Falling In

Last week's Market fell on an early autumn-perfect Saturday. It was chilly in the morning and quite warm by noon and a lot of people came, as you can see. They bought food, they bought flowers, they bought arts & crafts, they visited with their friends, they participated in the Sprouts workshop, they hung out with the community organizations, and they generally enjoyed themselves. It's what people do at the Market every weekend during the season, and we're glad they do.


The season is winding down, a little. Summer produce is on its way out; much of it is done already (peaches coming to mind, here). That's OK. It makes way for fall produce - the squashes and root vegetables that bring so much color to Market tables... and our tables. The flowers now offered are hardier and able to stand up to cooler temperatures. There are pumpkins alongside the melons. It really is a terrific time of year at the Market.


We talked about local produce and its benefits with ciLiving yesterday. ciLiving is a new show on WCIA that's on from 4-5 PM with all local content. Click here for the video. It was great - the feature before our segment was all about Market vendor Prairie Fruits Farm, and the segment after ours featured Market vendor The Cravetruck.


Community groups this weekend: Look for the Eastern Illinois Foodbank, AWARE, Illinois Club, Champaign County Democrats, U of I Physics (with cool stuff!), Habitat for Humanity, Illinois Doberman Rescue Plus, ASPCA, and others will be in the community organizations area on the western side of the Market, right between our two main entrances. Please go give them your support.


Special activity this week: Art at the Market, the Urbana Public Arts Program's free, monthly hands-on workshops for people of all ages, will be happening this weekend with local artist Lori Caterini teaching everyone how to make "Eco Shrinky Dinks" from #6 plastic. If you have a stash of #6 plastic lying around (U-Cycle can't accept it for recycling, so you just might!), bring it with you! The workshop is continuous and goes from 8 AM - noon.


Hope to see you there this weekend - rain or shine.