No one can accuse upstate weather of being boring; our farmers have certainly not been bored this week.  Imagine having your livelihood dependent on the cooperation of weather as temperamental as ours.  The farmers will have tales to tell this week of how they braved the elements to bring the most delicious mid-summer harvest of fruits and vegetables to the Brighton Farmers’ Market.  This week there will be tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet corn, and lots of beans — purple beans from Ann’s Purple Produce, and wax, green snap, french filet, red swan, rattle snake, and  dragon tongue beans from Organic Matters Farm, which will also have blackberries and possibly the first small watermelons.  K&S Bischoping Farm will have Garnet Beauty peaches, apricots, and raspberries.  There will also be plums, cherries, currants, and lots of blueberries — Kim of Tripleberry Farm reports that they are at their peak this week.  Chicory Blue Gardens will bring lots of long stem sunflowers and pretty zinnias, including white and giant wine zinnias.  Seaway Trail Honey has just harvested some pale, golden raw honey.  Honeyhill Farm is bringing certified organic cured keeper garlic and jumbo roaster garlic, sweet candy onions, golden beets, and fresh pasture-raised chicken.

Grant Cos and Babak Elahi are returning to the market music tent this Sunday.  Reema Singh of the Environmental Health Sciences Center at the U of R Medical Center will join us to help people learn how to conduct their own home health screenings.  The  Brighton Volunteer Ambulance and staff will return to do blood pressure tests and provide information about the wonderful service they provide the community.  Kids at the Good Grub Club will receive a summer squash card to add to their growing collection.

The Brighton Farmers’ Market is held Sundays, 9 am to 1 pm (rain or shine), in the Brighton High School parking lot, 1150 Winton Road South, Rochester.  The market is sponsored by the Town of Brighton.  Visit brightonfarmersmarket.org, or visit us on Facebook.

For those who don’t mark time by the calendar, it’s official:  summer is here — sweet corn and tomatoes are arriving at the Brighton Farmers’ Market.  There will also be plenty of peaches, plums, raspberries,  summer squash, garlic, beans, potatoes, carrots, broccoli, cucumbers, fresh onions, beets, radishes, and turnips.  Lagoner Farms will have white peaches and hard-to-find sour cherries for the best cherry pie.  Tripleberry Farm is bringing lots of big sweet pesticide-free blueberries.  Ann’s Purple Produce will have escarole and tender baby leeks.  Allen’s Hill farm is featuring its new French Apple Dressing and Marinade, and Meadow Creek will have water buffalo steaks along with its wonderful milk, yogurt, cheese, and butter.  Biscotti for Everybotti is offerings its new Cherry Vanilla Biscotti, made with local cherries.

We’re lucky to welcome local band Watkins & the Rapiers (http://www.rapiers.org/) to perform this week.  Brad Dingman of the Rochester City Chicken Club will bring some of his feathered pals to the market and tell us about raising chickens in his back yard.   At the Good Grub Club, kids can pick up the green bean card to add to their collection, and get a bean sample.

The Brighton Farmers’ Market is held Sundays, 9 am to 1 pm, in the Brighton High School parking lot, 1150 Winton Road South, Rochester.  The Market is sponsored by the Town of Brighton.  See www.brightonfarmersmarket.org or visit us on Facebook.

It’ll be a good day for kids at the Brighton Farmers’ Market this Sunday, July 11.   The Brighton Fire Department will return to the market with everyone’s favorite firefighting robot dog, Sparky, and with three firetrucks!  The Good Grub Club will introduce its new card-collecting program for kids; kids can stop by the tent Sunday to get a card case, and each week they’ll get a new card and a sample of the fruit or vegetable of the week.  There will be prizes at the end of the season for kids who collect the most cards.  This week they’ll receive a blueberry card.

Farmers will have lots of new summer treats this week:

• Karen Bischoping will bring the first early peaches, plus purple, black, and red raspberries, black and red currants, and blueberries.
• Fisher Hill Farm has red potatoes, tomatoes, yellow, green, and flat green beans.
• Lagoner Farms will bring apricots, sugar plums, black raspberries, and cherries.
• Ed Fraser has Farao and Caraflex summer cabbages.
• Organic Matters Farm will have kale, peas, collards, summer squash, and blackcap raspberries.
• Seaway Trail Honey will have honey harvested on Saturday.

We’re lucky to have two musical offerings this week.  Nick Humphrey will perform from 9 to 11, and the Rochester Chapter of the American Recorder Society will play from 11 to 1.

The Brighton Farmers’ Market is held in the Brighton High School parking lot, 1150 Winton Road South, Sundays from 9 am to 1 pm.  The market is sponsored by the Town of Brighton.  See brightonfarmersmarket.org for more information, or see on us Facebook.

