Webb City Sentinel market column - 9-9-16

We’ve got another fun day planned at the market tomorrow. The Fiber Folks of Southwest Missouri will do spinning demonstrations. This organization started in 2000, the same year as the market, and is now 70 members strong. They focus on fiber and hand-crafting and their interest, and classes, range from spinning and weaving to bead work to felting and more.

Cooking for a Cause benefits the Cerebral Palsy of Tri-County, aka the CP Center here in Webb City. Located across from the old Jane Chinn Hospital, they serve developmentally disabled and medically fragile children from Jasper, Newton and McDonald counties. No child is turned away because of a family’s inability to pay for the services.  You enjoy a tasty breakfast for less than $5 and the profit from your breakfast will make children’s lives, and that of their families, better. Breakfast includes biscuits and gravy, sausages, eggs cooked to order and coffee or juice.

No Apparent Reason, the house band of the Woodshed in Carthage, always plays the day we host the

CP Center. One of their members is married to the center’s director, Dr. Christy Graham. The band’s regular fee is about twice what we can pay so they donate their show and we donate our standard band fee to the CP Center. If you make it tomorrow, you’ll understand why their price is more than we can budget – they are a really good. Now their jokes on the other hand…

On Tuesday we welcome a new band to the market stage – The Geriatrics. 

On Thursday, Scott Eastman plays. On both Tuesday and Thursday Stewart’s Bakery will have some tempting options for meals.

Things are happening off the market site as well. Our thanks to the Master Gardeners led by long time market volunteer Dale Mermoud for putting in a long day this week at the Kids Community Garden. Nine classes of first graders watched as the potatoes they planted last fall when they were kindergarteners were harvested. The potatoes were then donated to a local charity. 

In the afternoon, the master gardeners worked with 17 middle schoolers to do the final harvest and clean up the garden for winter. Our generous market farmers donated enough produce after the Tuesday market to provide each child with a bag full of veggies.

This Wednesday, September 14, the market will sponsor a workshop on blackberries at the Mt Vernon Research Cnter from 1 to 4 pm.  The class will focus on fall management of the shift trellis system and insect and disease management.  In addition to classroom presentations, participants will have hands-on instructions at the market's blackberry plot at the center.  The workshop is led by University of Missouri Extension horticulturist Patrick Byers.  The cost is $10 per person and you can download the registration form on the market’s website:  webbcityfarmersmarket.com under the “grower training” tab.

As usual, the market will be full of fresh local produce this week, learning opportunities, good meals, good causes, and good music. Enjoy the season.