Vendors, Music & Activities for June 24

Posted on by E-G Market

It wasn’t until we were writing today’s market blog post that we realized last week’s market blog post mistakenly claimed to be this week’s market blog post. In other words, June 17 got mislabeled as June 24. No one called us on it at the time, but it must have left a few folks scratching their heads.

All that’s been fixed now, however, and we’re back on the right week. So let’s see what’s in store for June 24. The real June 24.

Our musicians on this Friday afternoon are Jones & Jones from right here in Emerson-Garfield. They play “classic rock (softly), classic pop, a little folk, and a little blues.” These (unrelated) guys come highly recommended from some insiders at Spokane Public Radio, so we’re looking forward to hearing them play.

For our activity, Al Steuart and Ryan Herring of the Spokane Master Composters/Recyclers will be doing a compost tea demonstration. What’s compost tea? Some gardeners swear by it, saying it’s like rocket fuel for your plants. But it takes skilled preparation, and the master composters can show you how.

Plus the Spokane Water Wagon will be at the market today! They should have some information about rain water collection systems, water conservation, as well as identifying and repairing leaks. They always have free swag, too, like wildflower seeds, water bottles and hose timers.

Today’s free KERNEL kids exercise is a jump roping activity. Experienced jump ropers will get to show off their skills, while beginners will have a chance to learn some new ones. Once they’ve completed the activity, every participant gets $2 in KERNEL Cash to spend on fresh fruit and veggies.

The cherries are fat and ripe, apricots are in season, and the green leafy vegetables (kale, spinach) have pretty much reached their local peak. We should soon be seeing some colorful early harvests.

All the vendors scheduled to join us today—including a couple new faces—are:

Produce

  • Song Sparrow Farms: Fresh, locally grown produce, including melons. Also does a CSA.
  • The Farm Yard: Neighborhood-grown fruits and vegetables. Some craft items.
  • Drumheller Heritage Gardens: Neighborhood-grown produce, eggs (quail, chicken). Also info on EF Exchange.
  • R.P. Guerrero: Organic tree fruit from the Wenatchee area.
  • Vladimir Kuzmenko: A wide variety of co-op produce from across Washington State.
  • Riverfront Farm (Project Hope): Neighborhood-grown, scattered-site produce.
  • The Father’s Table: Neighborhood-grown produce.
  • Other vendors also sell homegrown produce alongside their primary goods.

Meat & Honey

Baked Goods

  • Made with Love: Start-up bakery with made-from-scratch fruit pies, artisan bread and more.
  • The Scone Ranger: Scones that are so good, so moist, so habit-forming.
  • Simply Sweets: Baklava, soft brittles, truffles, mints and seasonal products
  • Sandi’s Bakery: Fresh-baked pastries, cookies, scones, muffins, breads and cupcakes.
  • Morning Sun Bakery: Cinnamon rolls, pies, cookies, quiche, savory pies.
  • A Simplified Event: Homemade specialty pies, breads, cakes, cottage-style pasties.

Prepared

  • Mama Torrez Salsa: Original family salsa recipes from Mexico and flour tortilla chips
  • Delmar’s Roasted Nuts: German-style roasted nuts with a sprinkling of cinnamon and sugar.
  • Seely Teriyaki: BBQ teriyaki chicken, stir-fried noodles and rice.
  • Black Fire Kettle Corn: Fresh-made delectable kettle corn.
  • ButterFusion: All-natural flavored butters made here in Spokane.
  • Toast Toppers: Exceptional fruit spreads with no added sugar.

Non-food

  • Heeling Hands Massage Therapy: Licensed chair massage and whole-body wellness.
  • Soap Simply: Handcrafted olive oil soap.
  • Sailor Girl Soap & Supplies: Face, bath and body products handmade with natural and organic ingredients.
  • Mary Beauregard: Plastic canvas needlepoint.
  • KC Creations: Original photography, greeting cards, beaded earrings and other beaded items.
  • Urban Settlements: Spokane-based real-estate opportunities and guidance.
  • KiYoTees: Recycled jean bags and tie-dye attire.

Want to show your love on Facebook? Go here and tell the world you’re attending today’s market – and please invite your Facebook friends.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Vendors, Music & Activities for June 17

Posted on by E-G Market

If the dark skies made you nervous at the start of last week’s season opener, today’s weather should present no such concerns. We’re looking at sun with a few puffs of clouds and temps in the mid-70s – perfect market weather, in our opinion.

Today’s free KERNEL kids activity is called “My Plate, Investigate!” Participants will get to measure out colored beans representing different food groups to see what a nutritional meal should look like.

As always, every youth who takes part will get $2 in KERNEL Cash to spend on fruit and veg to create their own healthy meal.

We’ve also got a great composting demo organized and hosted by local Master Composters (yep, that’s a thing). They’ll show you how to compost properly to create super soil out of organic household food waste, water and yard clippings. There’s an art to making this homebrewed Miracle-Gro, and your backyard veggies will benefit from it.

And our musician this week is Mike Rose.

