. It is soft in texture, and its flavor is milky sweet, highlighted by a hint of salt.

When Lourdes's great-grandfather's family came to America from Italy in 1908, they brought generations of Italian cheese making tradition with them. As a child, Lourdes was mesmerized by her grandfather's store, Fiore's of Hoboken. She would watch fresh mozzarella being carefully stretched, anticipating the moment when her grandfather's hand would offer the first bite of freshly made cheese. Lourdes apprenticed with the current owner of Fiore's, John Amato, who had apprenticed under her grandfather. The fundamental knowledge that she brought back to Massachusetts is now the foundation of Fiore di Nonno.

(Photo and text adapted from the Fiore di Nonno website.)
Backyard Poultry Workshop Day

On July 10, the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Massachusetts is sponsoring their first annual Backyard Poultry Workshop Day. If you have been curious about raising backyard poultry for eggs and meat, this is your chance to learn more. Workshops will be held at several locations throughout Massachusetts, including Pete and Jen's Backyard Birds in Concord. Visit the NOFA/Mass website for more details and to register. NOFA/Mass is a community of farmers and educators striving for greater self-reliance and freedom in feeding our families and communities.

Mass Farmers Markets Strawberry Dessert Festival

The Mass Farmers Markets STRAWBERRY DESSERT FESTIVAL is going on now! Friday, June 11 through Sunday, July 4, 2010.

It's strawberry season! The 3rd annual Mass Farmers Markets Strawberry Dessert Festival, a fun and tasty fundraiser for the over 200 farmers markets state-wide, is back! When you order a dessert featuring the sweet tastes of local berries from one of our participating restaurants or bakeries, you'll be doing good for local farmers--berry good!-- and treating your taste buds at the same time.

From June 11 to July 4, the following eateries will be donating a percentage of sales from specially prepared strawberry desserts to the Federation of Mass Farmers Markets, the only non-profit tasked with supporting and promoting the over 200 markets in our state: 51 Lincoln(Newton), Beacon Hill Bistro(Boston), The Beehive (Boston), Bistro 5 (Medford), Bistro Les Gras (Northampton), Burton's Grill (Boston), Evoo (Cambridge), The Fireplace (Brookline), Cuisine en Locale's ONCE Cheese event, June 19 (Cambridge), Flora (Arlington), Garden at the Cellar(Cambridge), Grill 23 (Boston), Haley House Caf�(Roxbury), Harvest (Cambridge), Henrietta's Table (Cambridge), Highland Kitchen (Somerville), KO Prime (Boston), Lineage (Brookline), North 26 (Boston), Oleana(Cambridge), Orzo (North Andover), Pejamajo Caf� (Holliston), Pizzeria Posto (Somerville), Post 390 (Boston), Prose (Arlington), The Bakery at Smolak Farms (N. Andover), Sofra Bakery & Caf� (Cambridge), The Summer Shack (Boston + Cambridge locations), Sweet (Worcester), Tastings Wine Bar and Bistro (Foxboro), Tatte Fine Cookies & Cakes(Brookline), Tomasso Trattoria(Southborough), Watch City Brewing Company (Waltham), Woodstar Caf� (Northampton), and 14 Whole Foods Market locations state-wide: Andover, Bedford, Bellingham, Brighton, Dedham, Framingham, Fresh Pond (Cambridge), Hadley, Medford, Newtonville, Prospect Street (Cambridge), River Street (Cambridge), Swampscott, and Symphony (Boston).

Farmers Market Lawn Signs
       
  
A special opportunity is available to support the farmers market during the 2010 season by displaying a lawn sign in your yard to help promote the market. We are looking for several people who live in Winchester or surrounding towns who would be willing to display a lawn sign on their property from Friday afternoon through Saturday afternoon each week during the market season. If you would be willing to have a sign in your yard but do not want to have to remember to put it out every week, we will arrange to have a volunteer put out the sign on Friday afternoon and remove it on Saturday afternoon. All you have to do is make a few inches of lawn space available!
 
If you are interested in supporting the market by displaying a lawn sign, stop by the market manager's tent at the market to pick up a sign. 
 
Thank you to everyone who has already agreed to display a lawn sign!

Follow the Farmers Market on Facebook and Twitter
 
Visit the farmers market Facebook page to share your photos of the market, post comments, and get updates about the market.

Find us on Facebook

Follow the market on Twitter to get the latest updates from the market on Saturday mornings.

Follow us on Twitter

 Volunteer at the Market

We need volunteers this week (and every week) to help with the farmers market, especially for setup before the market between 8:30 and 9:30 and takedown after the market between 1:30 and 2:30. If you are able to help, please sign up at our online signup sheet to let us know when you are coming.
 
Thank you to everyone who has already volunteered to help. Your assistance is especially important in keeping the market running smoothly, and we appreciate everything you do!

We also have some short-term volunteer positions to fill for the next Environmental Fair, which will be held on the town common on October 16. Be a part of this fun, informative, and community-building event! Planning starts in July, with some of the legwork already underway. 

We need Publicist/Marketing, Fundraiser Liaison, Volunteer Coordinator, IT/Website Specialist, and a Recycling Coordinator. Please email Fred Yen at [email protected] for more information.