We won't do the adult meal since its so cold, but the kids meals will be ready for pick up between 9 and 11. Kids, aged 1 through 18, get both breakfast and lunch, packed to go. To quote our manager “we're going bananas for breakfast!” It's a market-made banana chocolate chip granola bar with a banana and milk. Lunch is a grilled cheese hotdog served with applesauce, a kale & carrot salad, and milk. That salad will be delicious. Winter carrots are the best of the year. For some reason, the cold temperature really brings out their sweetness.
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| Decorations by BDJ |
If you were at the market last Saturday you saw that it was decked out for Christmas with tinsel, balls, and bows on the posts. That is, if you notice that sort of thing. I asked my husband Phil how he liked the decorations (they were right in front of him) and he said “What decorations?” Oh well. They are not as spectacular as we had planned. But we couldn't drape the garland and lights with the sides off so we had to stick to what could be put up and taken down for each market. It's a bit disappointing because we were really ready to provide a show this year. Last year about this time I was concerned because I knew I would not be around to decorate the pavilion in the future and the decorations we had were very laborious. We needed to simplify. The board agreed and allocated funding and then I promptly forgot but luckily board member Galen did not. He began researching, which is one of his strong suits, and found festive garland on sale at one of the national craft stores. He contacted me and I checked out the same store that had several locations in the Denver area and between the two of us we bought a truckload of decorations. So that will be one more thing to look forward to next year.
What you can look forward to this Saturday: fresh local produce, raw honey and honey products, Harmony Hill and Redings Mill baked goods, shrimp, beef, pork, lamb, and chicken, kettle corn and other snacks, mushrooms, tamales, jams and jellies, candies, smoked spices and salts, and freshly ground coffee beans and drinks (and festive post decorations).
Crafters include 2Ts Soap & Stuff, BDJ Creations with holiday themed woodcrafts, Nancy's Doll Closet with outfits for 18” dolls, and Jane's Glass Art. Jane comes up with a new Christmas ornament every year to add to her collection which includes ornaments featuring shepherds, wise men, and the holy family. This year she added masks. "2020" is on the ornament but I doubt we could forget which year we added a mask to the tree.
Central United Methodist Church will have chili with beans and chili without beans, as well as fudge for sale. All profits go to the community Christmas basket program.
The market will have hand thrown pottery and gently used cookbooks for sale to support the market's WIC program. There are also festive gift cards just right for a Christmas card or stocking for you to use when honoring a friend or family member with a gift to the program. What an apt way to celebrate that family sheltering in a stable by giving a gift that provides food to our youngest families in need.
The parks department plans to put the sides on the pavilion next week, primarily to block the wind which can be chilling. We won't be heating the pavilion this year because the double doors will be open to keep our shoppers and vendors as safe as possible. So come prepared for the weather.
The cold will help us do our shopping quickly and move on. That's the safest way to shop this year. And I've noticed my mask keeps my face nice and warm. During the heat of the summer my mask was warm, too, which wasn't so nice.
The traditional winter markets in Europe are always held in the open air in very cold weather, often at night when it's even colder. Admittedly they may keep warm with Gluhwein, a hot mulled wine. But we have coffee! As we enter what will certainly be a cold and memorable winter, let's fill it with warmth of spirit, the joy of welcome, and with kindness, generosity, and good food!