Come celebrate the red, white, and blue with red raspberries, white currants, and blueberries!  There will be a rainbow of colorful treats for your July 4 picnic at the Brighton Farmers’ Market on Sunday.  Karen Bischoping will bring red, white, and black currants; raspberries; blueberries and gooseberries.  Lagoner Farms will also have a variety of berries, plus cherries; Tripleberry Farm’s blueberries are especially large this year.   Farmers will bring  summer vegetables, such as zucchini and yellow squash, carrots, cucumbers, beets, radishes, and much more.   Organic Matters Farm will have blackcap raspberries and Southern Georgia Collards.  Craig Nissen will bring freshly harvested comb honey, and Seaway Trail will also have honey harvested this week.  Small World Bakery will bring bagels, and Harry’s Pet Shoppe will have star-shaped chicken treats so our dogs can celebrate along with us.

Please note our one-day location change this week:  the market will be held Sunday from 9 am to 1 pm in the Twelve Corners Middle School parking lot, 2035 Monroe Avenue, just east of the Twelve Corners intersection.  Color Brighton Green will not be collecting recycling at the market this week; they will return next Sunday, July 11.

The Brighton Farmers’ Market is sponsored by the Town of Brighton.  Visit www.brightonfarmersmarket.org; we’re on Facebook too.

Summer fruit is arriving at the market early this year.  Kim Doty of Tripleberry Farm says she’s never harvested blueberries before July, but this Sunday, June 27, she’ll be bringing beautiful big berries, especially sweet this year.  K & S Bischoping Farm and Williams Farm will be returning to the market for the season on Sunday, bringing their wonderful fruit, including cherries, raspberries, blueberries, and even a few red currants.  The strawberry season is winding down, but there will still be berries at the market this week — maybe the last chance for our incredibly sweet, local berries.  Zucchini will be available this week, and fresh garlic, along with peas,  early shallots, cabbage, gold and purple beets, many kinds of lettuce, mizuna, radishes, scallions, chard, kale, field mix, and fresh herbs.  Phil and Sandi Munson of Fisher Hill Farm will be bringing the first carrots of the season.

Lighthouse Gardens and Raindance Harvest will still have lots of plants for your garden; it’s not too late to plant.  Liz Sanders of Green Zebra Farm, a new vendor this year, will bring her new living wall garden, filled with hardy, low maintenance sedum and sempervivum(hens and chicks).   There will also be eggs, fresh chicken (from Honeyhill Farm), meat, dairy, baked goods, lots of honey, jams, hot sauce, baking mixes, local flour, fresh pasta, cut flowers, and more.

This will be the last week for kids to plant seeds in the Good Grub Club Tent; a special thanks to Girl Scout Troop 678 for offering this fun program.  Music this week will be performed by Joan Burch.  Staff from the Brighton Memorial Library will be on hand with stories and information about summer programs.  Brighton Volunteer Ambulance will be at the market, with free blood pressure screenings and other information.

July 4 Location Change: Because of the annual Brighton 5K Race and pancake breakfast, the July 4 Brighton Farmers’ Market will be held in the parking lot behind Twelve Corners Middle School and the Brighton Central School Administration Building, 2035 Monroe Avenue.

The Brighton Farmers’ Market is held on Sundays, 9 am to 1 pm.  The regular location is the Brighton High School parking lot, 1150 Winton Road South, Rochester.  The market is sponsored by the Town of Brighton.  Visit us on Facebook, or at www.brightonfarmersmarket.org.

Summer solstice is Monday, and summer crops will soon be showing up in the market; sweet cherries arrive on Sunday, and raspberries aren’t far behind.   The wonderful early crops — strawberries, asparagus, rhubarb, garlic scapes, and peas — will soon be winding down for the year, but they’ll still be available this week.  Farmers will also be bringing early shallots, ruffled and flowering kale, radishes, purple and golden beets,  mizuna, fresh herbs, chard, field mix, all kinds of lettuce, pac choy, china choy, and the first zucchini.   It’s not too late to plant in the garden, and there will be a wide variety of garden plants available.   As always, there will also be hormone- and antibiotic-free dairy and pasture-raised meat, including certified organic, plus eggs, honey, cut flowers, fresh pasta, chocolates, jam, and baked goods.  If you’re still stumped by garlic scapes, you might try Small World Bakery’s garlic scape flatbread to discover the gentler side of garlic.

