Happy Birthday Horton Farmers' Market!

This weekend marks the official 'half-way' point of the market season and we are celebrating in true 'farmers' market' style! Here are a few things we have lined up for the Market's 131st Birthday Celebration on August 1st :

Centre Piece Marketing Presents - Sam Hurrie

You may have read about Sam Hurrie Entertaining Elgin in the special edition of Relish Elgin's Arts in Elgin or heard him play around Elgin County. Sam will be performing his own style of Blues at the market from 10 - 12noon.

Birthday cake will be served by various guests of St.Thomas and Elgin starting at 10:30am. And we have lots of presents - to give away! But here's the catch - you will have to perform a little jingle to receive a ballot to enter the draw for the presents. The jingle goes : "Good Things Groooow In Ontario" The singing event will be throughout the morning and you can be sure that you will hear that jingle from yours truly a time or two. I will also be convincing a few other guests to join in - perhaps some of the vendors as well!

Amanda Nethercott, the fantastic face painter, will be back and set up beside the Kids Kraft Korner in the south pavilion. Reminder - face painting is for all the kids, including the young at heart. We will have free glow sticks for the kids to take home.

As it is the first Saturday of the month, the St.Thomas Public Library will be back with loads of books for you to peruse and check out on the spot. They will also have used books for sale and a sampling of some of the activities going on at the library.

Blueberry pies are the specialty this week of the folks from the St.Thomas Seniors Centre. They have sold out every time they have been to market this season so you know what that means!

We have a new vendor this week - Bird Man on the Marsh. He will be selling his handcrafted bird houses for various types of birds.

Candle making is the display of Jaydancin's. They are back from vacation and making a variety of enviro-friendly candles to show you how it is done.

And the bean marinade was a big hit last week! As it turns out, Cathy, who made that yummy concoction (from McSmith's Organics) uses a little bit of this and a little of that. The base was balsamic vinegar. I mentioned I would post the recipe on the blog - there is a similar one posted for you to experiment with. The key ingredients that most people commented on were the fresh, crisp beans from the market and chickpeas! Enjoy!

Janis Smith has sold out of her fresh cut flowers every time! She is bringing as many as nature will allow and she has also helped out Mom, Cathy of McSmiths by preparing ready to go coleslaw bags. She has been chopping organic cabbage and carrots - all you need to do is add the dressing.

Congratulations to Mike & Joyce Hlatki who won the customer appreciation draw for this week. Be sure to look for the green and white Foodland Ontario balloons and sign up for your chance to win. I contact the winner during the week to pick up their prize for the following Saturday at the market.

And about the honey..... the bees have suffered a loss this year on a large scale. The folks from Gibson's Honey have signed up for the market but have limited resources as they have lost a large percentage of their bees and will need time (a full season) to re-build their crop. Thanks for your patience with this as we continue to look for honey resources.

The Horton Breakfast Sandwich Combo continues to be a big seller. A dollar from the sale of each sandwich goes directly back to the market. These procedes help with things like the musicians, the sampling sessions, and increasing customer awareness of what the market has to offer. To sum it all up - we continue to evolve in community, in resources, in vendors and in sustainability. It's all good!

See you at the market!

Tricia Herbert

Market Manager

Beans, beans, and more....

Beans are in-season! Green, yellow, string, wax, and even purple beans. We've heard them called by many different names and they also can be prepared many different ways. Fresh out of the garden, in a marinade, or dipped in a special sauce - you will get to sample these at the market this weekend! Cathy, from McSmith Organics is bringing a sampling of her specialty bean marinade. Hertiage Line Herbs will have some dips for you to sample using their dried herb seasonings, and there are plenty of beans (and other produce), fresh from the garden. For recipe ideas, there are several that are quick, easy, and full of flavour - just add beans from the market!

