Hello, again, loyal Market followers. I trust everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend and enjoyed the debut of our new guest blogger, Heidi Nawrocki. Great job, Heidi! I think I mentioned in the opening that Heidi would provide a different take on all things BFM and she sure didn’t disappoint.

 

Before getting in to today’s Market happenings I am happy to report that our opening day, May 18, was the biggest opening day in the history of the Market. Wait, that’s not quite accurate. It was quite possibly the biggest SINGLE DAY in the history of the Market! The crowds and sales numbers were way above average for even the busiest July and August days of past years. I am afraid to think what July and August will be like this season. Better get there early if you want the good stuff, folks!

 

Speaking of the good stuff going fast, the strawberries you see in today’s cover photo were locally-grown by vendor Mountain Hollow Farm. If you wanted to purchase them on opening day you would have had to join me early that morning and lent a hand for setup. These particular little scarlet nuggets of goodness were sold-out by 10:10am. You see, one of the fringe benefits of this gig is being able to be first in line!

 

This season the Market is pleased to be hosting a new video production company which will be producing five videos about the Market thru the course of the 2014 season. Mountain Craft WV Productions is from Fairmont and features the talents of one Ben Berry. Ben is new to WV and originally hails from Missouri by way of Alabama. Ben has over six years of experience in video production and earned a degree in digital cinematography from Full Sail University in Florida. Ben is also an excellent photographer and you will see some of his work here as the season progresses. Click HERE to see Ben’s debut video for the Market. You can see more of his work here: http://cargocollective.com/mountaincraft

 

Under the Chef’s Demo tent this week we are featuring a wonderful new addition to the area dining scene. Vintage Restaurant and Wine Bar is located in Elkins, WV, across the street from the Randolph County Courthouse. Chef James DeCarlo will be on hand to work his magic on a Fresh Fire demo which means he will show up, shop the market, then decide what dish to demo. The demo will start at noon and is located next to the music tent. Oh, and did I mention that there will be free samples available? See www.facebook.com/vintage.elkinswv for more info.

 

We had a very interesting new vendor at the Market last week. Milkweed Rising is a new business from Morgantown that specializes in oasis gardens. Oasis gardens are designed to attract specific types of critters to your backyard, in this case bees and butterflies. As you have probably read bee populations have been on a severe, steady decline for the past several years due to a condition called Colony Collapse Disorder. Why does this matter? Well, simply put, without bees we would lose a large part of our food supply as bees pollinate $15 billion worth of crops annually in the US alone. Butterflies are prolific pollinators as well and Monarch butterflies in particular have been hard hit with population declines nearing 90 percent. Milkweed Rising will be back at the Market today so be sure to stop by and learn how you can help turn these trends around. Our health and well-being may very well depend on it. Not only are the oasis gardens serving a critical function but they’re beautiful as well.

 

Debuting at the Market this week is the Good Hope Berry Farm. While generally a you-pick-em style farm the good folks from Good Hope will be loading up some fresh picked strawberries and making the foray into Bridgeport this morning in order to keep you from ruining your precious manicure! I’ll say it one more time: Better get there early if you want strawberries.

 

My brunch recommendations for today are the Reuben from Chef Dale Hawkins of Fish Hawk Acres and the Blackened Gardner Farms Chicken over Penne Pasta with a Roasted Red Pepper Sauce from Chef Robert of the Bridgeport Conference Center. And to take home for a midnight snack or just for something completely different try Chef Dale’s famous Ramparoni Rolls. And both Chef Dale and Chef Robert will have plenty of salad choices available if you’re looking for something a bit more on the lighter side.

 

Until next week, Stay Fresh!

 

The Bridgeport Farmers Market Association is the seven member all volunteer board of directors that governs the Bridgeport Farmers Market. It is supported by a wonderful group of community volunteers who help in the setup and maintenance of the market. For more information on the Farmers Market or to see how you can help please e-mail us at bridgeportfarmersmarket@yahoo.comor, better yet, LIKE us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. You can also check out the Market’s own YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/BridgeportFarmersMkt