Thanks to ColorBrightonGreen.org for organizing last week’s successful Green Energy Fair.  ColorBrightonGreen will continue to collect recyclable items at the market each Sunday.  For more information on their recycling program, please see:

http://www.colorbrightongreen.org/site/index.php?page=brighton-farmer-market

Ernie and Andrew Lawrence return to the music tent this week with their great father-son harmonies.  Brighton’s Recreation and Parks Department will be on hand with information about summer programs, and face-painting for kids.  The Girl Scouts will have more seed planting for kids in the Good Grub Club tent.

Please note:  the July 4 Brighton Farmers’ Market will be held in the Twelve Corners Middle School parking lot, 2035 Monroe Avenue, right at Twelve Corners.

The Brighton Farmers’ Market is held Sundays, 9 am to 1 pm, in the Brighton High School parking lot, 1150 Winton Road South, Rochester.  The market is sponsored by the Town of Brighton.

Thanks to all who braved last week’s wet, wind, and chill to visit the Brighton Farmers’ Market.  The farmers and vendors (who must eat too!) appreciate the support of the market community.  This week’s forecast looks more promising.  Here’s some of what you’ll find at the market this week (June 13):

• lettuce!  lots of lettuce!  If you’re a salad-lover, this is your week.  There will be an amazing variety of types of lettuce, including freckled, red and green romaine, buttercrunch, field mix, and more.  The colors are intense and almost seem to glow with freshness.  There will also be other greens, such as spinach, baby chard, kale, sweet cress, and sorrel, plus fresh herbs, scallions, radishes, and beets.
• several only-in-the-spring crops, such as strawberries, rhubarb, asparagus, and garlic scapes.  The first fresh peas will arrive at the market, including shelling and sugar snap.
• plants for your garden, grown with care by our farmers in totally sustainable ways.   They’ll offer vegetable and herb plants, plus annuals, perennials, and shrubs.
• eggs, sustainably raised meat and chicken, baked goods, honey (including freshly-harvested), fresh pasta, cut flowers, chocolates, fudge, jams, herbal products, coffee, and pet treats.

This week ColorBrightonGreen.org’s annual Green Energy Fair once again joins the market.  The Fair will feature 25 exhibitors demonstrating energy-saving and green technologies, resources, and products.  Seneca Park Zoo will have an exhibit, with some animals from the zoo.  A silent auction of energy-saving services and products will benefit ColorBrightonGreen’s educational programs.   See ColorBrightonGreen.org for more information, including an exhibitor list.

The market welcomes Stuart Markus to the music tent.  Kids will have an opportunity to plant seeds in the Good Grub Club, thanks to the Girl Scouts.  Information will be available on Alex’s Lemonade Stand (alexslemonade.org), an organization that supports research in childhood cancers, including research currently being done at the University of Rochester.

The Brighton Farmers’ Market is held Sundays, 9 am to 1 pm, in the Brighton High School parking lot (1150 Winton Road South, Rochester).  The market is sponsored by the Town of Brighton.  See brightonfarmersmarket.org, or visit us on Facebook.

Thanks to all who joined us last Sunday for Opening Day of the Brighton Farmers’ Market.  Join us this Sunday, June 6, between 9 am and 1 pm, for our second great week.  Here’s what you’ll find this week at the market:

• lots of sweet strawberries!  Strawberry shortcake season is finally here!  Plus fresh new lettuce and other salad greens, asparagus, rhubarb, radishes, beets, green garlic, and more.
• plants for your garden and yard, including tomato, pepper, eggplant, and herbs, plus annuals and perennials perfect to plant now.
• eggs, sustainably-raised meat, milk, cheese, yogurt, honey, jams, baked goods, baking mixes, chocolates, fresh pasta, and more.
• special musical guest Jeff Vincent, who returns to the market with his amazing collection of antique hurdy-gurdy and organ grinder instruments.  Jeff not only plays these wonderful instruments and knows all about them; he allows visitors to try them out as well.
• seed-planting activity for kids in the Good Grub Club tent; thank you Girl Scouts!
• Alison Clarke of Edible Rochester and Center for Sustainable Living.

Next week, June 13:  Color Brighton Green’s annual Green Energy Fair!

The Brighton Farmers’ Market is held in the Brighton High School parking lot, 1150 Winton Road South, Rochester.  The market is sponsored by the Town of Brighton.  See www.brightonfarmersmarket.org, and visit us on Facebook.

Welcome Back!

The long, wintry wait for fresh, local, and delicious is finally over.  Join us for Opening Day of the Brighton Farmers’ Market on Sunday, May 30, starting at 9 am.  We’ll celebrate the opening of our third season with the traditional Cutting of the Vine, with Brighton Town Supervisor Sandra Frankel once again cutting the vine to open the market.   Music will be provided by Clamor, the irreverent musical trio that has somehow come to define music at the Brighton Farmers’ Market.

