Events
Don’t let those clouds keep you away from the Market! Last week started a bit damp, but the sun soon came out and we had a wonderful market day. This Saturday is boasting an 80% chance for good weather with pleasant temperatures. This is Chicago, so we can’t make any promises about the weather, but we can promise you’ll find wonderful local fresh foods at the 61st Street Farmers Market every week.
This week’s highlights:
• Our vegetable growers will be back in full force – Genesis Growers, Tempel Farms Organics, and Growing Power.
• Genesis Growers is back with delicious cantaloupe.
• Ellis Family Farms has apples! The early varieties will include Pristine (green) and Early Macs (red and green).
• Have you tried Mick Klug Farm's blackberries? You don’t want to miss those.
Chef Demo at 10:30am: Join Chef Courtney Nzeribe of Coco Cooks to learn how to make Bread & Butter Pickles and homemade Giardiniera, along with more preserving tips.
Market School from 10am to 1pm: Master Gardener and Composter Ella Russell will demonstrate how to make compost and share resources to support green
Gardening.
See you at the Market!
Who needs the Air & Water Show when you can experience the fruit & vegetable show at the 61st Street Farmers Market! Word from the farm is that the season is about two weeks ahead of schedule. So, in addition to the wonderful peaches, plums, nectarines and apricots at the Market, we already have apples, and pears are not too far away.
Please join us at the Experimental Station this Friday evening, August 20, 5-8pm for "Storyline Transport: Shadow and Light Festival," a public art initiative that utilizes converted automobiles to create a mobile festival with hands-on shadow puppet making, lantern making, a shadow puppet performance stage, and a film screening featuring local and international artists. The evening sounds interesting and fun for adults and children alike, and is free and open to the public.
The recent recall of 380 million eggs from one Iowa farm has led folks at the FDA to talk about how this kind of outbreak could be prevented—by increasing regulations and inspections, and putting into place other preventive measures. One needn't be a libertarian to say that the solution to such problems does not lie in more regulation, but in a change in the way chickens are raised and eggs produced.
On the last Wednesday of August, the world's biggest tomato festival (La Tomatina) takes place at the Plaza Del Pueblo in the small town of Buñol in eastern Spain. The highlight of the festival is the tomato fight with thousands of people flocking to the little Valencian town for this chaotic event. Even though we don’t encourage food fights at the Market, we do encourage you to join us on Saturday (9am to 2pm) to pick up some of the best tomatoes the Midwest has to offer.
• Tempel Farms Organics and Growing Power will have a colorful and delicious variety of tomatoes – Heirloom, Green Zebra, Garden Peach, Grape, Cherry…
• This is the first week for Pears! Ellis Family Farms and Mick Klug Farms will have the season’s first pears for sale, along with a wonderful selection of early season apples.
• Peach Smoothies: Nothing is better than a Peach Smoothie on a sunny Saturday. Stop by B’Gabs Goodies for a smoothie made with Market fresh fruit.
• Chef Demo: At 10:30am, join Iccha Devi Ra (The Reluctant Vegetarian) and learn recipes that will help you “master the market.”
• Market School: From 10am to 1pm, Chicago Botanic Garden will be the guest educator, promoting the enjoyment, understanding and conservation of plants and the natural world.
See you at the Market!
