The rhododendrons and irises are gloriously blooming, as the greens on the hills are becoming more vibrant by the minute. Must be time for the Shelburne Falls Farmers’ Market season to begin!

Yes, we’re back, opening as usual on Memorial Day weekend (this Friday, May 26th), at our usual 2:00 – 6:30 time, and at our usual spot on the Green (at the intersection of Main Street & Water Street). Many of last year’s vendors will be back with us on Friday, including:

• Barberic Farm
• Davenport Maple Farm
• Freeman Farm
• Good Bunch Farm
• Margaret Olin — Healing Therapies
• Native Shade Nancy’s Backyard
• Tiny Bouquet Co
• The Western Mass Master Gardeners Association

And joining us for the first time this season:

• EarthCraft Botanicals / Thistle Hill Soap 
• Livingstone Mycology

For more information on the vendors who’ll be with us this year, please visit our vendor page. (And the list keeps getting longer!)

This year we’ll have musicians joining us every week, starting with our first Market! Thank you to Bruce Colegrove for opening our Market season! He’ll be with us from 3:00 – 6:00, playing thoughtful originals and popular covers. His sets include folk, rock and some blues.

Thank you, and we look forward to seeing you on Friday!

It’s Children’s Day!

Friday July 23rd will be “Children’s Day” at the Shelburne Falls Farmers Market, from 2:00 – 6:30! Come for an interesting and fun-filled afternoon! Here are some of the special activities and visiting artists.

• All afternoon, Arms Library is hosting their second Family Story Walk! Come join the Arms Library in this outdoor, at-your-own pace Story Walk for children and families. It’s a great way to read and be outside! Laminated pages of a favorite children’s story will be placed on stakes in a path on the grass. You can follow the entire story at your leisure during the afternoon. Thank you, Laurie!

• This week, there’ll be 2 music sets! First, from 2:00 – 3:00, the children in the summer Musica Franklin program will be drumming, singing, and playing violins. (Musica Franklin offers a free intensive music program where students learn social and academic skills while experiencing the joy of making music together.)

• “Mr. Dave” and FJ (one of his daughters) will be with us from 3:30 – 6:00. FJ is a talented young singer who plays all kinds of music from all over! And Mr. Dave is a local kids’ performer and family-friendly entertainer who uses traditional and original children’s music to encourage movement, interaction and play for kids and their families. He’s always ready to toss in a family-friendly song or two that ranges from the 1930’s to today!

• For special treats, try Maple-sugar coated nuts and hermit bars (Davenport Maple Farm) plus root beer (Barberic Farm).

• And all afternoon (2:00 – 6:30), there’s a fun scavenger hunt: a great way to meet the vendors and explore the Market!

Children of all ages are welcome, but should be accompanied by an adult.

The vendors who will be with us this week include:

• Art Bug Illustrations
• Barberic Farm
• Davenport Maple Farm
• Forestopia
• Freeman Farm
• George Sweeney — Bladesmith
• Good Bunch Farm
• Joy Farm
• Margaret Olin — Healing Therapies
• The People’s Gold

For more information on our vendors, please see check out this page on our website.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

While the weather today won’t be quite as spectacular as it’s been over the past 2 days, it’ll be cool-ish and dry: still a perfect day for the Market!

Thank you to everyone who came last week on our first monthly Special Day since 2019: Summer Solstice Celebration! (Our fluffy Market Managers, Marky & Shelby were back with us for the day, too!) If you missed it and didn’t get a chance to pick up your free package of sunflower seeds, let us know: we still have some left. Planting a little something that brings sunshine for the rest of the season seems like a good way to celebrate!

And if you missed our ad in yesterday’s Recorder, here it is (thanks, Barbara!):

For more information on the vendors in the ad who are with us this week, please check out this Vendor Page of our website.  And thank you in advance Steve for coming to play your wonderful fiddle tunes at the Market today!

