This week marks the first of five Community Days at LFM 2019. Always a crowd pleaser. Come see what your friends and neighbors get up to in their spare time…hobbies cum cottage industries, civic and social organizations, and local small businesses. Diversity in the marketplace. A full listing of entrepreneurs can be found back in the full e-newsletter.
Speaking of diversity, before I go another sentence, can we have a round of applause for the organizers of the first Lansdowne Pride event last Saturday night? Amazing. The Village People could take a page from our village people! And this isn’t really veering off the topic of the LFM, where diversity is part of the vibe. We rock it every week.
But, since food is sorta how I got this gig…I’ll go there. It’s already the last week in June! The produce tables have morphed from shades of green into technicolor. We may have seen the last of the strawberries, but if you haven’t had the cherries yet…hurry on over to Fruitwood, where the sour ones glowed such an incandescent red that I was looking for the plug. And at the other end of the midway, Herrcastle was teasing us with the very first blush of peaches! Yowza! Seriously, is there anything better than peach juice running down your upturned arm? And try eating one without leaning away from yourself in a futile attempt to avoid the aftermath. Go on, try! Sweet and sticky and worth the cleanup.
And so worth the wait! Which is one of the best things about, and the actual point of, a farmers market; taking the fewest steps from the soil to the stomach. The toe-curling goodness of food just out of the ground or off the branch. These are the foods we reserve just for their own sweet season. Memories built into our tastebuds make it all worth waiting for. No imitations accepted.
Here’s my “only-in-season” hit list: peaches, tomatoes, corn on the cob and melons. Also real iced tea…home-brewed and tangy sweet; and of course, with the first mint comes the mojitos….I’m not a saint, after all. And it isn’t about the obvious virtue in seasonal, local eating…it’s for that visceral, base-of-the-belly connection to my childhood summers (um, except for the mojitos)…shady porch swings and lawn sprinklers where you could un-sticky yourself in a trice. How ‘bout you? THIS WEEK’S MARKET BUCK!
BTW: I had a couple of shoppers stop by the Manager’s Tent last Saturday. They earned some Market Bucks just by proving they had read the LFM newsletter. If it wasn’t you, you still have a chance. Come see me!
So, here’s where you pull up your copy of what’s coming to market when, and make your seasonal shopping list for the week ahead. This would be a good time to scoop up some peaches and raspberries for a Peach Melba to bring to whomever is hosting your 4th of July shindig. Maybe some Limoncello from Pezone Cello to pour over the Icery’s lemon water ice…OK, lemons aren’t local, or seasonal, but the rest of it is! So we’ll go with it.
Speaking of the Fourth, for everything else you need, here’s your vendors for the week:
Big Sky Bread, Fruitwood Farms, Herrcastle Farm, Mitchell & Mitchell Wines, MyHouse Cookies and Pies, Potato Homestead, Wilson’s Curiously Good Foods, Cheryl’s Southern Style, Dock Street Beer, Jerky Jack, Kia’s Cakes, Solrig Farm, Taste of Puebla, The Icery, Pezone Cello, The YMCA
…and as always, keep up with who’s coming and when by visiting our LFM website and FB page.
In the Music Tent: Joe Todaro and Mark Linkins and Sycamore Muse. Mandolins and guitars and melodies that travel between Sicily and the cinema.
Artist of the Week: Deanna Haldeman’s Deramics. Pottery mugs, bowls and useful serving pieces that would look great on somebody’s table…why not yours?
Guest Community Table: This is your last chance before July 4th to make your donation and get your schedule and tickets for all the festivities. Then do whatever dances you do to ensure fair weather next Thursday.
And don’t pass by the Community Cupboard jar at the Manager’s tent without dropping in a buck or two. It will make that locally grown peach taste even sweeter! Honest.
See you at the LFM!
Terry Baraldi