This Saturday: Shakespeare at the Rockport Farmers Market!

Fall is HERE! Pick up your PUMPKINS & more at the RFM!

At Saturday's Rockport Farmers Market:
Seaview Farms has their own meat, corn & PUMPKINS! First Light Farm and Vintage Greens offers a bounty of produce and flowers. 'Cuz It's Good and Knead Dough Bakery offer delicious baked goods, Heath's Tea Room will have scones and brewed tea. That Nutty Redhead features an array of steamed nuts. Sasquatch Smokehouse has their own line of smoked mussels and fish, Abbott Honey and Sullivan's Sugarhouse offer honey and maple syrup, respectively. This week's market also offers Twin Lights tonic AND fresh coffee and doughnuts from Brothers' Brew. The home growers section of the farmers' market is packed with all sorts of good things: lots of fresh produce, flowers and jams! Bonus: To get a a sense of all the great stuff going on around here with food, don't miss this article from food writer Heather Atwood on Rockport's local food scene.

Cape Ann Shakespeare Troupe at the RFM!
This talented group of local actors will feature music and excerpts from their upcoming show Shakespeare and his Women at Saturday's market. The Cape Ann Shakespeare Troupe is one of our region's cultural gems and we are happy to have them offer a glimpse of Shakespeare...and his women at this week's Rockport Farmers Market. Don't miss it!

Rockport Farmers Market TOTES, T-SHIRTS and POSTERS are here!
Some very cool Rockport Farmers Market merchandise is coming your way, all of it offering a great way to spread the word about the market and support the RFM! Stop by the RFM booth at Saturday's market to see what's new and in stock.

Parking
The Rockport Farmers Market, with the permission of the Rockport Police Dept., has four spaces available on High Street for short-term farmers' market parking every Saturday from 9am to 1pm. If you're in a hurry and need some produce, you can park right next to the market for a few minutes while you dash through the market! 

Support Local Food
A Rockport Farmers Market vendor (as well as Rockport resident) Lisa Griffiths of That Nutty Redhead, has launched a Kickstarter campaign to help grow her business. Consider supporting local food and local industry and check out Lisa's exciting campaign! Check it out HERE.

Participate in Harvestfest!
Opportunities abound to showcase your cooking, agricultural and/or creative skill at Harvestfest. Enter a pie, your best jam or jelly, or make a scarecrow. Click the links below to join the fun!

Upcoming Events

• September 27th: Talented members of the Cape Ann Shakespeare Troupe will offer a glimpse into their upcoming production, Shakespeare and his Women. Come to the Rockport Farmers Market for a little culture along with your produce!
• October 4th: the final Rockport Farmers Market of the regular season
• October 18th: Rockport Harvestfest: a celebration of local food & drink, including craft-brewed beer and local wine, as well as a packed out Farmers Market, Scarecrow Stroll & more.

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 Week at the Rockport Farmers Market: the August 24th Edition

West River Creamery natural rind cheeses. Photo courtesy of West River Creamery

Big week at tomorrow's market! We'll have music courtesy of Eric Wilson and friends, playing a mix of bluegrass and Americana, which should put a spring in your step while you're shopping for delicious goods. And we have a cheesemaker coming from Vermont, offering natural-rind cheeses made from her family's herd of Jersey and Holstein cows. Below is a list of the cheeses produced by West River Creamery (for more information, check out their website HERE):

MIDDLETOWN TOMME:  A brushed natural rind cheese.  This is incredibly smooth, melts in your mouth. Savory, complex with grassy undertones. 

THREE MOUNTAIN CHEESE: A washed rind cheese. Semi-soft, bold and smooth, velvety, finishing with a salty tang.

GLEBE MOUNTAIN SWISS:  Natural rind baby Swiss. Texture is smooth; flavor is buttery and explodes with a nutty tang.

CAMBRIDGE RESERVE: A traditional clothbound version of our English style farmhouse Cheddar.

LONDONDERRY RESERVE: A traditional clothbound version of our English style farmhouse Cheshire.

EQUINOX:  An oil rubbed, firm cheese. Flavor is savory with herbal undertones.

FULL CIRCLE: A goat milk tomme style cheese. Natural rind, smooth and gentle to the palate. 

AND THERE'S MORE! At tomorrow's market you'll have a chance to check out great produce, great bread, delicious pickles and savory jams and marmalades, award-winning pesto, fresh pico de gallo, maple syrup, smoked fish, grass-fed beef and more! The vendors are listed below: 

Seaview Farm

Prides Osteria

Sullivan's Sugarhouse

Ma's Tomato Marmalade

First Light Farms

Rockport Festivals Market booth w/ Brothers' Brew coffee & Twin Lights soda

Sea Biscuit Bakery

Elizabeth Rooney

West River Creamery

Vermont Gourmet Candy Dish

West River Creamery natural rind cheeses. Photo courtesy of West River Creamery

At This Week's Farmers' Market: the July 13th Edition

Look for the usual delicious focaccia, pesto, pickles, tomato marmalade, grass fed beef, beautiful produce and much, much more. We're happy that Wally's Blackburn Bistro will join us again, in case you missed owner Paul Franklin's homemade hummus, guacamole and salsa last week. Our newest vendor is Batter Up Bakery, creator of small batch cookies that are beautiful to look at and even better to eat.

This week's vendors
Seaview Farm
Prides Osteria
Sullivan's Sugarhouse
Ma's Tomato Marmalade
First Light Farms
Home Grower's Wheelbarrow
Rockport Festivals Market booth with bread from Brothers' Brew
Batter Up Bakery
produce from Apple Street Farm
Sea Biscuit Bakery
Wally's Blackburn Bistro
Marvin Roberts

Ma's Tomato Marmalade with the Motif in the background. Nice! photo by Mary Z.

At This Week's Farmers Market: Mary White

Week Two of the summer Rockport Farmers Market offers a great lineup. Between the Garden Talk series, the music and the vendors, it is a can't-miss market. And remember: rain or shine, the market goes on...the second most dependable thing in Rockport, next to the meter maid! ;)

The Garden Talk aspect of the market will take place at 11 a.m. next to the Rockport Festivals Market Booth (look for the Farmers Market banner). This week master gardener Mary White will be featured. She is one of Rockport's own, and can be found all over town (when she is not working at our beloved Toad Hall Bookstore), engaged in organic gardening.

Mary has been an organic garden professional for the last 12 years, so her experience is extensive. Farmers' Market attendees who are lucky enough to catch her this coming Saturday will enjoy an interesting discussion on the ins and outs of organic gardening, with topics ranging from making your own compost to learning  tips for successfully growing tomatoes.

The Garden Talk series is informal, interactive and fun, providing a great opportunity to learn from people who have been growing food and flowers for a long time. For more on how to contact Mary White about her business, White Gardens of Rockport, click HERE.

See you Saturday at the Farmers Market!