Weekends may be the time when most Metro Area summer day-trippers descend upon Woodstock with money burning holes in their pockets, but for locals, Wednesday afternoon is the time to be sure to make a stop downtown. Yes, the Woodstock Farm Festival is back for the season, in a new location and bigger than ever. Better yet, some of the popular traditional elements that were missing last year due to COVID-19 – sit-down dining, live music, hands-on activities for kids – are happening once again.
Founded in 2007, this artisan outdoor market was hosted for many years in the parking lot behind H. Houst & Son, the venerable hardware emporium situated at the point of harmonic convergence of Rock City Road, Mill Hill Road and Tinker Street – which is to say, right across from the Village Green. That site was “a little tight even in normal times,” says market manager Sophie Grant. But the pandemic of 2020 presented significant challenges, in part precisely because farmers’ markets were not among the business activities that were forced to close, “We were deemed an essential food access point,” Grant explains. “We had to open in a new location to accommodate COVID guidelines.”
With some help from town officials and business sponsors, the Woodstock Farm Festival found a place to spend the summer of 2020 in the parking lot at Colony at 22 Rock City Road, which is somewhat larger than Houst’s. “There were a lot of programs that we were not able to do,” says Grant. “But we were blessed with very cooperative shoppers, very cooperative vendors. They shared our commitment to keep the market open and keep it safe…It was a really positive experience overall.”
“We saw an uptick in attendance and shopping” last year, she notes. In fact, demand for fresh produce during the lockdown months was so brisk that the number of booths doubled over 2019. “With vendors ten feet apart, we able to expand – to invite more vendors and increase the product mix.” Comestibles such as bread, cheese and mushrooms reappeared at the market for the first time in several years.
While local residents in particular showed strong appreciation for the availability of the products on offer, the fun activities associated with the market were greatly missed. This summer, not only are state COVID guidelines becoming more relaxed, but the event is also moving across the street to the municipal parking lot tucked in between Rock City Road and Mountainview Avenue. The new site has some shade at the perimeter, and a gravel surface that won’t get so hot as the asphalt behind Colony.
Even with vendors still spaced further apart, there will be a partial return to normalcy this summer. Woodstockers and visitors alike can once again enjoy the chance to purchase their dinner from a food truck or a pop-up meal vendor and eat it at a picnic table while listening to a local band. Attendees are encouraged, but no longer required to wear masks and practice social distancing at this outdoor venue. “If you’re not vaxxed, the hope is that you do,” Grant advises.
The schedule of live music for the next two months has already been announced: Aziza & the Cure on June 2, Mac $ Cheese on June 9, Trio Mio on June 16, Fatima Von on June 23 and Peter Einhorn on June 30; in July, the Sabor Latin Jazz Band on the 7th, the Steven Michael Pague Ensemble on the 14th, Cajun Comfort on the 21st and Elly Wininger on the 28th.
Educational activities will also be featured once again; a program for kids on bees and pollinators on opening day was a big hit, according to Grant, and will be repeated at least once later this summer. Another exhibitor will be doing live woodworking demonstrations, turning a split log into wooden spoons that kids can take home.
As for the groceries on sale, the variety on offer from the 25+ booths is enticing. Besides the expected fresh organic produce and the aforementioned baked goods, mushrooms and cheeses, there are vendors who specialize in pickles and kimchee, free-range meats, tempeh, maple syrup, seafood, hot sauces, cut flowers, medicinal plants, CBD remedies, locally roasted coffee, nut milks, soap, cider, mead, wine and spirits. “Local food and local growers are still our number-one focus,” says Grant.
Your humble correspondent, whose Lithuanian grandmother died without passing on the cherished family recipe for a traditional herbal honey-based liqueur called viryta among immigrants to the US and krupnikas in the Old Country, is already making a mental note to visit the Woodstock Farm Festival the next time Kas Krupnikas pays a visit. You can check out the many other intriguing products that will be available over the coming months, and find out which ones are calling your name, on the website at www.woodstockfarmfestival.org, or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/woodstockfarmfestival. Market hours are 3 to 7 p.m., every Wednesday through October 13.
Join the family! 
