fresh food in the capital city

Saturday’s January 16th Winter Farmer Market:

Kimchee Making Demo Noon – 1pm

Learn from the experts about different ways to ferment food.  From small-scale, first-time beginners to larger-scale commercial operators making food in big batches, you’ll learn a process that fits your needs.   Staff will be on hand from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. to show the basic equipment needed, to teach the nutritional health benefits of fermented foods, and to hand out samples of different fermented vegetables from cabbage to peas.  We’ll also have recipes on hand to help you get started.  From 12:00 to 1:00 pm.,  see kimchee being made at the market.  Fermentation experts include Janice Lloyd, Winooski Valley Permaculture; Suzanna Jones, small-scale fermenter, Alan LePage, LePage Farm; and Lee Blackwell of Blackwell Roots Farm.

(See a sample of our other upcoming demos below.)

Musical Act: Dan Haley is Mr. Casual
Our music this week features Dan Haley is Mr Casual — a post-imperial pop duo from Central Vermont featuring the songs of guitarist/singer, Dan Haley.  He’s a veteran of NW rock band, Ed & The Boats, and has also played with Skip Battin and Pete Krebs as well as opened for Townes Van Zandt and The Pretenders.

Sit and relax and enjoy the music at our seating area, where the VT College stage used to be.  North Branch Nature Center will have hot drinks and bird-friendly coffee for sale to benefit its youth birding trip to Nicaragua. (chocolates too!)

And as always, plenty of local produce on hand as well as prepared foods to eat at the market including soups, pierogies, samosas, grilled cheese sandwiches, cookies and cakes and more.   You’ll also find local crafts featuring a range of products from wool and sheepskins to batik clothing.

Upcoming demos include:

February 6th: Felting 101 with the Herd of Northern Vermont llama owners

February 20th: Stretching your farmers market dollars – cooking healthy on a budget Cooking Demo, LACE

March 6: Simple meals – 5 market ingredients or less, Hunger Mountain Coop

March 20th: Sugar on snow with Le Page Farm and Sugar Ridge Farm

Hope to see you at the market!

Capital City Farmers Market Winter Dates

First and Third Saturdays December through April,  10:00 am to 2:00 pm

Vermont College of Fine Arts Gym, East State Street and College Ave,  Montpelier

• January  16
• February 6  &  20
• March 6  &  March 20
• April 3   &  April 17

• Yes, there IS a market on the first Saturday of January 2010 — January 2nd

This winter, while under a roof, with some heat! we’ll be featuring great local musicians every week.  This Saturday features the House Carpenters with Katie Trautz on fiddle, Dan Haley on Guitar and Mandolins, and Ted Ingham on banjo.  They are an Old-time Stringband who play fiddle tunes, ballads, and songs from the Southern Appalachian tradition, while also venturing into other American musical realms.

Enjoy hot drinks and lots of great food from all over the world while you enjoy the music.

Capital City Farmers Market Winter Dates

First and Third Saturdays December through April,  10:00 am to 2:00 pm

Vermont College of Fine Arts Gym, East State Street and College Ave,  Montpelier

• December 5 & 19
• January 2  &  16
• February 6  &  20
• March  &  March 20
• April 3   &  April 17

Our largest market of the year, the Thanksgiving Market is on Saturday November 21st at Montpelier High School from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.  This market is stocked with everything you need to create a holiday feast, and with plenty of treats and gifts for friends and family.  New this year, the Thanksgiving Farmers Market will also have FRESH TURKEY from Applecheek Farm and Tangletown Farm.  We are especially excited to be offering this holiday essential to our customers!

Buy some extra veggies to donate to the Montpelier Food Pantry.   Collection boxes will be at the exit doors of the high school gym.

The Thanksgiving Market kicks off our winter market season, which continues the first and third Saturday, December – April in the Vermont College Gym, at the corner of East State Street and College Street.  All year long, you will find fresh produce– such as salad mix, spinach, Asian greens, sprouts and kale.  The market also has a full range or storage crops and lots of fruit frozen fresh from the field over the summer (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, tomatoes, peppers). Many farmers will also be offering prepared foods such as pesto and soups made from their produce.

But that is not all, our indoor markets carry a variety of cheeses, natural and organic meats and poultry, fresh Red Hen Bakery breads and pastries, baked goods from Butterfly Bakery, prepared foods and fine crafts.  Every week there are new vendors!

We hope to see you at the winter market!

Did you know?

Montpelier has a Year-Round Farmers’ Market!

Outdoor Market continues every Saturday through October 31^st , State St.

Indoor Markets begin with our:

Thanksgiving Farmers Market  November 21^st, 10 – 2pm, Montpelier High School Gym, Bailey Ave.

Winter Farmers Markets Begins December 5, 10 – 2 p.m., (1^st & 3^rd Saturdays, Dec- April), Vermont College Gym, College St.

All of our markets offer locally grown FRESH Produce, Meats, Cheeses, Eggs, Breads & Baked Goods, Prepared Foods, Frozen & Canned Goods, Maple & Honey Products, Flowers, Fine Crafts, and MORE!

The last few weeks of summer-like weather have ripened long awaited crops. At this past market, red peppers, eggplants, melons, and heirloom tomatoes created beautiful displays at the produce stands. Not all customers at the farmers market are aware that Montpelier’s Farmers Market is what is called a “producer only” market. That means that the vendors you visit every week can only sell what they make or grow themselves. It is written in the rules of the farmers market organization that vendors CANNOT buy in products to resell at market or sell products for other people. The farmers and business owners who vend at the market are also required to attend at least 50% of the markets themselves, rather than just hiring staff to cover their farmers market stands.

Why have the vendors created these standards for themselves? The mission of the Capital City Farmers Market in Montpelier is to create a vibrant local agricultural community which provides high quality farm goods to customers. Part of building this community is developing relationships directly between the producer and the consumer. This relationship brings benefits to both parties– customers know their food and where it comes from, and the producers get direct feed back from their customers.

So when you visit the market, rest assured that what you are buying comes directly from the producer who is selling it to you, and straight from the heart of Vermont!