The Horton Farmers Market has been around for 131 years - almost as old as Canada. We are celebrating the market's birthday on August 1st with festivities for all. Do you know the "Good Things Grow in Ontario" jingle? That's it. Good things grow in Ontario. We are having a little singing contest - no practice or skill required, just plain courage to step up to the mic and sing. Special guests from the local community are expected that day - who knows, there may be a singer or two in the mix. Plan to stay for a while, have breakfast, a coffee, and a little cake for dessert.

We are a member of Farmers' Markets Ontario which gives us guidelines to follow in keeping the market a producer-based market. The farmers grow and sell their own produce. The artisans create their own craft. Some things you find at the market are not 'locally grown'. Coffee is a good example. Coffee will not be locally produced as long as we live in Ontario. So we work within the guidelines to bring one of our dietary staples to the market. (there are time when I have jokingly suggested adding coffee as a food group). If there are products you would like to see at the market, let me know. I am constantly working on bringing the full mix to the market, always keeping in mind, the locally produced guidelines.

Expect a full venue at the market this weekend. We currently have 35 vendors that participate in our 4 hour market day. Holidays and Mother Nature keep some away some of the time, but we are in prime market season. I heard an advertisement on the radio to visit your local farmers market, supported by the Government of Ontario. Visiting the market helps sustain our economy in tough times, but it does much more than that. It breathes life back into our community and reminds us that good things really do grow right here in our own backyard.

See you at the market!

Tricia Herbert

Market Manager

Blueberries at the Market!

I love Blueberries! They are like candy in my house as we freeze them and use them in every dish possible including my kids personal favourite, breakfast smoothies. (You can sneak alot of 'healthy' things into a smoothie!). Did you know that Canada ranks second in the world for blueberry growers? Starting this week, Blue Groves Fruit Farms from West Lorne will be at the market with buckets of blueberries. (and great recipe ideas!)

Unless you tune your mother nature clock to the seasons or happen to be a grower yourself, it is difficult to stay up-to-date on what produce is in-season. McSmith's Organics have a handy chart on the back of one of their brochures for quick reference. You can pick up a brochure at McSmith's table or inside the market building at the information stand in the back foyer. McSmith's will have bunches of broccoli, green & yellow zukes, red & golden beets, black rasperries and a variety of lettuces. Add fresh cut flowers to your table setting from Janis Smith Flowers where you can pick up the first of this season's glads.

Next week (July 25th) there will be samples of bean marinades (McSmith's) and herb dips (from Heritage Line Herbs) to give you an idea or two on how to expand your horizons with beans. We will have a sample table set up in the outdoor cafe where you can also sign up for the customer appreciation draw.

On August 1st we are celebrating the Market's 131st Birthday. Get your singing voices ready as we want to hear you give us your version of 'Good Things Grow In Ontario'. There will be music, birthday cake and face painting as well as visits from the local dignitaries.

And this week, West Lorne is celebrating their annual Cowboys & Cactus event. Erie Gardens and Empire Valley Farms will be partipating in this event so you will not see them at the market until next week.

We have new vendors coming almost every week this month - be sure to stop be the new jewlery/artisan vendors Ann Grace Creations and Devarati Jewlery. And for produce, DeBackere Farms, John Martin Produce, and BlueGroves Fruit Farms.

I have heard many people say that they shop first at the market and can get most of what they need there. This reduces the number of trips to the big box stores, reduces our ecological footprint, and increases our ability to sustain our local economy. Continue to pass on the word about the Horton Farmers Market by forwarding this update and by bringing someone new to the market. Invite them for a Horton Breakfast Sandwich combo and a Sin-o-Bun for a special treat after. One of the most effective ways to advertise is still the tried-and-true method of Word of Mouth.

See you soon at the market!

Cheers,

Tricia Herbert

Horton Market Happenings....

I picked this title for this week's post because you will see the same title in our community paper: The Super Shopper. We have started a 'Faces at Horton Market' advertisement there where you might recognize a few of our vendors. I am drawn again and again to the theme of community and how the market is a perfect venue for participating and solidifying our community. No matter the weather, what is 'in-season', or what you already bought for groceries this week, you can connect at the market.