Also, Arms Library will be with us today for their first Families’ Story Walk! Come join the Arms Library in this outdoor, at-your-own pace Story Walk for children and families. It’s a great way to read and be outside! Laminated pages of a favorite children’s story will be placed on stakes in a path on the grass. You can follow the entire story at your leisure during the afternoon. The Story Walk, with a different children’s story each time, will be held June 25th. July 23rd, and August 27th. Thank you, Laurie!

We’re looking forward to seeing you this afternoon!

The rhododendrons and irises are gloriously blooming, as the greens on the hills are becoming more vibrant by the minute. Must be time for the Shelburne Falls Farmers’ Market season to begin!

Yes, we’re back, opening as usual on Memorial Day weekend (this Friday, May 28th), at our usual 2:00 – 6:30 time, and at our usual spot on the Green (at the intersection of Main Street & Water Street). Many of last year’s vendors will be back with us on Friday, including:

• Barberic Farm
• Davenport Maple Farm
• Freeman Farm
• Good Bunch Farm
• Margaret Olin — Healing Therapies
• Native Shade Nancy’s Backyard

And joining us for the first time this season:

• Colrain and Snow Shop
• Forestopia

(For more information on the vendors who’ll be with us this year, please visit our vendor page. (And the list keeps getting longer!)

This year, we’re able to have musicians join us, starting with our first Market! Thank you to Kevin Jones for opening our Market season! He’ll be with us from 3:00 – 6:00, and his live guitar & voice performances (with digital accompaniments) are mainstream jazz-standards, swing, blues Latin, and more.

On our opening day, some things will be the same as last year, but with the changing situation around the COVID-19 pandemic, some things will be different, too. We’ve been guided by all CDC, Mass DPH, and local BOH requirements and recommendations, and have been adopting policies and procedures with the goal of keeping our customers, vendors, and community healthy.

Here are the procedures that we need to ask customers and visitors to the Market to follow on May 28th:

-If you are sick, please stay home, and if you start to feel sick at the market, please go home.
-Everyone is required to wear a face covering (except for children under 2 and folks who, because of a medical condition, cannot).
-People are to practice social distancing by staying 6 feet apart as much as possible.
-Customers will not be allowed to handle merchandise. The vendor will show you their goods, collect your order, bag it if appropriate, and place it on a table for you to take.
-Payment will be done using as little contact as possible. Vendors will be set up to minimize the touching of card readers, money, pens, etc. as much as possible.
-Washing &/or sanitizing between customers will be done as necessary.
-No eating nor drinking will be allowed within the Market space.

These are quite a few differences, and it’s a lot to remember. We’ll have volunteers with us to help (Thank you, volunteers!!), and our signs and colorful market-markings should help, too!

We’ll keep you updated as things change and restrictions are gradually lifted.

So, while for now, we may not be able to move as freely through the Market or chat & socialize as long as we’d like, we ask everyone to be patient as we navigate this changing territory together. Yes, the Market may feel a little different right now and not look quite like it does in the photo, but we’re so thankful to be able to open again, and for all the support we’ve gotten from the community! Yay for this wonderful touch of “normalcy” on Friday afternoons!

Thank you, and we look forward to seeing you on Friday!

Every year, the Shelburne Falls Farmers’ Market hosts a special Autumn Market event.  Again this year, the Market is being held on the weekend before Thanksgiving: Saturday, November 21st from 11:00am-2:00pm. But this year, it’s outdoors at our usual summer-season spot: the Green at the intersection of Main Street & Water Street.

The 10th Annual Autumn Market will feature items from local farms, eateries, artisans, and churches. Items offered for sale will include: fresh produce, local frozen meats, fresh baked items, jams, jellies, marmalade, pickles, popcorn, wool products, plants, bodywork, maple products, soaps, leather work, local crafts, and a tea cup auction of local products. There will also be live music all afternoon: Kevin Jones (11:00 – 12:30) and Bruce Colegrove (12:30 – 2:00).