Farmers will be bringing early crops such as lettuce, mixed greens, beets, green garlic, rhubarb, asparagus, kale, spinach, bok choi, herbs, and scallions.  The very first sweet local strawberries will also arrive on Sunday.  Eggs, dairy, chicken, meat, baked goods, fresh pasta, and more will be available.   You’ll find a wide variety of plants, including vegetable plants, herbs, annuals, and perennials, for your gardens.  These plants are grown by farmers who use totally sustainable agricultural methods, no synthetic chemicals.  Please see the sidebar for this year’s vendors.

Activities at the Market this Week

• Brighton Girl Scout Cadette Troop 678 will be helping kids plant seeds in the Good Grub Club tent.  The Troop will be joining us through the end of June, helping kids learn how fun and easy it is to grow food (while learning the value of recycling yogurt containers).
• Staff from Brighton’s Recreation and Parks Department will also be on hand to sign up participants for its summer programs.
• Information will be available on the Monroe Avenue Charrette, an event organized by the Town of Brighton to formulate a vision for the future development of Monroe Avenue in the Town.

Green Energy Fair June 13

Color Brighton Green will return to the market this year with its popular recycling program, collecting hard-to-recycle items including #5 plastics.  The group will host its annual Green Energy Fair at the market on Sunday, June 13.  The Energy Fair will showcase businesses, technologies, and organizations promoting greater energy-efficiency.  There will be a silent auction of energy-saving devices and services to support educational programs of Color Brighton Green.   For more information about the Green Energy Fair, see http://www.colorbrightongreen.org/site/index.php?page=energy-fair

EBT, Credit, and Debit at the market

Thanks to Foodlink, the market will again welcome EBT shoppers at the market.  Just bring your EBT card to the Foodlink /Freshwise tent and purchase tokens to use as cash.   It is also possible to purchase tokens with credit or debit cards; the tokens also can be used like cash at the market.  Please support Foodlink’s good work in the community.

Thanks to Lili Schwartz of liliandben.com for this year’s poster design at the top of this page.

Welcome Back

The long, wintry wait for fresh, local, and delicious is finally over.  Join us for Opening Day of the Brighton Farmers’ Market on Sunday, May 30, starting at 9 am.  We’ll celebrate the opening of our third season with the traditional Cutting of the Vine, with Brighton Town Supervisor Sandra Frankel once again cutting the vine to open the market.   Music will be provided by Clamor, the irreverent musical trio that has somehow come to define music at the Brighton Farmers’ Market.

Farmers will be bringing early crops such as lettuce, mixed greens, beets, green garlic, rhubarb, asparagus, kale, spinach, bok choi, herbs, and scallions.  The very first sweet local strawberries will also arrive on Sunday.  Eggs, dairy, chicken, meat, baked goods, fresh pasta, and more will be available.   You’ll find a wide variety of plants, including vegetable plants, herbs, annuals, and perennials, for your gardens.  These plants are grown by farmers who use totally sustainable agricultural methods, no synthetic chemicals.  Please see the sidebar for this year’s vendors.

Activities at the Market this Week

• Brighton Girl Scout Cadette Troop 678 will be helping kids plant seeds in the Good Grub Club tent.  The Troop will be joining us through the end of June, helping kids learn how fun and easy it is to grow food (while learning the value of recycling yogurt containers).
• Staff from Brighton’s Recreation and Parks Department will also be on hand to sign up participants for its summer programs.
• Information will be available on the Monroe Avenue Charrette, an event organized by the Town of Brighton to formulate a vision for the future development of Monroe Avenue in the Town.

Green Energy Fair June 13

Color Brighton Green will return to the market this year with its popular recycling program, collecting hard-to-recycle items including #5 plastics.  The group will host its annual Green Energy Fair at the market on Sunday, June 13.  The Energy Fair will showcase businesses, technologies, and organizations promoting greater energy-efficiency.  There will be a silent auction of energy-saving devices and services to support educational programs of Color Brighton Green.   For more information about the Green Energy Fair, see http://www.colorbrightongreen.org/site/index.php?page=energy-fair

EBT, Credit, and Debit at the market

Thanks to Foodlink, the market will again welcome EBT shoppers at the market.  Just bring your EBT card to the Foodlink /Freshwise tent and purchase tokens to use as cash.   It is also possible to purchase tokens with credit or debit cards; the tokens also can be used like cash at the market.  Please support Foodlink’s good work in the community.

Thanks to Lili Schwartz of liliandben.com for this year’s poster design at the top of this page.