Here are all the vendors who are scheduled to join us today, including a few new ones:

Produce

  • Song Sparrow Farms: Fresh, locally grown produce, including melons. Also does a CSA.
  • The Farm Yard: Neighborhood-grown fruits and vegetables. Some craft items.
  • Drumheller Heritage Gardens: Neighborhood-grown produce, eggs (quail, chicken). Also info on EF Exchange.
  • R.P. Guerrero: Organic tree fruit from the Wenatchee area.
  • Vladimir Kuzmenko: A wide variety of co-op produce from across Washington State.
  • Riverfront Farm (Project Hope): Neighborhood-grown, scattered-site produce.
  • Other vendors also sell homegrown produce alongside their primary goods.

Meat & Honey

Baked Goods

Prepared

  • Mama Torrez Salsa: Original family salsa recipes from Mexico and flour tortilla chips
  • Delmar’s Roasted Nuts: German-style roasted nuts with a sprinkling of cinnamon and sugar.
  • Seely Teriyaki: BBQ teriyaki chicken, stir-fried noodles and rice.
  • Black Fire Kettle Corn: Fresh-made delectable kettle corn.

Non-food

  • Heeling Hands Massage Therapy: Licensed chair massage and whole-body wellness.
  • Soap Simply: Handcrafted olive oil soap.
  • Sailor Girl Soap & Supplies: Face, bath and body products handmade with natural and organic ingredients.
  • Mary Beauregard: Plastic canvas needlepoint.
  • KC Creations: Original photography, greeting cards, beaded earrings and other beaded items.
  • Urban Settlements: Spokane-based real-estate opportunities and guidance.
  • KiYoTees: Recycled jean bags and tie-dyes.
  • Boisjolie Bracelets: Barefoot sandals, a variety of bracelets, dog blankets and more.

And, all being well, Bulldawgs will set up their stand with signature sausages to eat on the go.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Vendors and Music for the 2016 Season Opener

Posted on by E-G Market

Well, some rain is falling as this post goes out, but it’s forecast to start trailing off late this morning, leaving the skies partly cloudy (or partly sunny, depending on your point of view) this afternoon for our 2016 season opener.

As this is such a big day for our market, we’re hoping that you greet the clouds as a welcome relief from Spokane’s recent record-breaking heat and join us in a new location with more vendors, more volunteers, more parking, more visibility, more sponsors, more activities and more community partnerships than we’ve ever had before.

Today’s Kids Eating Right – Nutrition and Exercise for Life (KERNEL) activity is companion planting. As part of the activity, kids will get a basil plant to take home. Plus, as always, every youth who participates gets $2 in KERNEL Cash to spend on fresh fruit or vegetables!

This year KERNEL will take place every week of the market under the shade of the metal pavilion at the new site (2310 N Monroe). Bring your family, friends, school classes and other K-6 groups and take advantage of this great free activity each week.

Our musician today is the amazing Todd Milne.

Todd plays electro-acoustic world fusion music using traditional instruments like the shakuhachi (a Japanese bamboo flute) enhanced by a splash of technology. You might have seen him perform at other area farmers markets, where his music makes a great accompaniment to a bit of shopping and socializing. Check out this video of him performing at the Spokane Buddhist Temple in the South Perry District.

At around 3:45pm, we’ll be recognizing the winners of our annual market poster contest, Brynn Hooper and Madison Whitmarsh. These two Garfield Elementary students drew the pictures that we selected to feature on our poster and our handbills. They’ll each get $15 in market tokens for spending.

Now let’s get to all the vendors who are scheduled to join us today:

  • Mama Torrez Salsa: Original family salsa recipes from Mexico and flour tortilla chips
  • Sandi’s Bakery: Fresh-baked pastries, cookies, scones, muffins, breads and cupcakes.
  • SnowBerry Ridge Farm: Raw honey and honey products (e.g., beeswax, lip balm, natural soaps).
  • Song Sparrow Farms: Fresh, locally grown produce, including melons. Also does a CSA.
  • Farm Yard: Neighborhood-grown fruits and vegetables. Some craft items.
  • Sister Bees Kitchen: Handmade, gourmet granola and granola bars.
  • Transitions New Leaf Bakery: Baked goods and fresh produce from their garden.
  • The Scone Ranger: Scones that are so good, so moist, so habit-forming.
  • Simply Sweets: Baklava, soft brittles, truffles, mints and seasonal products
  • Mary Beauregard: Plastic canvas needlepoint.
  • Woodard Family Farms: Locally grown produce.
  • A Simplified Event: Homemade specialty pies, breads, cakes, cottage-style pasties.
  • KC Creations: Original photography, greeting cards, beaded earrings and other beaded items.
  • Seely Teriyaki: BBQ teriyaki chicken, stir-fried noodles and rice.
  • Morning Sun Bakery: Cinnamon rolls, pies, cookies, quiche (warm & cold), savory pies (warm).
  • Urban Settlements: Spokane-based real-estate opportunities and guidance.
  • KiYoTees: Recycled jean bags and tie-dyes.
  • Riverfront Farm (Project Hope): Neighborhood-grown, scattered-site produce.
  • Mary’s Tupperware: Tupperware containers for storing vegetables and fruits.
  • CC’s Holistic Gifts & Toast Toppers: Exceptional fruit spreads with no added sugar. Plus aromatherapies and salves.
  • Made with Love: Start-up bakery with fruit pies, artisan bread and more.
  • Black Fire Kettle Corn: Fresh-made delectable kettle corn.
  • Drumheller Heritage Gardens: Neighborhood-grown produce, eggs (quail, chicken). Also info on EF Exchange.
  • R.P. Guerrero: Organic tree fruit from the Wenatchee area.
  • Vladimir Kuzmenko: A wide variety of co-op produce from across Washington State.
  • Sunny Springs Gardens: Berkshire pork sausages and ground pork, plus eggs.
  • Heeling Hands Massage Therapy: Licensed chair massage and whole-body wellness.
  • Soap Simply: Handcrafted olive oil soap.

