By Jeremy Riccardi
The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is moving outdoors after its final indoor market tomorrow. It will kick off the summer market season 3-6 p.m. Wednesday, May 4 at High Rock Park.
While the Saratoga market’s biggest market takes place Saturdays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Wednesday market offers a special and more intimate shopping experience, said Julia Howard, market administrator.
“Several factors make it an entirely different market which is important as we serve Saratoga Springs,” Howard said. “The Wednesday market is about half the size of the Saturday market making it compact enough to fit under the three pavilions at High Rock. The mid-week, late afternoon/early evening time frame accommodates customers who prefer to miss the crowds and shop after work. Families are also drawn to this mid-week market as an activity in a wholesome atmosphere.”
Dave Porter, owner of Longview Farm, calls the Wednesday market a bonus opportunity that benefits farmers and customers alike. Farmers have a chance to bring their freshest seasonal produce to market immediately, and customers don’t have to wait for produce that might have had to have been harvested two or three days earlier. “That’s the benefit of have more than one weekly market,” Porter said. “You can always sell or buy produce at its highest quality.”
New and returning customers can expect some changes. Vendors will be set up in a loop underneath the High Rock Park pavilion, and a central dining area has been added. Each Wednesday – and Saturday – will feature a farm-themed activity in the Kids Craft Corner, and beginning in June, the market will launch its Power of Produce Club, a new family-friendly experience designed to engage children in local food systems through conversations directly with farmers, educational games and demonstrations, and exposure to new fruits and vegetables. The Power of Produce Club will take place primarily on Wednesdays, heightening the family-oriented focus of this market.
Diane Whitten of the Cornell Cooperative Extension also will offer exclusive Wednesday workshops on seasonal fruits and vegetables along with free food samplings. Other activities exclusive to the Wednesday market include a knife-sharpening service and a new composting program scheduled to kick off in mid-May.
Visit the final winter market 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. tomorrow at the Lincoln Baths Building in the Saratoga Spa State Park. The Saratoga Farmers’ Market summer seasons opens 3-6 p.m. Wednesday, May 4, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 7 at High Rock Park.
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Who you’ll find at the Wednesday market:
• Burger Farm: fruits and vegetables, seedlings
• Butternut Ridge Farm: fruits and vegetables
• Clark Dahlia Gardens & Greenhouses: jams, popcorn, other home prepared items.
• Elihu Farm: eggs, poultry, lamb and mutton
• Euro Delicacies: prepared foods
• Gifford Farms LLC: breads, produce, flowers.
• Homestead Artisans at Longview Farm: artisanal hand-crafted cheeses, poultry eggs
• Lewis Waite Farm: grass-fed beef, pork, and other meats
• Mister Edge Sharpening: knife and garden shears sharpening service
• Norsemen Farms: grass-fed beef, pork, and other meats
• Otrembiak Farm: duck eggs, seedlings, fruits and vegetables
• Owl Wood Farm: fruits and vegetables
• Pleasant Valley Farm: fruits and vegetables
• Pure-N-Simple Soap: homemade soaps
• R&G Cheese Makers: artisanal cheeses
• Row to Hoe Farm: fresh vegetables
• Saratoga Apple: fresh squeezed cider, apples, other fruits and vegetables
• Saratoga Peanut Butter Co.: locally produced peanut and other nut butters
• Scotch Ridge Berry Farm: seedlings, strawberries and other berries, fresh vegetables
• Slyboro Cider House: hard cider
• Something’s Brewing: coffee, teas, snacks
• The Chocolate Spoon: home-baked cookies, cakes and other goods
• The Food Florist: meals-to-go
• Underwood’s Greenhouse/Shushan Valley Hydro Farm: hydroponic tomatoes, cucumbers, herbs and salad greens
