WAKEFIELD — It looks like we will have great weather for the Opening Day of our market’s seventh season. As in previous years, the Wakefield Farmers Market will be at Hall Park, on the shores of Lake Quannapowitt, each Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. from June 20 through Oct. 17.
The day will feature great live music by students from Wakefield’s Onset School of Music, accompanied by the teaching staff, in what has become a great annual event at the market. This year will feature Sean Douglass, Reading; Samantha Lebruska, Lynnfield; Andrew Lubien, Wakefield; Katarina Burke, Reading; Stephen Burke, Reading; Bella Scolaro, Lynnfield; Talia Scolaro, Lynnfield; Will Poliano, Reading; Gabby Xu, Reading; Anthony Turilli, Saugus; Sam Simpson, Wakefield; Ryan Miller, Lynnfield and Gabe Kautz, Wakefield. Thank you to all the talented and upcoming musicians.
We also will have a magician with us. Upon the recommendation of Yarrow, our wonderful balloon twisting artist (who of course will be with us!), we are pleased to welcome The Magic of Derek Dubois to our market. We will also have hula hoops, sidewalk chalk and jump ropes on hand for kids of all ages.
Also great for the kids: Barefoot Books will be with us, offering their award-winning books and other fun and educational materials for children, many by local authors and illustrators. Be sure to stop by to check out new titles or to just hang out and read a story.
We will have two wonderful non-profit organizations with us this Saturday: The Wakefield Independence Day Committee will be on hand offering ways to help support the return of our BIG parade that the committee is organizing as part of our town’s July Fourth celebration. In addition, Refugee Immigration Ministry (RIM) will be with us to share information about their walk around the Lake coming up on Saturday, June 27 that will support their work of helping people who come to our great and generous country seeking asylum.
We are proud to welcome two of our new vendors today: Ackermann Maple Farm and Downeast Cider House. Ackerman’s offers delightful maple products, including maple syrup, maple sugar and maple cream from their 3,000 trees nestled in the hills of Cabot, Vt. Downeast Cider House starts with fresh-pressed juices and pure, natural ingredients in their cider and takes no shortcuts. In their own words: “When it comes to flavor, there’s no substitute for the best and that’s what we stand by: Simple, honest, authentic.”
Three Important Farmer Notes: First, Mary and Greg of Kelly’s Farm have retired from doing farmers markets. They send a big thank you to all of us for being so nice. Let’s all be sure to give a kind welcome to the new folks bringing Kelly’s Farm products to us — they have big shoes to fill. Second, Flats Mentor Farm, with their spectacular Asian greens and herbs, expects to start next week but will confirm before next Saturday. And third, due to some positive growth challenges, Lilac Hedge Farm will be coming every other week this year, starting tomorrow June 20. They should be back on a weekly basis next season.
Now, here’s what you’ve been waiting for – this week’s vendors.
Farmer Dave, Kelly’s Farm and Charlton Orchards will be here with a wonderful assortment of in-season vegetables and berries, with Charlton Orchards also offering pasture-raised beef, eggs and wine made from their orchard fruits. No guarantees, but Farmer Dave’s will most likely have potted tomato and flowering plants, as well.
We will have Lilac Hedge Farm, with meats, poultry, eggs and honey, Copicut Farms with chicken and eggs and West River Creamery with the best cheese around at the market this week, as well. All of their products are pasture-raised. And really tasty.
The Popover Lady, Mamadou’s Artisan Bakery, Swiss Bakers and Goodies Cookies will be back, as will Fior D’Italia, The Fish Lady, Vermont Gourmet Candy Dish (you have to sample Sandra’s horseradish!) and Roasted Granola. Ackermann Maple Farm will be making their first bi-weekly visit this Saturday, as will In Good Taste (Pam’s Salsa) and 7ate9 Bakery with cheesecake to die for! Bondat Foods, with amazing rubs and seasonings, will be here June 20 and then on a bi-weekly schedule starting July 18, so stock up this week.
For beverages, as noted above, we are welcoming Downeast Cider House this Saturday for their first bi-weekly visit. Tower Root Beer, which also has totally amazing ginger beer, by the way, will be here for the first of a number of visits and the superb Pour Man’s Coffee will be here this week and every week with their delectable hot and cold beverages, including Fair Trade coffee, teas, concoctions from fresh in-season fruits and out of this world baked treats. Point of interest: Pour Man’s Coffee owner Mike Doherty lives right here in Wakefield.
Both of our soap vendors, Kaleidoscope Soap and Wicked Good Soap, will be here, each with their lovely and distinctive hand-made soap and scrub products, as will be Salem Street Beadery, with handcrafted jewelry, dream catchers, wind chimes and more. And, as noted above, Barefoot Books is with us this opening day.
Our market accepts both SNAP/EBT and credit/debit cards in exchange for Market Bucks and will again be matching SNAP purchases up to $10 in Market Bucks per visit so that everyone can afford to get fresh and healthy foods at our market. WIC and Senior Farmers Market Coupons are also accepted directly by our farmers.
Coming Up: Next week we welcome new vendors Aaronap Cellers and Hiller’s Silver Studio, and Coutt’s Specialty Foods will be here for their first bi-weekly visit of the season. We are really excited to have the Los Los Sugar Kings duo featuring new Wakefield resident Dan Abreu and his bandmate Patino Vazquez with us next week and are looking forward to a season full of new and returning musicians. And, no worries, Miss Holly will be doing cooking demonstrations on July 4. Yes, we will be here on July 4 so you can get the freshest foods and beverages for your celebrations later in the day.
Stay tuned for news and updates every Friday in this spot throughout the market season. There is much more to come!
The Wakefield Farmers Market runs RAIN OR SHINE (except in dangerous weather, e.g. lightning or hurricane conditions). The market opens at 9 a.m. and closes at 1 p.m. every Saturday starting June 20 through Oct. 17. Please visit www.wakefieldfarmersmarket.org for a current listing of vendors and upcoming events and to sign up for our e-mail newsletter. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter. See you at the Market!
To keep up with Wakefield Farmers Market news, sign up for our newsletter at: WFM Newsletter.
Published in the Friday, June 19th edition
