So we find ourselves here at the end of another Bridgeport Farmers Market summer season. By now you know, if you’re a regular reader of this page, that it was the seventh as well as the biggest and best season yet of the BFM. I won’t bore you with all the details except to say we’ll need a new chart to track the sales next season. Our old chart blew a gasket about halfway thru the season!

 

In what has now become an annual autumnal rite of passage I present the Top Ten Market Happenings of Season Seven. Here goes:

 

10)    The expansion of the Market’s board of directors. With the addition of new   members Heidi Nawrocki and Chef Jay Mahoney the board now numbers eight.

 

9)       We’re #1! In West Virginia at least, according to America’s Farmland Trust.

 

8)      The Market’s non-profit tent continued to host worthwhile organizations such as the Meadowview CEOS, two different Boy Scout troops, Stars and Strides, and the USDA.

 

7)      The expansion of the Market’s vendor offering throughout the course of the season. See last week’s Let’s Get Fresh to read about ten of those new vendors.

 

6)      This Picture of Quinn Edgell

 

5)      The weekly Chef’s Demos were a huge hit again this season. Kudos to the following chefs for their huge contribution to the educational efforts of the Market: M.K. Ohlinger, Emily Smith-Zimmerman of WV 00Bagel, Jay Mahoney of Pierpont Culinary Academy, Mike Costello of Lost Creek Farm, Pamela Delaude and Tim Goots of Mia Margherita, Don Vilain and Joe White of the Bridgeport Conference Center, Mark Tasker of Table 9, Donnie Orr of Iron Horse, Bear Ullman of CJ Maggie’s, Geoff Krauss of Thyme Bistro, George Tanios of Lebanese Bistro, Mike Roberts of Tin 202, and Tim Urbanic of Café Cimino.

 

4)      Some folks’ main reason for visiting the Market each week is to hear some of WV’s best musicians. This year the Market again featured a stellar line-up including these ladies and gents: Rus Reppert, Greg Gregory, Skip and Cindi Mason, Annie Neeley and David Kirkpatrick, Wayne Wood, Matt Eakle, James Archer, Levi Sanders, The Grey Agents, Kristen Federer, Madison Douglas, Simone Baron, Seth Maynard, Ancien, Silas Powell and the Powell Family Band, and Isaac Farmer.

 

3)      The September 27 Doggie Day at the Market. The Greater Clarksburg Kennel Club set up shop in the field adjacent to the Market and let the dogs take charge. In addition to a Meet the Breeds event, the club’s volunteers did a great job getting the word out about responsible pet ownership.

 

2)      The 5^th Annual BFM Country Roads Cook-Off. While it has been displaced as the #1 Market happening for the first time this year, the day of the Cook-Off, August 2, was still the biggest Market day of the season. Congratulations to both our Grand Champion, Brenda Liston of Bridgeport, and our People’s Choice award winner, Saleem Qureshi.

 

1)      Without question the #1 Happening of the 2015 BFM Summer Season was the addition of the POP Club to the Market.

 

As has been mentioned on this page many times over the summer POP stands for “Power of Produce” and is the Market’s children’s outreach program. Over 320 kids filled out POP Passports during the course of the season. Each week the kids could visit the POP tent to get their Passport stamped and receive two POP tokens good for $2 at any of the Market’s produce vendors.

 

The POP Club also hosted lots of cool kid’s activities that were all geared around making healthy eating fun. Major props go out to Athena Freedlander whose vision and hard work got the whole thing up and running. The Market also wants to thank Brenda Burnette, who is a grad student in the public health department at WVU, for volunteering to man the POP Tent with Athena all season.

 

Finally, the POP Club wouldn’t have happened without the financial and logistical support of the following: Kent Spellman and his team at the WV Community Development Hub, the Try This WV organization, Touchstone Data Systems, Dr Jennifer Momen, and Meg Shaver Yoga.

 

Here’s to achieving even more milestones during the Winter Market which starts November 8 inside the Bridgeport Conference Center. The Winter Market will then take place the second Sunday of each month thru April, 11am to 2pm.

 

Even though today is the last Market of the season there are still lots of cool things going on. Be there at noon for the Chef’s Demo presented by Chef Jay Mahoney and some of his students from Pierpont Culinary Academy. Jay will be going Big Easy style today by preparing beignets and coffee. Of course the coffee will be provided by our friends at Quantum Bean Coffee.

 

And we close out the season on a high note under the Music Tent with That Smoothie Guy himself, Rus Reppert, hanging up the NutriBullet and strapping the guitar back on. Rus is fresh from an opening gig for well-known roots-reggae band Rasta Rafiki so he should be jahmin, Mon.

 

Thanks to all our customers, vendors, and volunteers for another great season! Also thanks to the sponsors of our Music Tent, Deep Roots Productions and Ryan Management Group, as well as the sponsor of our Chef’s Demos, Halstead Insurance Agency.

 

Special thanks to Julie Perine, Hannah Cantrell, Jeff Toquinto, and Michelle Duez at Connect-Bridgeport and the Greater Bridgeport Convention and Visitor’s Bureau for all they do to promote the Market.

 

And a big BFM shout-out goes to Sam Boggess and his crew at Charles Pointe who helps out with setup and tear-down every week. And, finally, thanks are due to our gracious hosts: Jamie Corton, Scott Duarte, and all the staff at the Bridgeport Conference Center and Genesis Partners for their constant support.

 

Before signing off I want to remind you that there are still tickets available for the annual Harvest Feast Community Dinner in support of the Market. The Dinner takes place Thursday, October 22, at the Bridgeport Conference Center and starts at 6pm. In addition to a fabulous meal featuring foods from the Market’s vendors there will be a craft beer sampling from some of WV’s best brewers. For tickets or more info, including a menu, shoot us an e-mail at the address below or just stop by the Market info tent today.

 

Until next season, Stay Fresh!

 

The Bridgeport Farmers Market Association is the eight 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 and follow us on both Twitter and Instagram. You can also check out the Market’s own YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/BridgeportFarmersMktor for more BFM video content you can now go to http://vimeo.com/bridgeportfarmersmarket/videos

Go here to see all of the entries in the Let’s Get Fresh blog: http://tinyurl.com/kdv4mhl