COBLESKILL, N.Y. — Monday June 19, 2017- Festival Farmers Market, in Cobleskill NY, kicked off the 2017 growing season on June 17th by celebrating the start of summer with their traditional Dairy & Berry Day Celebration! Always a family-fun day, it had been expanded this year to include several new vendors and community agencies, including Schoharie County DSS with their Foster Parent Recruitment Team offering face painting, Cobleskill Police Department offering security photos and fingerprinting for children, and a new herb and plant arranger, Designs by Lisa.
A Flag Ceremony by Cobleskill B. P. O. E. was conducted as planned. Filling Veterans Memorial Centre Park was also a kids fun zone sponsored by the CPI (Cobleskill Partnership Initiative), a Scavenger Hunt offered through the Schoharie Valley Farm to School Project, Extension Master Gardeners, vendors Parson’s Vegetable Farm, Cripplebush Creek Farm, the Van-Dale Farm, and the repurposed crafts of Brownie Stitch owner, Liz Brown. Feelin’ Country, Fred Hessen, entertained shoppers for hours with his entire band, spreading the sounds of music throughout the park and beyond. Children had free range to do what their heart desired, be it plant a pot with a seedling thanks to Kenyon Parsons, or make a bracelet courtesy of the Cobleskill Partnership Initiative (CPI), climb a tree, talk to farmers as they scavenger hunted, sample the chef’s creation, or just have a scoop of Stewart’s Vanilla Ice Cream.
The 2017 Chef Demonstrations at the Farmers Market kicked off Saturday with a Strawberry Gazpacho (cold vegetable soup) flavored with a Goat Cheese Mousse by Chef Rob Handel. He comes by way of The Bees Knees Café at Heather Ridge Farm, located in Preston Hollow NY. This was first in what is a series of planned Chef Demonstrations at the market that emphasize plant-based, locally grown ingredients. It was brought about through a grant awarded for the second year in a row to the Festival Farmers Market from Bassett Health Care Network 5-2-1-0 Healthy Lifestyle.
When asked about how he came to agree upon becoming one of the market’s guest chefs, Chef Handel replied that he loves to talk about his passion for food and cooking. He said, “I’m glad to be working for organizations like the Festival Farmers Market to bring the skills that I have learned to a greater audience.” Chef Handel firmly believes in the solution to many greater problems is to become reconnected to our food again. “Proper preparation is the final, crucial step in the greater food cycle”, he said. Special seasonal dinners and a Supper Club, all offered at Heather Ridge Farm along with weekend brunch and lunch offerings at the Bee’s Knees Café, confirm the commitment to engaging in the food system discussion through the local food options chosen to be incorporated into the menu. They can be explored in depth by going to the website at heather-ridge-farm.com.
All of the other vendors and agencies will return to the market at some point during the year and connecting with the Festival Farmers Market Facebook page is one good way to stay abreast of what each market day will hold from July 8th through October 14th. Also, calls for specific vendor types will be posted there if interested in joining them. Go to https://www.facebook.com/festivalfarmersmarket for more information or to make inquiries. For more information, contact Donna Olsen at 518-284-2609, or The BlueShift Group Promotions at email: bpgroup@msn.com.
—The BlueShift Group Promotions
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