On Sunday, June 10, “The Ellenville Farmers' Market on Market” will kick off its first season of weekly markets every Sunday in downtown Ellenville. Members of its organizing committee and the Village's mayor expect that hundreds of visitors will eagerly flock to outdoor stalls to pick up fresh produce and dairy products from some of the largest farms and vendors found throughout the Rondout Valley.

Beginning at 10 a.m. and running until 2 p.m. the Farmers' Market will be located at the corner of Market and Center Streets a block from the heavily traveled intersection of Routes 209 and 52. Scheduled to be open rain or shine every Sunday through the end of October, the market will feature locally produced fruits and vegetables, eggs, cheeses, herbs, honey, flowers, meats and wines as well as numerous concessionaires selling locally produced crafts, products and ethnic cuisine. The majority of farms are located in Ulster County. Confirmed farms and vendors currently participating include Saunderskill Farms, Stone Ridge Orchard, Blue Marble Farm, Burd Farm, Rusty Plough Farm, the Farm and Granary, Whitecliff Winery, Peters Market, Mia Bella Soy Candles and Soaps, Oak Ridge Originals, All-Natural Pet Treats, Kiss My Face, Lock 31, Aroma Thyme Bistro, Katherine's Corner and Scoresby BBQ. Community organizations will set up tables, local entertainers will perform and seating areas will be available.

“It really is turning out to be an ideal location for a new farmers' market,” said Michael Siegel, an Ellenville attorney and a member of the market's organizing committee. Co-owner of Farm and Granary and a member of the Rondout Valley Growers Association, he is on the steering committee of the “Ulster Tomorrow Consortium,” which has as one of its goals to strengthen and maintain economic viability of agriculture in the area.

For hundreds of years, farmers' markets have been a traditional way of selling agricultural and home-manufactured products with a weekly market day a part of normal life in villages and town squares throughout the world.

“The vision for the Ellenville Farmers Market,” said Jeffrey Kaplan, Village of Ellenville mayor, “is to create a permanent downtown facility similar to what people find in many towns and villages in France and other European countries where there are street markets as well as covered marketplaces where farmers and purveyors sell to the public.” According to Kaplan, the “Farmers Market on Market” will be another integral component of Ellenville's revitalization program working in tandem with the continuing Arts in Ellenville events and Shadowland Theatre's twenty-third summer season to stimulate an increase in shopping downtown and attract more seasonal visitors to the village.”

In a message to his congregants and for sharing with other Village clergy's parishioners, The Rev. Canon Jeffrey Golliher, rector of St. John's Episcopal Church in Ellenville and the program associate for the Environment and Sustainable Development for the office of the Anglican Communion Observer at the United Nations, wrote, “The Village of Ellenville is pleased to announce the opening of a new farmers' market. This will be a time for our community to support local farmers, businesses and crafters, get together with friends and neighbors and participate in the renewal of our downtown. The market will have local vendors with a variety of healthy, seasonal fruits, vegetables, meats, breads, homemade pies and more. Churchgoers on Sundays will be able to attend worship services, celebrate God's abundant gifts and support our community - all on the same day.”

COMMENTS about this article (1)