Come catch up with friends and neighbors, tap your toes to good music, and get your holiday fixings! Parking and admission are free.

Vendors at the Autumn Market include:

• Art Bug Illustrations
• Barberic Farm
• Bladesmith
• Ca Le Art Studio
• Davenport Maple Farm
• Freeman Farm
• Good Bunch Farm
• Hiro’s Houseplants
• Little Hen Studio
• Margaret Olin — Healing Therapies
• Mary Lyon Church
• M&G Kettle Korn
• Momma’s Homemade
• River Valley Christian Church
• The Atherton Farm
• The Woman’s Fellowship of The First Congregation Church of Shelburne
• Wilder Hill Gardens

The forecast calls for a beautiful mostly sunny day, with temperatures in the 50s! We look forward to seeing you soon!

* For more information about our vendors and about the Autumn Market in general, please check out our page at: https://shelburnefallsfarmersmarket.org/the-2020-autumn-market/

* For information on the COVID-19 health-related guidelines that we all follow at the market, please see this link to the 2020 Operating Procedures PDF file on our website.

* The Shelburne Falls Farmers’ Market is able to accept SNAP for all eligible products at the Market. Also, Good Bunch Farm is able to process HIP benefits.

Today (Friday, October 30th) will be our last outdoor Market for the regular season, and thank you all for stopping by, shopping, chatting, and supporting the Market this year from Memorial day through Halloween!

This isn’t the first time we’ve had a snowy start to our season’s last Market: on that day back in 2016, there was a film of wet snow still on the Green — enough for Marky to make a very large snowball!

Be sure to come by for all the wonderful things offered by our vendors. Today, here are some of the vendors who’ll be with us:

• Barberic Farm
• Davenport Maple Farm
• Freeman Farm
• Good Bunch Farm
• Hiro’s Houseplants:
• Margaret Olin — Healing Therapies
• George Sweeney—Bladesmith
• Little Hen Studio

Our musician this week was to be Bruce Colegrove (a singer/songwriter and accomplished acoustic guitarist, playing thoughtful originals and popular covers) who also joined us earlier this season. He planned to be with us from 3:00 – 6:00, but due to the cold temperatures he had to cancel. We look forward to having him back with us next season!

While the 30th is our last outdoor Market, stay tuned for more information about our annual Autumn Farmers’ Market! It’s usually been indoors at BSE (Buckland Shelburne Elementary School) on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, but this year, due to the pandemic, it will be outdoors instead. We’ll be setting up where we have our usual summer Market: at 53 Main Street (on the Green at the intersection of Main Street and Water Street). It’s scheduled for 11:00 – 2:00 on Saturday, 21 November with a rain date of Sunday, the 22nd. The Autumn Market 2020 page of our website will be live this weekend, then will be updated regularly as more and more vendors sign up to come. It will be a great time to visit with friends, listen to great music, stock up for your Thanksgiving dinner, and get a head start on some holiday shopping!

So, we’ll be on the Green from 2:00 – 6:00 today, and look forward to seeing you soon! And thank you again for your support of the Market this season!!

Come on over on Friday July 3rd, and get fixings for your picnic or barbecue!

There’ll be plenty of different kinds of meats, ingredients for yummy glazes and sauces, veggies for salads and roasts, pies, maple goodies, and even root beer! Then add to the ambiance with a healthy, happy houseplant!

Vendors who will be with us on July 3rd include:

• Barberic Farm
• Davenport Maple Farm
• Freeman Farm
• Good Bunch Farm
• Hiro’s Houseplants
• Margaret Olin — Healing Therapies
• (Momma’s Homemade will be back next week.)

For more information on our vendors, please take a look at this page on our website.

Asma’s Kitchen isn’t on the list this week, but they haven’t gone far. Now they have a beautifully decorated food truck on Bridge Street, in the lot across from Arms Library!