As we head into mid-July, our produce vendors are increasing. This week, expect to see a few more new vendors including DeBackere Farms, John Martin Produce, and the ladies from Fingal United Church selling fresh-baked pies! Inside, be sure to stop by the Fresh Fest booth to pick up your tickets for this 'Local Taste Experience' happening on Thursday August 20th @ the CASO station. You will also get an opportunity to meet some of the artists featured in Relish Elgin's 'Arts in Elgin Special Edition' launch. This weekend is guaranteed to have something for everyone.

Last week the public library came to the market with books for all ages and a summer reading program for children called Agent 009. The library will be at the market the first Saturday of every month for the remainder of the market season. You can sign up for a card and check your books out on the spot - even read a page or two at one of our cafes.

And the Horton Breakfast Sandwich combo is amazing! Last week, Sandy from Farmgate added a sausage option - this week they are sweetening the deal with CHEESE! With a portion of the proceeds going directly back to the market, everyone benefits, twice over. If you sampled the chocolate covered strawberries last week, they were conceived from the funds from the breakfast sandwich - how cool is that? (and we purchased the berries from Berry Hill Fruit Farms-me and Dick Saarloos from Berry Hill to the right here - so you see the layers of community we touch?)

The customer appreciation draw is always a highlight of my Saturday at the market. I love giving gifts and it is always rewarding to see the happy winner truly amazed at the bounty of what the vendors contribute to this prize every week. Be sure to sign up - find the green & white Foodland Ontario balloons. I like to move this around so that everyone gets an opportunity to meet the vendors close by - we do tend to be creatures of habit and might miss a few things.

So, back to the community theme. Be sure to say 'Hi' to one new vendor this week at the market, even if you don't purchase from them. Every one appreciates the warmth and camaraderie (which, according to Webster is defined as 'a spirit of friendly good-fellowship').

I look forward to seeing you at the Market!

Cheers,

Tricia Herbert

Market Manager

P.S. - look for an editorial by yours truly in the Super Shopper. I ponder a bit more about community, food, and connectedness.

Celebrate at the Market!

Happy Birthday Canada!!!

How did you celebrate Canada's birthday? There are many traditional ways - fireworks, BBQ's, and gathering with family and friends. And, my personal favourite- giving thanks for this amazing country that we live in and the many privileges that come with that. This Saturday at the market is another opportunity to celebrate. We will have face-painting (not just for the kids you know), crazy canuck sales (see Erie Gardens), AND chocolate covered strawberries (for FREE!).

Strawberry season is winding down - Thanks to Berry Hill Fruit Farms for the strawberries that you will get to sample on Saturday. Just today, I purchased a few pounds of dark chocolate from Scoops in downtown St. Thomas for the dipping. We will set up all festivities in the outdoor cafe - be sure to sign up for the customer appreciation draw when you are there.



Gluten-free products at the market! More vendors are receiving requests for gluten-free products. You already know about Farmgate and the gluten-free meat they sell, but did you know that Village Pantry Restaurant will now be selling all gluten-free products and only at the Horton Farmers Market? Christine from Village Pantry is very picky about the ingredients that go into all of her products, and you can taste it in every bite! And Kim from Green Leaf Pastry will have 2 different gluten-free baked goods every week at the market. Her chocolate brownies are my personal favourite!


I am so excited about all the upcoming events and produce at the market! There are times when I do not get a chance to tell you about it here in the blog, as some vendors don't know until Saturday morning what's coming to the market that day - tis the nature of Mother Nature. A little uncertainty is a good thing.

Look forward to seeing you at the Market!

Cheers,

Tricia Herbert
Market Manager,
Dreamer,
Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Coniseur

P.S. - I had TWO Horton Breakfast Sandwichs last week - I figured my morning starts VERY early (5am) so it's more like breakfast and lunch for me. I have always been a big fan of breakfast sandwichs at any time of the day! :-)