Plus the Christ Kitchen food truck will be there for freshly prepared meals to take home or eat at the market.

Clouds or no clouds, it’s going to be a big day. We look forward to seeing you there!

Volunteers Needed for 2016 Season

Posted on by E-G Market

Our market is looking for committed volunteers for the 2016 season. This year the season will likely run from June 10 to September 30 (exact dates are still being finalized).

Specifically, we need people who are willing to help in the following areas:

  • Recruiting vendors before and during the market season
  • Liaising regularly with vendors throughout the season to ensure their needs are being met
  • Setting up and breaking down the market each Friday (takes place before 3pm and after 7pm)
  • Staffing the market booth to answer customer inquiries and swipe credit/debit/EBT cards in exchange for tokens
  • Organizing the annual school poster contest
  • Creating and distributing promotional materials (e.g., posters, flyers)
  • Maintaining the market’s social media (e.g., blog and Facebook)
  • Scheduling activities and musicians each week
  • Establishing partnerships with likeminded area nonprofits
  • Coordinating the market’s participation in FMNP and the WSFMA
  • Collecting vendor tokens, entering weekly tallies and requesting payment

You don’t necessarily need expertise in any of these areas! Our existing volunteers are happy to provide one-on-one mentoring.

We’re also open to working with organizations that are looking for internship placement opportunities. The market offers on-the-job experience in PR, marketing, entrepreneurship, management, budgeting, and lots more. It’s the perfect learn-by-doing environment to train young adults in these valuable job skills. And because our market is concerned with outreach, food access and community-building, it has the potential to be much more fulfilling than ordinary internships.

If you’re interested in any of these opportunities, please send us an e-mail.

As the Emerson-Garfield Farmers’ Market is a grassroots, community-oriented initiative, your involvement—even if it’s one market per month or one hour per week—is essential to making it happen.

Vendors and Activities for September 25

Posted on by E-G Market

Today’s free KERNEL kids activity is our last of the season. We’re sad to see it end. Well over 400 kids have taken part in these fun educational games and crafts since this pilot program started 11 weeks ago. This week kids will get the chance to make their own instrument — and perform as part of the KERNEL band! As a matter of fact, they’re going to be our musical entertainment this week.

Many thanks to all our program sponsors (Domaci Property Management, Orange Thyme, Garden UP, ThunderBolt Services, Perennial Property Maintenance) and Catholic Charities for making KERNEL a reality!

Harvest season might be winding down, too, but there’s still lots on offer. Seasonal squash of all types and pumpkins are out in full force. It’s also the start of apple season, and you can find some great early varieties at our fruit vendors’ booths. There are lots of potatoes and plums to be had as well.

Today’s market is smaller than usual (Mama Torrez Salsas, Petunia’s Marketplace and The Scone Ranger all had unanticipated conflicts), but Bellwether Brewing Co. is back with free samples for adults 21+ and growlers of their neighborhood-brewed craft beers. As you can imagine, their booth was awfully popular during Craftwalk last week.

Here are the vendors who are scheduled to be with us today:

  • Awesome Possum – Handmade all-natural lotion bars and lip balms
  • Bellwether Brewing Co. – Locally brewed craft beers
  • Common Crumb Bakery – A range of traditional breads and baked goods
  • Country Buddies – Jams, salsas and more
  • The Farm Yard – Neighborhood-grown veggies, herbs and more
  • Food for All (aka Vinegar Flats) – Locally grown veggies and herbs
  • KC Creations – Beaded lanyards, leashes, earrings, photos and custom cards
  • Mary Beauregard – Plastic canvas needlepoint
  • Morning Sun Bakery – Cinnamon rolls, muffins, cakes
  • Orange Thyme – Natural balms, soaps, perfume oils, body butters and more
  • Riverfront Farm – Locally grown vegetables from Project Hope Spokane
  • R.P. Guerrero Farms – Organic fruit (cherries, peaches, nectarines, apples)
  • Rufino Zisumbo – Chair massage
  • Simply Sweets – Confectionery including baklava and brittles
  • Song Sparrow Farms – Locally grown vegetables
  • Vladimir Kuzmenko – Fruits and vegetables from the Yakima area

We look forward to seeing you at market!