Thursday, September 10, 2009

Market at the Square, Week 20: Local Color





The Market - she's a rainbow!
Last week was fantastic. I'd like to thank everyone who came out to visit with Terra Brockman as she signed advance copies of her new book, The Seasons on Henry's Farm. It was a glorious day for her visit and it looked like she was making a bunch of new friends. If you're into food and sustainable ag, you'll love her book, especially because her excellent writing sets it apart from the many food/farm memoirs out there at present.
Speaking of sustainable ag, the good folks from Goldin Media will be out this weekend to film our Market and some of its vendors for a documentary they're producing about sustainable agriculture. They're interested in talking with patrons, too, so if you see some folks with a camera and want to talk about the Market - don't be shy!
Urbana's Public Arts Program returns to the Market this week with another installment of Art at the Market. The planned activity is, well, unplanned - we're looking at free-form art projects using watercolors, oil pastels, colored pencils and more, and the whole thing will be supervised by Urbana's Public Arts Coordinator, Anna Hochhalter. Anna will also have on display all the ceramic tiles that were made at the May Art at the Market event. Come! Make some art! View some art!
Fresh produce this week: apples, basil, beets, bok choy, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, chard, cilantro, cucumbers, edamame, eggplant, fresh herbs, garlic, green beans, green onions, kale, leeks, lettuce, melons, nectarines, okra, parsley, peaches, pears, peppers, pumpkins, raspberries, salad mix, spinach, sprouts, summer squash, sweet corn, tomatoes, turnips, zucchini and a few surprises, I'm sure...
It should also be noted that Stewart's Artisanal Breads will have a limited supply of challah w/golden raisins available at the Market this weekend and next. He's in the 4th row, for those of you who have not yet experienced his baked goods. Additionally, there are excellent cookies to be had at Staff of Life Bakery (Row 5), the best English muffins EVER at the Upper Crust (along Illinois Street at the south end of the Market), award-winning cinnamon rolls from Homestead Bakery (Row 2), yummy quick breads from Muffins & More (Row 3), extremely tempting croissants from Pekara (Illinois Street), and tasty scones from Great Harvest (Row 4).
The variety, as you can see, is staggering.
Next weekend: Soccer at the Square with Coach Janet Rayfield and her University of Illinois soccer team. The team will be working with people of all ages on simple soccer drills as well as giving away posters, a few t-shirts, and a signed soccer ball. Come show them your stuff, y'all.
See you out there!


2 comments:

Lisa said...

That book sounds wonderful; I'll have to request it from the library.

The market, she IS a rainbow! Mmm, and that challah is calling my name.

Jason said...

Lisa, et al.,

I bought the book, esp. since my daughter saw it and started flipping through and said we HAD to get it.

I've read the first few weeks, and it really is captivating. If you love food and learning what it takes to get it to you, I think you'll love this book. It provides information inside stories that capture you. Plus, there are recipes!