Saturday, June 12, 2010

Springfield Vermont now has a Farmer's Market! - Fancy News!






A Farmer's Market, a Community Market to be exact, to take place in the open air on Saturdays in the warm months in the parking lot between McKinley's Restaurant and Chittenden Bank, has been established in Beautiful Downtown Springfield Vermont, Jewel of the Upper Valley! - what could be dandier? Well, here they are, complete with a nice website - www.springfieldcommunitymarket.com - thanks to all the volunteers who are making a real contribution to Springfield's wickedly potential-filled downtown.

High time too. And it arrives as something of a surprise, it appears that movement towards this day was brisker than anyone now can imagine, considering the great rafts of old logs that may have had to have been traversed first in the attempt to wrestle and shoehorn a new idea into the dusty arena. Indeed, the proposal for the market was funded in March, and plans were drawn up, with a mighty fine result that has every possibility of taking on a life of it's own.

The opening of the Springfield Community Market in lovely downtown Springfield, Vermont, City of Lights, was last Saturday, attended by many who agree and call it a truly festive event. Everyone enjoyed especially the great live music provided by George Ainley on Fiddle, Julie Levy on Ukelele, Steve Matusha on Guitar, and Barbara Burns on a large, fulsome and rich-toned stringed instrument that stood about as tall as she did. The crowd was further entertained and teased up to a salivating frenzy by the culinary magic of Jason Tostrup, popular local chef, who taught the riveted audience how to make the best Spring Rolls this side of the Mekong.

The rain on this fine June morning did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of the small but growing group of well-wishers and friends, shoppers and day-trippers, and of course the vendors and volunteers themselves took the ducklische weather in stride as good practice for the busy times to come.

The farmers and other vendors of goods or purveyors of other services or experience-based productions were themselves out in force, with a small but choice range of offerings, certainly unfazed by the weather and every one of them ready with a cogent pitch and reams of information about their products. Among them, Peter Hingston and family were there displaying a fine array of their own brand "Vicky Day's Preserves"from their Cherry Hill Farm, Katie from Two Ponds Pottery in Mt. Holley displayed a warm and attractive collection of her pottery and some beefy little tomato seedlings rapidly finding new homes, Springfield Vermont's own Ephraim Mt. Farm was on hand, and there was excellent live music by a local performer whose name will be edited in shortly.

There was a very busy Soap Bubble and Popcorn Station too, manned by the intrepid ladies of the Springfield High School Alumni Association, functioning as a fundraiser for the Great Springfield Alumni Week Parade that takes place a scant two weeks from today on June 26th.

When in Springfield, Vermont, in any fair weather, always remember to set aside Saturday Mornings for the Springfield Community Market in beautiful downtown Springfield, the Official Home of Homer Simpson.