With more and more people vaccinated, and the restrictions around travel lifting, many people are making long delayed trips, both far and near. Locally, school is out for the summer and student graduations are being celebrated.
Our market customers, so careful to follow guidelines for mask wearing all last year and the first weeks of the market, appear happy to be at the open air market without a mask—finally. One sees hugs among friends: some are long, and loving and emotional hugs. Families are back at the market, as are many of their canine companions.
The market is ultra colorful this year, with vendors selling such a variety of crafts, baked goods, pottery and plants. You’ll find artfully coordinated annuals in planters and baskets, as well as many vegetables, flower and herb plants ready to be planted in your “gardens” – whether that be a pot on the steps leading up to your porch, a raised bed, or a tilled area with space for more than a few plants. While you can always buy a fresh tomato later this summer at the market, there is nothing like the joy of seeing the spindly seedling grow stronger and leaf out, develop flowers and set fruit. And that’s all before you have that first fruit to eat!
Many of us resort to dried herbs because, one, we don’t have fresh in our gardens and, two, it just isn’t economical to buy a “bunch” of herbs at the grocery and then end up using just a bit of that purchase. Herbs are so easy to grow, and one can delight in pinching off that “little bit” to spice up a meal.
In addition to the regular market offerings, Randy and David of WCHC-TV will be at the Market Saturday (weather permitting) for the first of several monthly Facebook Live broadcasts coined “What’s happening at the Market today?” This live stream event can be viewed on the WCHC TV Facebook page starting shortly after 9 a.m. and is brought to you by the Fayette County Travel & Tourism Bureau.
The Market is open Saturday morning from 8:30 to 12 noon and is located in the Municipal parking lot on the corner of South Main and East East Street.
SNAP EBT food benefit cards and credit/debit cards are accepted. Those using the SNAP EBT card for food purchases receive matching dollar “Produce Perks” tokens ($1 for $1) good only for fruits, vegetables, and food producing plants. So,”buy one, get one” for up to $25 every market day. $5 coupons will be available again for Fayette County Farm Bureau members at each Saturday market. These can be spent at both the Wednesday and Saturday markets.
The following list contains the names and products of the vendors that expect to set up this Saturday. Other vendors may participate as well.
Cheryl’s Country Crafts (Cheryl Braun, 740-505-0068 ): Handmade wreaths and country wood products.
Cloud9D (Nicole Dougherty): Tumblers, slate photos and jewelry with lots of customizable gifts.
Cozy Baby Blessings (Nancy Cutter): Handmade baby essentials including crochet baby blankets and hats, flannel burp cloths and crinkle toys, knit bows and teethers. Kitchen essentials including crochet dish cloths, pot scrubbers, and jar grippers. Handmade clay and resin earrings, face masks for adults and children, and intensely scented wax melts in over 50 scents.
Dill Family Farms (Andy and Paula Dill): Strawberries
DSC Produce Farm (Darren Cox): Private label salsas (a best-selling bacon salsa, habanero bacon cherry salsa, peach salsa and Carolina Reaper!) and salad dressings (tomato and bacon, bacon ranch, blueberry, raspberry) plus apple butter, apple pie jam, elderberry jelly, and jalapeno ketchup.
Engeti (Alana Walters): Baked goods including dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls, cakes, pies, cookies.
Greens & Greenery (Katrina Bush): Potted annuals (basil, sweet and hot peppers, tomatillos, sacred basil, summer squash, luffa, hyacinth and climbing ornamental beans, castor beans). Perennial native plants/trees/shrubs, including elder(berry), amsonia, swamp white oak, grey dogwood, yellow and purple coneflower (echinacea), anise hyssop and hyssop, clary sage, daisy, ferns, monarda and more. Luffa sponges, beeswax hand creams, and glycerin and honey soaps.
Jim’s Premium Ground Beef (Jim Hobbs): Premium Ground Beef which includes steak, loins, chuck and brisket all in our ground beef, vacuum packed in 1#, 5# and patties 3/#.
Julie G’s Cookies (Julie Greenslade): Homemade chocolate chip, sugar, peanut butter, salted caramel butter bars, Cracker Jack cookies and lemon bars.
Persinger Produce and Cottage Foods (David Persinger and Julie Mosny): The Pie Lady –Local honey and assorted baked goods. The Jam Man will have blueberry, blackberry, red raspberry, black raspberry, and red raspberry jalapeno jams, hot pepper jelly, and no sugar added plum, blueberry, and peach jams.
The Hippie Sky (Skylynn Barden): reiki sessions and featuring some of her handmade reiki charged apothecary products.
Wood by DW (Debbie Welch): Wood crafts and sewn kitchen crafts.
Your Other Mother’s Kitchen (Don and Sara Creamer-740-572-0134): Artisan breads, muffins, shortcake.
Bridge View Garden (Hunter and Lorelle Rohrer, 740-505-5125): Strawberries, asparagus, lettuce, spring onions. Sweet potato plants and other gardening plants. Perennial and annual plants.
