Each Week Brings New Items to the Market

Shopping for fresh-picked local berries at the farmer's market.

The market is now in full swing as the farmers will continue to add new harvested items to their repertoire of local produce.  Now that strawberry season is ending blueberries have started to arrive.  The season for these two favorites is very fleeting so stop by the market to ensure that you won't miss out.

 

Sue George from Harvard Sweet Boutique.

Harvard Sweet Boutique has just joined the market as a full-time vendor.  Check out their delish sweets and treats made from scratch.  This coming Saturday Sue will be bringing her all-natural lemonade made with fresh strawberries.  It's predicted to be hot so try this new drink offering that will have you chillin'.  Other beverages like hot and iced coffee can be found at The Cupcakerie tent along with free cold water cooled by solar power at the BELD tent.

This coming Saturday, June 30th, Braintree's Fourth of July parade will start on Washington Street  at 11:45 a.m. and pass by the market about noon.  Please arrive at the market early to ensure that you will not get caught in parade traffic.

Strawberry Festival this Saturday June 23rd 2012

It's strawberry season locally so be sure to get to the market early so you won't miss out on these sweet & juicy jewels of the market. Purchase strawberries direct from a local grower and support small farms.  This Saturday, June 23rd, the market will host a Strawberry Festival that was so popular last year we now have it included in our schedule of events for every season.

Sweet & juicy native strawberries picked fresh on the farm.

The events tent, sponsored by BELD, will be up and there will be tables and our new chairs provided for our visitors to sit and enjoy freshly made strawberry shortcake with real whipped cream created by the folks at Ever So Humble Pie Company with strawberries from C.N. Smith Farm.  The Farmer's Garden will have an entire tent filled with their strawberries fresh picked and ready to take home.  Music provided by Ramshackle.

Cully arriving on our Opening Day in 2009.

 

 

This year's festival is dedicated to the memory of Carlton N. (Cully) Smith from C.N. Smith Farm.  Cully was the inspiration behind the Strawberry Festival and he was a tried and true leader at the farm.  He unexpectedly passed away this past winter.  Stop by the C.N. Smith tent to see the Local Hero Award that was given to the farm in recognition of Cully's community service.  We miss you Cully!

Try out our new Braintree Farmers Market Moolah.  Enjoy the convenience of shopping with our own market currency which you can purchase with a credit card or EBT/SNAP card at the Market Manager Tent.  Market Moolah tokens can be used to purchase goods at the market without having to use cash.

Market Opens this Saturday June 16th

Opening Day at the Braintree Farmers Market

The Braintree Farmers Market hosted by Sustainable Braintree opens this Saturday, June 16th, from 9 to 1 and operates every Saturday through October with an indoor Thanksgiving Market on Nov. 17th.  The market is located at the Braintree Town Hall Mall, One JFK Memorial Dr., Braintree, MA.  Due to renovations on the Historic Library Building the market may be shifting around the parking lot, rest assured, we'll always be at this convenient location throughout the season.  We've been waiting for this day since the season ended last year in November.  Look for your favorite farmers and vendors and enjoy even more variety with an array of new vendors.  This season there will be even more of an influx of Visiting Vendors to entice you to the market with a variety of new local food products.  Join us on our experimental adventure as we make an effort to provide the best in local produce and artisan food products that are are made in micro-batches, many times, by the person you make your purchase from.  Many large corporate food companies try to make you think your getting these types of offerings by copying our format and wording but you should know-the Braintree Farmers Market is the real deal.

This season the market is offering a new service called Braintree Farmers Market Moolah.  Enjoy the convenience of shopping with our own market currency which you can purchase with a credit card or EBT/SNAP card at the Market Manager Tent.  Market Moolah tokens can be used to purchase goods at the market without having to use cash.  This program was spearheaded by Jonathan Stidham who is one of our volunteers that invested his time and efforts to make shopping at the market more convenient and provide healthy food choices for all income levels.  Thank you Jonathan.  This program has also encouraged the market to hire its first employees to process payments.  On Opening Day say hello to Lauren Crook who'll be more than happy to sell you market tokens and tell you how much she loves the farmers market.  Lauren grew up in Braintree and is now raising her own family here and we're thrilled to have her on board.  Angela Cavanaugh will also be joining us in this position.  Angela has been a dedicated volunteer since we first started dreaming about the market in 2008.

It's strawberry season locally so be sure to get to the market early so you won't miss out on these sweet & juicy jewels of the market. Purchase strawberries direct from a local grower and support small farms.  On June 23rd the market will host a Strawberry Festival that was so popular last year we will now have it included on our schedule of events every season.  The events tent, sponsored by BELD, will be up and there will be tables and chairs provided for our visitors to sit and enjoy freshly made strawberry shortcake with real whipped cream created by the folks at Ever So Humble Pie Company with strawberries from C.N. Smith Farm.  This year's festival is dedicated to the memory of Carlton N. (Cully) Smith from C.N. Smith Farm.  Cully was the inspiration behind the Strawberry Festival and he was a tried and true leader at the farm.  Cully unexpectedly passed away on Dec. 31, 2011 from a heart attack while clearing land.  Stop by the C.N. Smith tent to see the Local Hero Award that was given to the farm in recognition of Cully's community service.

Pick up your complimentary summer issue of edible Boston Magazine at the Market Manager's Tent along with a Braintree Farmers Market card that lists our special market dates as a reminder of events you won't want to miss out on.  See you on Saturday.

Visiting Vendors at the Farmers Market

In addition to our tried and true vendors and farmers we'll be adding Visiting Vendors throughout the season to keep the market changing and evolving.  If there's a Visiting Vendor that you think would make a great permanent fit to the market please let us know at the Market Manager's Tent.. 

Buxton Hollow Farm will be visiting the market on Opening Day, June 16th, for one market day only.  For those of you who enjoy growing your own garden without the use of chemical fertilizers here's your chance to try their compost tea technology.  Create your own microherd of microbes, bacteria, nematodes and fungi with the Buxton Hollow Farm Compost Tea in conjunction with their Compost Tea Pot.  Serve up your plants the technology that encourages healthy soil which, in turn, creates the optimum environment for thriving plant growth. 

Harvard Sweet Boutique will also have a spot on Opening Day and will be joining us for the very first time as a Visiting Vendor.  This vendor was looking for markets earlier in the year and we scooped them up and are looking forward to tasting their gourmet baked goods that are made from scratch.   They offer over ten varieties of cookies, artisan brownies such as espresso, sea salt caramel, chili, raspberry, chocolate almond toffee and more.  Owner, Sue George, has also created an online boutique where you can purchase her products and send them out to all your friends and family who just can't make it to the market.