On the Town Common,
Saturdays, 9:30 - 1:30
 
August 21, 2010

Dear :
 
This week the market will share the common with Art in the Park, a great day of art and activities that is part of Art in August, sponsored by the Winchester Artists Network and the Downtown Business Association. Art in the Park will run from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm; the farmers market will open at 9:30 am as usual, and some of the farmers and vendors may stay past the usual 1:30 closing time and stay open along with Art in the Park.

Mark your calendars for a special event next week at the market. On August 28 at 11:00 am, Chef Barbara Lynch will prepare a Harvest Salad with a 6-minute egg and will also provide tastes of Chilled Corn Soup and Chocolate Cookies from her cookbook Stir: Mixing It Up in the Italian Tradition. She will also be signing copies of her book, which will be available to purchase from Book Ends. 

Thank you to the customers who have used our system for advance ordering from participating farmers and other vendors. Try out advance ordering when you have a busy Saturday scheduled or when rain is predicted or to be sure you get an item that might sell out. Let us know if you have any questions or suggestions about advance ordering.

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

  Carrots      Sunflowers 
 
Vegetables:
beans (burgundy, green, roma, wax), beets, bok choi, broccoli, cabbage (green, red), calalou, cauliflower, chard (bright lights, green, red), corn, cucumbers (lemon, pickling, salad), eggplant (Japanese, purple), garlic, kale (green, red),  okra, peppers (cubanelle, green, jalapeno, poblano, purple, serrano, white), squash (kousa, patty pan, summer, zucchini), tomatoes (cherry, grape, yellow, plum, red), zucchini flowers
 
Fruit: apples (Duchess, Jersey Mac, Paula Red), apple cider, blackberries, blueberries, cantaloupe, currants (red), gooseberries (red), melon (athena, cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon), nectarines, peaches (regular, white), pears (Bartlett), plums (red, yellow)

Herbs: basil (green, purple), chives, mint, sage, thyme, dry herb and spice blends, herbal tea
 
Other products: grass-fed beef, bread, chocolate, cheese, cut flowers, eggs, fish, honey, lobster, maple syrup, popsicles (Watermelon Mint and A to Z)
 
Entertainment: 9:30 Liz Buchanan and Gordon MacFarland; 11:30 Claude Barden

Artist: Art in the Park (see list of artists below)

Community Group Tent: Second Congregational Church

Business Tent: Lieschen McGarry, chiropractor

Food Tent: Ledgenear Farm, Vermont maple syrup

Whiskers of Hope will be at the market with cats and kittens available for adoption.
 
Art in the Park

Art in the Park has been a favorite town event for many years. All-day activities include Paint in the Park (paint, brushes, and media are provided, and easels are available), Paste in the Park (cut up colorful papers and paste them onto boards to make collages), the Clay Table, and Graffiti Board.

In the morning, Bea Grayson will be doing a hands-on presentation on converting old CDs into art with magic markers, and Mary Hart will be doing a presentation on cut-paper silhouettes. Around the middle of the day, there will be the Magical Potter's Wheel (sponsored by the Winchester Cultural Council) with the Pied Potter of Hamelin. Music by Gill Graham and Friends will start at 1:00.







Throughout the day, members of the Winchester Artists Network will be showing and selling their work. Artists include:

Sue Clark, copper and enamel
Nina Lapchyk, silk scarves and jewelry
Ingrid Jochimsen, burled boxes
Jan Powell, monotypes
Earl Powell, wood
Sophia Mone, 2-D monoprints
Debbie Taylor-Smith, silk scarves and jewelry
Robert Hesse, photography

Featured Vendor: Lane's Lobster

Lane's Lobsters has been a favorite vendor at the market this year. Their lobsters have been one of the most popular items in the market's advance ordering system.

Mike has been lobstering since he was a kid on his father's boat out of Cohasset. Since Mike was in high school, he has fished on his own boats, starting from skiffs he and his friends built, to a 42-foot wooden boat, The Time Machine, he bought about seven years ago.  Mike fishes throughout the entire year as the weather permits.
  
Mike and his wife Jessica have been selling at local farmers
markets for the past four years. Their two young children often  come along with them to the different markets. Since starting the markets, the Lanes have really enjoyed meeting and becoming friends with farmers and other local business owners at the markets.  Jessica Lane says that the experiences they are lucky enough to encounter by being a part of farmers markets are exactly what life should be about! 

Fishing is a tough industry to be in right now and going to farmers markets really helps the Lanes keep their business and household going. Their lobsters are always fresh off the boat directly to the customer, they stay at a good price, and they always try to be helpful with recipes and cooking tips. They have many regular customers who come back every week during market season.  Customers get a fresher lobster for a better price, and the Lanes get to sell direct, have their kids with them, and meet great people along the way.

Vegetable Garden Tour of Winchester

Last Sunday, the farmers market sponsored a tour of home vegetable gardens in Winchester. The tour was a great success! Each of the eight gardens on the tour had a steady stream of visitors who got to enjoy some of the incredibly beautiful and productive gardens in town. Visitors included experienced vegetable gardeners wanting to find out what other gardeners are doing, novice vegetable gardeners interested in learning more about gardening, people interested in sustainability and local food, as well as people who took the opportunity spend a fun day outside meeting their friends and neighbors and finding out more about what goes on in backyards around town. 

A children's scavenger hunt was part of the tour, and lots of families enjoyed searching through the gardens to find two special treasures at each garden. Remember to bring your completed scavenger hunt sheet to the market manager's tent this week to get a special surprise!

If you did not get to go on the tour last Sunday, you will have a chance again next year. The farmers market hopes to make the vegetable garden tour an annual event. Do you know any gardens that should be on the tour next year? Let us know!
 
Wright-Locke Farm Raspberry Picking

It's raspberry season at Winchester's own Wright-Locke Farm! Come pick your own certified-organic raspberries from the 1 1/2 acre field at the farm. Set in a town-owned heritage landscape, the farm is stroller friendly and a great destination for families. Buckets are provided for picking. Take your picked berries home in your own containers or our compostable pint boxes.

Where: 78 Ridge St, Winchester, at the intersection of Lockeland & Ridge Streets

Hours:  Tu, Wed, Th:  9 am - 12 pm
             Fri, Sat, Sun: 1 pm - 4 pm
             Mon:  CLOSED
                                                                                                     Photo by Jim Whitehead
Pricing:  1st and 2nd pints, $5 each
              3rd pint and beyond, $4 each.
              Similar quantity discount if picked by the bucket

Info & Email: Updates, www.wlfarm.org; 24-hour info line, 781-721-7128.
                     
Volunteer: Help our friendly team with U-Pick sales under the shade of the old maple tree. Visit www.wlfarm.org/volunteer for more information and to sign up for a full shift or an easier-to-manage 1 1/2 hour shift.

The Wright-Locke Farm Conservancy, a 501(c)(3) organization, manages the land and buildings of the Wright-Locke farm.

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.

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

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 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, and Volunteer Coordinator. Please email Fred Yen at [email protected] for more information.