September is the season of festivals. And Saturdays are the day of choice for almost all of them. If you miss the market to attend a Saturday festival, do not despair of having fresh local produce. Most of our farmers attend the Tuesday market. Oakwoods is there with the pepper roaster. E & O Produce and Braker Farms have their pumpkins, mums and celosia and Still Waters have decorative corn stalks.
Yesterday we had nine farms, plus both Sunny Lane
and Madewell with meats, Harmony Hill and Stewart’s with baked goods (Stewart’s
expanded their selection to include apple, cherry, and peach tartlets and
apple, cherry and peach hand pies), King’s Kettle Corn with not only kettle
corn, but cheesy corn, candied nuts, and other goodies.
I am going to end the column with some tidbits that
you may not know, but first this is what’s on tap this week.
Saturday, The Kids Garden Club is meeting from 9 to
noon at the market. Eric, our master gardener volunteer who organizes Club
activities, also happens to work for Missouri American Water. And Missouri American Water is
helping us learn about water this Saturday. The kids will get toy ducks and
balloons. Splash the Water Drop will be
there for hugs and photos (Eric says “think lovable Disney type character”.).
The kids will have a water related activity and adults can learn about
protecting our watershed.
Lafayette House volunteers will serve Cooking for a
Cause. This breakfast of biscuit and gravy, sausage, local tomato slices, a
choice of coffee or drink sells for $3.50. Add two farm fresh eggs cooked to
order for another $1.
Lafayette House is our regional shelter for women
and their children escaping domestic violence. It also has an alcohol and drug
rehab program for moms – and this is important, the moms can go through
treatment without leaving their kids behind. Doing so for many would mean
losing custody because they have no safe place to leave them.
Kids are often the reason women seek refuge from domestic
violence. One evening I was helping at a big celebratory dinner at Lafayette
House and one of the other servers came for me. (My job was supervising the
servers.) A young woman had come to the entrance near the dining area rather
than the front door. She had a toddler by the hand and a babe in her arms and
her purse. She said “I am afraid for my children. Can I get help?” And I said, “Yes, come in. You are all safe
here.”
Lafayette House does important work. I hope you
will come by and support them.
Stewart’s Bakery will have homemade (well, actually
market-kitchen made) chicken noodle soup for $5.
Enjoy breakfast and then take home lunch or
supper. Or eat early at home, made a donation at Cooking for a Cause and sit
down to a lovely lunch at the market.
Richard Hugh Roberts will be on the market stage
from 9 to 11. This versatile musician often plays from the Great American
Songbook but I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t throw in some other genres.
Honestly, every Saturday market is pretty festive,
so pack a cooler and stop by on your way to the other festivals. We even have
free ice packs. Just ask at Sunny Lane Farm or the information desk. But if you
just can’t make it Saturday, put Tuesday on your schedule. Or better yet, come
both days.
This Tuesday the Pommerts take the stage. Stewart’s
Bakery will have chicken and noodles, mashed potatoes and green beans for $6,
as well as a bowl of chicken and noodles for $5.
Now back to those tidbits.
1) Celosia – it’s an ancient plant that is new to
the market. Owen of E & O Produce thought it would make a good fall plant
and he’s right. The second time he brought them Tami Fredrickson who raises
hundreds of mums bought two to give a friend. Now that’s a testimonial. Celosia
is a member of the amaranth family and so the leaves, tender stems and even
young flowers are edible and used with other vegetables in soups and stews. The
leaves can also be boiled or steamed and served as a side dish. But it is the
brilliant red, orange or yellow blooms that make it a perfect fall decoration. The
name comes from an ancient Greek word meaning burning and refers to the
flame-like flower heads.
2) King’s Kettle Corn – did you know that the King
refers to Jesus? Owner Howard considers
his business part of his ministry. His
approach reminds me of the quote attributed to St. Francis of
Assisi: "Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary." Howard
witnesses with a smile and kindness. I have often seen Howard at carnivals
where he also sets up, befriending the “carnies”, the workers who set up and
run the carnival rides and who often work for low pay in poor conditions and
live on the fringes of society. Howard will sit and talk during breaks, and
perhaps more importantly listen, showing with his actions that he cares. Yep I
work with pretty special people.
3) Eric, our master garden who created and manages
the Kids Garden Club, can once a year secure a gift for any non-profit where he
volunteers a certain number of hours. Thanks to him, the market recently
received a gift of $1,000 from his employer, American Water. Really a double
gift – Eric’s time, creativity and dedication and American Water’s dollars to
support the market’s activities.
4) And I know this is the one you were waiting for.
Leonora Maeve Richardson-Smith was born Thursday. When she gets older, she can
choose which of her elegant names to go by, until then she is Nora. Mother
Emily and she are well. She is a lovely little granddaughter. (That's big brother Wyatt meeting Nora for the first time.)
To adapt a TV show tagline "There are eight million stories at the market. These have been four of them." Well, maybe not eight million, but a lot. Create some stories of your own. See you at the market!
To adapt a TV show tagline "There are eight million stories at the market. These have been four of them." Well, maybe not eight million, but a lot. Create some stories of your own. See you at the market!
