Watkins Glen Farmers Market returns in May

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Watkins Glen Farmers Market returns in May WATKINS GLEN—The Watkins Glen Farmers Market will return to Lafayette Park for its sixth year, after the Watkins Glen Village Board approved a request for the return of the weekly farmers market at their regular meeting Monday, March 1. “It went very well (last year’s farmers market) and you seem to work very well with yourselves,” Mayor Judy Phillips said. Many people enjoy shopping for fresh fruits and vegetables and other items locally. These items are grown locally, so they are fresher than store bought items because they aren’t packaged or shipped. Vendors at the Watkins Glen Farmers Market strive to be friendly and are knowledgeable of the products they sell and what you can create with these items. The farmers market will be held every Friday beginning May 28 and will continue through Oct. 29, with the exception of the Friday of the Grand Prix Festival which will be held Sept. 10. Vendors and local farmers will be at Lafayette Park, located on Fourth and Decatur Streets in Watkins Glen, from 3 to 7 p.m. selling a variety of local produce, prepared foods, wine and crafts. “We have a good relationship we work really hard to keep it that way, be responsible and keep in mind the park belongs to the village,” a founder of the Watkins Glen Farmers Market, Lynn Gerry, said. Trustee William Smagner, who lives right across the street from Lafayette Park, commented that Gerry and others who participate in the farmers market do clean up after themselves. “Thank you, it’s one of my pet peeves to make sure people do that,” Gerry said in return. “2009 would have been great, we had a lot of advertising and signage, new events, but the rain. No amount of advertising and cool stuff going on can counteract the weather so that really affected us. So we’re just hoping that we’re not going to be on the day that it rains this year. We want nice weekends beginning with dry Fridays,” Gerry said. Vendors and farmers who participate in the farmers market are currently planning events for their 2010 season. Past events have included a squash event, concert band, and according to Gerry they are hoping to have a strawberry festival this year, during strawberry season. “We had a concert band last year which was a lot of fun, but that was I think the rainiest day out of the whole summer,” Gerry said. “Let’s all pray for good weather,” Phillips said. The Watkins Glen Farmers Market started in 2005, with a mission to increase local food production by creating customers for local family farmers. The Watkins Glen Farmers Market is also a member of the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA). The NOFA works in seven northeastern states including New York, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Rhode Island, to bring together a diverse group of people who are interested in creating a healthy regional food system to bring to others in their area. The NOFA also even has educational programs for farms, as well as a variety of public outreach and education projects. Some of the vendors will be at the park earlier than 3 p.m. to set up, so village residents are asked to remember to be aware of pedestrians and extra traffic on Fourth and Decatur Streets Fridays starting May 28. For more information about the market call Lynn Gerry at 607-535-0147 or visit www.NOFA.org or www.localharvest.org for more information about local foods and organic farming.		$element(adman,groupads,SchuylerRight1)$

Watkins Glen Farmers Market returns in May

Watkins Glen Farmers Market returns in May

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