HarvestFest Schedule of Events!

Click the HarvestFest poster for a Schedule of Events

Start Your Labor Day Weekend at the Rockport Farmers Market!

Tomorrow is shaping up to be one of the most exciting Farmers' Markets yet as we kick off the three-day weekend with delicious fresh food.

The amazing natural rind cheese is back at the Market this week, coming to us from a family farm in Vermont. The beautiful, organic produce from First Light Farm will be at the Market as well, along with a host of other delicious goods. Alexander, who makes Ma's Tomato Marmalade, has a fresh batch all jarred up and ready to sell, with fresh organic tomatoes that came off the vine just this week... AND we have music coming your way, with the sounds of Chris "Squantch" Sears and band, coming to the Market around 11 a.m...

Bounty from First Light Farm

 Check out the vendors below, and remember, the Rockport Farmers' Market goes on rain or shine, so don't let a foggy New England morning keep you from getting your fresh, local food!

Wally's Blackburn Bistro (guacamole, pico de gallo, hummus)
Seaview Farm (grass-fed beef, produce, eggs & honey)
Prides Osteria (handmade pasta, pesto & focaccia)
Ma's Tomato Marmalade (pickles & savory jams)
Brothers' Brew (doughnuts, nisu & coffee)
First Light Farms (tons of fresh in-season produce)
Home Grower's Wheelbarrow (herbs & more)
Rockport Festivals Market booth
Batter Up Bakery (small batch cookies and gluten-free granola)
Sea Biscuit Bakery (anadama bread, cookies & granola)
West River Creamery (natural rind cheeses, maple syrup)

Ma's Tomato Marmalade with the Motif in the background! photo: Mary Z

This Weekend at Rockport Music!

greetings - this weekend Rockport Music has an embarassment of riches - two exciting prorgrams to chase away the mid winter blues.

 

On Saturday, February 23,  starting at 2:00, Rockport Music's second in-depth adult education event will take place at the Shalin Liu Performance Center. Built around the evening concert by the Jasper String Quartet, the afternoon and early evening offers lectures on the cuture, times and music of Beethoven and Haydn, and a look at how players' approach 20th and 21st century music. Also offered will be tips for listeners when the going gets rough with contemporary music. The Jasper Quartet will treat participants to an open rehearsal, and as always food and wine will play their part in making the day memorable.  Flyer is attached with information about the day. The Jasper Quartet is, in my opinion, the Real Deal, and I am excited to hear them again.

 

On Sunday, February 24, two young (16 year old) energetic musicians will give a concert of piano and cello music, including music by Beethoven, Debussy, and their own compositions. In earler days it was the norm for performers to also be composers, and these two teenagers are successfully reviving that tradition. Both are national contest winners on their instrument (cellist Lev Mamuya just won the Sphinx Competition on Sunday at the same moment that pianist Chris Staknys was performing Tchaikovsky at NEC) as well as commissioned composers. It doesn't get much better than this!

 

I hope you will join us for these two events, which underline  Rockport Music's commitment to a culture of learning and fostering emerging artists.

 

Tickets for the Jasper Quartet concert and One Day University are available at the box office. The Sunday concert is free, no tickets required.

 

Chef Frank McClelland at HarvestFest!

photo courtesy of www.lespalier.com

Don't miss the chance to watch a world-class chef in action as Chef McClelland of L'Espalier and Apple Street Farm is featured in a HarvestFest cooking demonstration at 1:00 pm under the big tent on T-Wharf. For more on Chef McClelland, read this excerpt from his bio, below:

“…food is best when it’s in its purest form. My job is to enhance that natural flavor to allow the essence of the food to sing.” -Frank McClelland

Chef Frank McClelland’s L’Espalier has been a perennial “best” of America’s restaurants for three decades, earning top accolades from Zagat, Forbes, Food & Wine, Bon Appétit, Frommer’s, Wine Spectator and Condé Nast Traveler as well as nods in international media. L’Espalier is New England’s most decorated independent restaurant with twelve consecutive AAA Five Diamond Awards (the only one in Boston) and twelve consecutive Forbes (Mobil) Four-Star awards. He speaks and judges across the country at events like Taste of Vail, Foxwoods Food & Wine Festival and the Chefs Collaborative National Summit.

