The Saugerties Farmers’ Market opens this Saturday, May 28. Vendors will be selling fruits and vegetables, prepared food, cheeses, meat and crafts, according to Judith Spektor, a market board member and one of the founders of the market. The fifteenth year of the market will open at 10 a.m. with a ribbon-cutting by local officials in the parking lot across from the Cahill Elementary School. The market will be open every Saturday through October 29.
Activities in addition to the regular market will include a chef ’s demonstration, live music and a kids’ crafts table with Anita Barbour. The opening day the market will also offer face painting with Maggie Green, balloons and a photo stand, said Spektor. The market will be sponsored by Town and Country Liquors.
Master gardeners from Cooperative Extension will be on hand to answer gardening questions. The chef demonstration will be by Roni Shapiro, who sells meals to be delivered to customers from her shop, Healthy Gourmet to Go, on Market Street just off Main. She also provides meals to eat in or to go on Mondays and Tuesdays from noon to 6 p.m.
The market manager this year will be Ayla Rector, who was co manager with Kevin Dumont last year. Dumont will still be working with the market, providing a wide variety of sea food for Pura Vida Fisheries of Hampton’s Bay, Long Island.
Mariepaule Rossier will return for opening day with her angora rabbit, whose fur she spins while holding the rabbit on her lap. Her husband, Arturo Ceballos, makes rabbit fur and wool sculptures.
Steve Massardo, the former host of John Street Jam, is organizing music for this year’s market, with performers every weekend. The opening-day music will be by The Acquaintances, an upbeat blues band.
There are a number of new vendors this year. Bishop Farm offers meat, poultry and eggs. Using locally produced ingredients, Lisa Alt of East Village Farm makes waffles with a variety of toppings. Susan Perla of Just Good Eats will offer homemade ice cream, floats, sodas made with her own syrup, hot cider and hot chocolate. Bluestone Tavern will run a food truck offering lunch foods, Spektor said. The market provides tables and chairs for comfortable eating.
Participating farmers offer more than just food. Hannah Beal’s Flyaway Farm in Red Hook promises a variety of vegetables at low prices, as well as wreaths and holiday decorations.
Greene Earth Farms in Palenville, run by Diane Carlson, offers a variety of vegetables, berries and herbs. Her husband, Skip Carlson, is a wood carver. The farm’s displays and output increase each season.
Many of the vendors are offering products such as bread, cakes, jams and jellies. Chocolates, ice cream, sauerkraut, maple products are on sale.
Violet’s Bakery, recently relocated from New York City, offers pies, pastries, bars and cookies. Baker Bruce Coyle of Sunporch Baked Goods offers gluten-free brownies, carrot cakes, cookies, sweet breads and seasonal pies. Tess Beatrice of Sow Good Bakery also offers gluten-free and ordinary macaroons, cupcakes, brownies, truffles and other treats. A mainstay of the market over many years is Our Daily Bread, with a variety of grains and types of bread, as well as cookies, biscotti, bagels, baguettes and rolls. “Some people come to the market every week just for the bread,” Spektor said.
Grey Mouse Farm offers jams, jellies, spreads, mustard and pickles. Heather Ridge Farm, in addition to its variety of meats, offers chili, pate, pesto, honey, beeswax, soap and lambskin.
Then there are the specialties, such as pickles and olives from Pickle Man in Hunter, homemade soaps from Shanti Suds, and even a massage provided by Sakinah Irizarry.
More than 40 vendors, some of which are at the market weekly, are participating this year.
Spektor said she was particularly excited about the NOEP program (Nutrition, Outreach, Education Program), which will offer information and advice on programs that are available to provide good nutrition for low-income patrons. Many who would qualify for such programs as food stamps are not receiving them because they may not know how to apply or not realize they are eligible. Jaclyn Moore, an educator with NOEP, will staff the information table.
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