Week of August 31 & September 3

Welcome back IUP students, faculty and staff!  The market is still in full swing, and we are excited to have the bustle of a new school year beginning.  If you haven't been to the market in a while, now is the time to make a visit.  We have lots of new vendors this year, and this weekend will also feature a full lineup of special tents, including a chef demonstrations.  Come see what is new!

Last week, the Indiana Free Library once again shared stories and games with kids of all ages.  We also learned about hunger in our community and ways to help with the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Indiana, PA.  One of their current initiatives is the Power Pack Program, which provides food to local children who are at risk of hunger.

This week, we are looking forward to lots of activity!  The Women's Club of IUP kicks off the new school year in our Community Tent, selling some of their very own community cookbooks.  Our Artisan Tent will feature one-of-a-kind items (such as skirts, dresses, and ponchos) created from Terrible Towels by Jackie Montgomery.  Kids and music combine this week with the Music Together! program.  Finally, we welcome back Josh Truitt of The Coventry Inn for another chef demonstration.  He will be cooking up some of your favorite market produce and handing out samples.  His zucchini salad, grilled green beans, and meatballs were a big hit earlier this summer, so be sure to check it out!

Our featured vendor this week is Mother Earth Farm.  Chloe began as a volunteer with the market and is now in her second year as a farmer and vendor!

We are open during Fair week at our regular times and locations - including Wednesday afternoon on Wayne Avenue across from the KCAC (in the same lot as Fair parking).

You can also visit us at our Fair booth in the exhibition building across from the grandstand every evening this week!

Music Together is an internationally recognized music and movement program for children birth through age five - and the grownups who love them.  Our local Music Together program is run in partnership with the IUP Community Music School.

Save the Date!!

Health and Wellness Day is Saturday, September 17! 

All of our special tents and activities will be focused on healthy living, including chef demonstrations with Nick Karas of Nap's Cucina Mia.

Follow our Facebook event for details and updates!

See you at the market!

Week of August 24 & 27

It's back to school time!!  What better way to send your kids off to learn and play than with a full belly of fresh, nutritious fruits and veggies?  Bring the whole family to the market to pick up your favorite foods, try something new, and enjoy family-friendly activities.

Last week, we enjoyed great conversations with the Center for Community Growth and amazing cooking demonstrations and samples with Portia Diaz of Portia's Bistro.  She used market produce to prepare lamb and beet hash, radish salsa, and a coconut corn porridge and shared coffee and donuts courtesy of Donut Connection!

This week, we welcome the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Indiana, PA to our Communtiy Tent where they will share information about hunger awareness, and the Indiana Free Library will once again occupy the Kids' Tent.

This week, we also shine on the spotlight on a long-time vendor at the market, Peterson Produce.  The Petersons have been farming for about 40 years and sell a wide variety of produce, specializing in greens, potatoes, and beans.  Learn more about them here.

We will be open fair week, regular times and places.

Looking for a new way to use your summer favorites?  This recipe for Sauteed Summer Squash and Tomatoes mixes lots of fresh veggies you can find at the market with a hint of mint for even more refreshing flavor.

First Unitarian Universalist Church is a religious community grounded in love, support and acceptance committed to such goals as inspiring and nourishing the personal spiritual journey and promoting compassionate and responsible thought and action in the world.

The Indiana Free Library offers programs for children of all ages throughout the year, providing a fun environment to teach early literacy skills through books, songs, hand rhymes, and crafts.

See you at the market!

Week of August 17 & 20

Hello!  I, your friendly blogger and newsletter-sender, have been away on vacation, so this week's edition will be short and sweet.

The main idea - come to the market this Saturday!  We have the freshest, most delicious, LOCAL produce around - including tomatoes, peppers, melons, cucumbers, zucchini, and your other summer favorites along with baked goods, meats, eggs, flowers, handmade beauty products and more!

Last week we welcomed LOLA's Early Care and Education Center to the Kids' Tent for face painting, and Tyler Gaston joined us once again in the Artisan Tent with his beautiful woodworking.

This week, we are excited to have a chef demo with Portia of Portia's Bistro.  She will be grilling up lots of tasty market produce and focusing on a variety of marinades.  Our Community Tent will be occupied by the Center for Community Growth.

The Center for Community Growth engages people of diverse philosophies, faiths, and backgrounds to work together to form a more equitable and sustainable community.

See you at the market!

Week of August 10 & 13

I can hardly believe it, but this week week marks the halfway point of our farmers' market season!  There is still lots of fresh produce, baked goods, honey, meats, cooking demonstrations, kids' activities, and more to look forward to, so be sure to take advantage of the time we have left!

Last week, the Wednesday market was an exciting one, as we welcomed chefs from IRMC who provided delicious samples of grilled balsamic zucchini, grilled tomatoes with pesto, and grilled buffalo cauliflower with blue cheese.  Yum!

The Saturday market was a calm one this week, but the weather was beautiful, and we have lots of special tent activities scheduled for this week!

Special Tents
Artisan Tent:  Tyler Gaston - Hand-crafted wooden goods for the home
Community Tent:  TriYoga of Indiana
Kids' Tent:  LOLAs Early Care and Education Center

TriYoga® is a flowing style of yoga that connects movement, breath, and focus.  With rhythmic pacing, relaxation-in-action, spinal movements and economy of motion, TriYoga® creates strength, flexibility, and inner calm.

LOLAs Early Care and Education Center's mission is to provide affordable child care with the highest quality care and education while supporting members of the local community through opportunity in quality employment.

See you at the market!

Week of August 3 & 6

Thank you to all who supported Customer Appreciation Day!  We had a surprisingly good turnout considering that it rained ALL morning long, and vendors and shoppers alike had smiles on their faces!  Huge thanks to our vendors who participated with samples, promotions and donations toward the event, those in our special tents who added so much to the atmosphere of the market, and (of course) our amazing, loyal customers - we wouldn't be here without you!

We enjoyed lots of activity Saturday including sauerkraut demonstrations and workshops, music from Dan Stonerook, beautiful art by woodworker Tyler Gaston, kids' activities with the Indiana Free Library, and cooking demonstrations and delicious samples by Josh Truitt of The Conventry Inn - zucchini salad, grilled green beans with peppers, and pork meatballs with kale pesto, just to name a few of the tasty, market-fresh dishes he prepared!

We also had the pleasure of drawing four winners to receive gift baskets of market goodies that included lots lots of fresh fruits and veggies, flowers, jam, coffee, meats, sweet corn, beauty products, and a great big cookie!  Congratulations to Rebecca, Colleen, Pao Ying, and Donna!

Wednesday was a great market, as well.  The IRMC mobile unit was on site providing free blood pressure screenings, and we saw our first peaches of the season - they only last for a little while, so get 'em while you can!

This week, we take a little breather after such a big week, and so can you - check out the Kids' Tent Saturday morning for yoga with Ed Stancombe of  Sunflower Yoga - open to "kids" of all ages.  Just some of the many benefits of yoga for children include improved self-esteem, concentration, and physical fitness...and it's fun, too!

We also highlight one of our returning vendors - Eight Maples Farm.  They specialize in tomatoes, green peppers, and several delicious varieties of watermelon, along with beautiful potted plant arrangements.  Stop in and say hello!

If you missed it, be sure to check out the amazing article about us in last week's Shopper's Guide!

See you at the market!