At the heart of Chef McClelland’s menus of New England flavors with French interpretation is Apple Street Farm, his organic farm in Essex, Massachusetts that is the primary source of heirloom produce and proteins for L’Espalier and his trio of casual Sel de la Terre bistros. The James Beard chef and cookbook author (Wine Mondays) views his life as a farmer-restaurateur as being on-trend. By living this life from his youth, he was early to the farm-to-table or “locavore” dining philosophy.
Chef McClelland's love of “field to fork” cooking began while growing up on his grandparents' farm in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. By the age of 25, he had been a chef in two of the most respected Boston kitchens: The Harvest in Cambridge and L'Espalier. In 1984, he became Executive Chef at The Country Inn at Princeton in Western Massachusetts where he established himself as a culinary talent who made time to know local farmers. At The Country Inn he earned a four-star rating from The Boston Globe as well as being named one of the country's top 25 new chefs by Food & Wine.

Chef McClelland nurtured his love of fresh, regional ingredients and applied his European techniques to create his own signature modern French-influenced cuisine, brought his knives back to L’Espalier, purchased the restaurant outright and never looked back.

Chef Frank McClelland is a New England cooking institution, known for developing the Northeast’s next generation of exciting culinary talent. His restaurants include StarChefs “Rising Stars,” and chefs are sought out by network TV chef shows and industry competitions. Many of Boston’s best-known restaurants are populated with alumni who were mentored under his tutelage.

Art Now Rockport's ANNUAL ART EVENT is here!

Go to www.artnowrockport.com for information about this event: a little food, music and art will be a part of the evening. Here's a thought: check out the art openings in Lanesville and come to the Art Exchange in downtown Rockport for a perfect Saturday night.

Don't Miss the Festival's Literary Event: Words Before Dinner

Hot Chocolate and Shopping and Music - Oh My!

Come downtown tonight between 4pm and 8pm to have some hot chocolate, listen to Alek Razdan & the A-Train Orchestra (an awesome band that will warm you up and no time) and enjoy the holiday festivities at shops & galleries in Rockport.  Over 30 businesses are participating with special in-store events and promotions.  The Rockport Festivals Hot Chocolate Stand will be located next to The Old Firehouse Trust in Dock Square, where the band is playing their brand of bring-the-house-down jazz.

See you downtown tonight!

Hot Chocolate in Dock Square!

After a little post-HarvestFest break, Rockport Festivals is back in the game, setting up a hot chocolate stand in Dock Square on Sunday, November 28th, from 12 noon to 4 p.m.  This is not only a chance to raise funds for festival expenses, it's a chance to see Rockporters and visitors as they do a little holiday shopping. 

Come down to Dock Square to say hi, grab some hot chocolate and check out all the shops decked out in their finery.  Look for the Rockport Festivals hot chocolate stand right next to the giant evergreen.  You can't miss it. 

See you there!

Join us at the Economic Forum on April 7th!

An exciting evening for Rockport business owners, arts organizations and community members is planned for April 7th, presented by the Rockport Economic Development Committee. For more information, e-mail Peter Beacham, Economic Development Committee chairman.

Hot Chocolate Stand in Dock Square!

Join us in downtown Rockport this Saturday from 11 - 4 pm and warm up with some hot chocolate before heading out to do some shopping! Hayrides will also be available thanks to Seaview Farm in Rockport on Saturday from 12 - 2 pm.

Coming to downtown Rockport - whether you live as close as South Street or as far as Boston - to check out all the unique shops and galleries is a nice anecdote to the craziness of big box stores and malls. Rockport shopping provides a one-of-a-kind experience - and with beautiful scenery as an added bonus!

Happy Thanksgiving! See you downtown this weekend!