They’ll be open most days of the week there, so be sure to stop by for their absolutely delicious Egyptian food. Their opening day is tomorrow (July 3rd) at 9AM, and we wish them all the best! And we thank them veryvery much for being part of our “Market family” last season and this!

We’ll be on the Green tomorrow from 2:00 – 6:30 as usual, and we look forward to seeing you then!

We hope that you’re in the midst of a good June, and that you and your families have all stayed healthy!

It looks like we’re in for yet another beautiful day at the Market. For the past few weeks, Friday afternoons have been a tad hot & humid, but with the breeze off the river, it’s been quite comfortable here. And today, with the humidity down, it’ll be even nicer!

Here’s the list of vendors who will be with us this week:

• Asma’s Kitchen
• Barberic Farm
• Davenport Maple Farm
• Freeman Farm
• Good Bunch Farm
• Hiro’s Houseplants
• Margaret Olin — Healing Therapies
• Momma’s Homemade

For more information about each vendor, please check out the vendor page on our website.

We’re still needing to follow all of the health and safety guidelines that have been in place since our first Market, and if you’d like a reminder, please visit this page on our website.

Thank you again for your support of the Market, and we look forward to seeing you this afternoon!

How did it get to be June so fast? Although it won’t be official until the 21st, it looks like we’ll be treated to a fine, summery day tomorrow, Friday, the 5th. Remember: a forecast of a 50% chance of rain, also means there’s a 50% chance of fluffy clouds or even sunny skies!

If you’re wondering what’s happening at the Market, you can always catch our ad in Thursday’s Recorder. Here’s the ad from Page A-7 in today’s paper.

Just in case the JPG file doesn’t appear clearly in your email, the vendors who will be with us this week include:

• Asma’s Kitchen
• Barberic Farm
• Davenport Maple Farm
• Freeman Farm
• Good Bunch Farm
• Hiro’s Houseplants
• Margaret Olin — Healing Therapies
• Momma’s Homemade

We’re still needing to follow all of the same health and safety guidelines that have been in place since our first Market, and if you’d like a reminder, please visit this page on our website.

Thank you for your support of the Market, and we look forward to seeing you on the 5th!

Thank you to everyone who came last week (or even just thought about coming!) to our first Market last Friday! Who could have asked for better spring weather, when we had such balmy air and crystal-blue skies? But it was all the smiles — impossible to hide, even behind everyone’s masks — that made it the brightest.

Yes, the layout was a little different, with the “boulevard”, more space between the tents, and the new addition of foot-powered running water for hand-washing (thanks, Dan!) . . . and it all takes a little getting used to. And just as we get used to it, it’ll change, hopefully back to the open spot — for gathering & catching up with neighbors, for shopping, and for relaxing by the musician’s tent — that we’ve all enjoyed so much over the years. In the meantime, we really appreciate everyone’s patience, and how careful everyone is being to abide by the regulations that we all need to follow during this time.

Also, we want to thank the Shelburne Emergency COVID-19 Task Force volunteers who were with us last week to help folks navigate the new setup and provide information: Nancy and Ken at the info-table by the exit, and Deb, who helped folks near the entrance. We really appreciate their support!

The weather forecast may be hinting at showers in the afternoon, but we’ll still be on the Green for our second Market tomorrow (Friday, the 29th). Regulations haven’t changed yet, so the setup will be the same as it was last week. (If we end up needing umbrellas, maybe they’d be good reminders of “social distancing”: wouldn’t 2-umbrella-widths be approximately 6 feet??)

The vendors who will be with us this week include:

• Asma’s Kitchen
• Barberic Farm
• Davenport Maple Farm
• Freeman Farm
• Hiro’s Greenhouse
• Margaret Olin — Healing Therapies
• Momma’s Homemade
• (and Good Bunch Farm will be back next week!)

We’re looking forward to seeing you on Friday afternoon!