2012 marks the fifth year of the Brighton Farmers’ Market.  Plans are underway for the new season, which will open on May 27 and run through October 28.  The market will once again be held from 9 to 1 pm in the Brighton High School parking lot.  Beginning July 1, however, the market will temporarily relocate to Brighton’s Town Hall, 2300 Elmwood Avenue, while the high school parking lot is being re-paved.  Sign up at this site to receive email updates on the market’s opening and schedule for moving; you may also receive information by “liking” the market’s Facebook page.  The Brighton Farmers’ Market is sponsored by the Town of Brighton.

Vendor Applications

Vendor applications for the 2012 season are now being accepted.  Please click on “Becoming a Vendor” for the application and rules to participate.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at info@brightonfarmersmarket.org.

Brighton Farmers Market

Local eaters fall into rhythm with the seasons, and welcome the gifts each season offers, including the gifts of memory and anticipation.  Right now we remember the magnificent bounty of the past year, knowing that  we will soon be entering a fallow time.  Farmers and their fields will rest and rejuvenate.  In the meantime, there are still two weeks left of wonderful local fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy, and other food at the Long Season Winter Farmers’ Market, just what you’ll want for holiday meals, wintry stews and soups, and holiday gifts.

This Sunday, December 11, Fisher Hill Farm will have a few frozen turkeys left, as well as potatoes, beets, onions, cabbage, sweet potatoes, turnips, carrots, parsnips, and winter squash.  Phil and Sandi will also have frozen corn, beans, rhubarb, and strawberries from their farm’s summer harvest.  Bolton Farm will bring hydroponic lettuce, watercress, arugula, pea shoots, microgreens, and winter squash.  Andy’s Specialty Garlic and Produce is harvesting lettuce — red leaf, green leaf, and romaine, kale, bok choi, spinach, red potatoes, beets, turnips, arugula, radishes, and green and purple cabbage.  Bloomfield Honey will have a variety of gift packs for honey-lovers, including skin care packs, plus ornaments and wonderful beeswax candles — long-lasting, naturally fragrant, and non-polluting (as are paraffin candles).  JonJohn’s Bakery is bringing kid-sized gift packs containing peanut butter balls and cookies, plus their two-layer Red Velvet Cake with edible organic flower centerpiece; they will also take orders for desserts, cookie and peanut butter ball trays, and gift baskets.

Clearview Farm will have red and golden beets, beet greens, Asian greens (bok choi, tatsoi, Da Cheong Chae, Osaka purple mustard, mizuna),  Tokyo White Cross turnips, rutabaga, the last of the Rainbow chard, broccoli raab, arugula, potatoes, Daikon (great for stir-fry), radishes, pointed-head cabbage, baby escarole, broccoli, kale, sweet carrots, garlic, leeks, and free-range, organically-fed eggs.  Flour City Pasta is bringing lots of pasta gift boxes, plus a new flavor, Pizza Pasta — made with tomato, oregano, mushroom, onion, and garlic (sounds like a kid-pleaser).  Spirit Wind Farm and Fiber Studio will have yarn from the farm’s alpaca flock, as well as items made from the yarn by local artisans (hats, scarves, shawls, ornaments, jewelry, and much more).

The market season would not be complete without a musical visit from Clamor, and this is the week; welcome back, Rick, Steve, and Bruce!  We’re also glad to welcome Judy and Doreen from the Brighton Memorial Library, who will demo a Nook and a Kindle loaded with books and have information about the Library’s January eReader classes and other programs.

The Long Season Winter Farmers’ Market is a collaboration between the Brighton and South Wedge Farmers’ Markets, sponsored by the Town of Brighton and the South Wedge Planning Committee.  The market is held Sunday afternoons, 1 to 4 pm, through December 18.  It meets in Brighton’s Brookside Recreation Center, 220 Idlewood Road, with a second entrance off  S. Winton, just south of the Westfall/S. Winton intersection.   To receive information about next year’s Brighton Farmers’ Market, sign up for email newsletters at www.brightonfarmersmarket.org or “like” the Brighton Farmers’ Market Facebook page.

Brighton Farmers Market

Local eaters are lucky this year; lovely fall weather has yielded a bounty of still-fresh and delicious local crops,  harvested each week by our farmers.  This Sunday, December 4, farmers at the Long Season Winter Farmers’ Market will have apples, onions, garlic, leeks, winter squash, potatoes, beets, carrots, turnips, kohlrabi, and fresh greens.  Clearview Farm will bring broccoli raab, arugula, fresh eggs, mustard greens, mizuna, tat soi, radishes, rutabaga, scallions, leeks, and turnips.  Bolton Farms will have lettuce mix, basil, microgreens, parsley, arugula, watercress, and pea shoots.  Whitney Farms will have certified-organic, grass-fed standing rib roasts for holiday feasts.  Lots of local gifts will be available too, including Bloomfield Honey’s beeswax pillar candles and gift packs such as their popular “Milk and Honey” shaving soap paired with boar’s hair shaving brushes.  JonJohn’s Bakery is bringing holiday gift bags for kids to give to their teachers, plus carrot cakes, red velvet cakes, beyond chocolate cakes, peanut butter balls, chocolate dipped cookies, and apple and sweet potato pies.  You’ll also find dairy products including milk, yogurt, and cheese, artisanal breads and pastries, fresh and dried pasta, jams and jellies, baking mixes, alpaca yarn, and much more.  Jefferson Svengsouk will join the market to play Native American flute music.

The Long Season Winter Farmers’ Market is a collaboration between the Brighton and South Wedge Farmers’ Markets, sponsored by the Town of Brighton and the South Wedge Planning Committee.  The market is held Sunday afternoons, 1 to 4 pm, through December 18.  It meets in Brighton’s Brookside Recreation Center, 220 Idlewood Road, with a second entrance off  S. Winton, just south of the Westfall/S. Winton intersection.  See www.brightonfarmersmarket.org or “like” the Brighton Farmers’ Market Facebook page.

Brighton Farmers Market

It’s Green Sunday again at the Long Season Winter Farmers’ Market, the perfect antidote to the excesses of Black Friday.  The only big boxes at this all-local market this Sunday, November 27, will be the ones farmers bring full of good food for us all.  It’s a good day to put what’s left of the turkey in a pot and add some fresh, local vegetables for a delicious, nourishing soup.

Honeyhill Farm returns this week with leeks, chard, collards, kohlrabi, turnips, garlic, and three varieties of gold-fleshed potatoes — Red Gold, German Butter Ball, and Purple Haze.  Fisher Hill Farm is bringing frozen corn, strawberries, beans, and rhubarb, crops from the farm frozen at peak freshness.  Bolton Farms will have a mix of lettuces, rainbow swiss chard, spinach, arugula, parsley, basil, cilantro, and watercress.  Allens Hill Farm is bringing free range eggs, new gingerbread and cut-out cookie mixes, and holiday gift boxes.  Flour City Pasta will have a variety of pastas including Pumpkin Chipotle pasta.  Bloomfield Honey Farm is bringing creamed honey with cinnamon and 10 new “flavors” of soap, excellent stocking stuffers.  There will also be beets, winter squash, potatoes, onions, carrots, field mix, apples, cabbage, baked goods,  certified organic meats, and lots more, including items that would be perfect holiday gifts.

The Long Season Winter Farmers’ Market is a collaboration between the Brighton and South Wedge Farmers’ Markets, sponsored by the Town of Brighton and the South Wedge Planning Committee.  The market is held Sunday afternoons, 1 to 4 pm, through December 18.  It meets in Brighton’s Brookside Recreation Center, 220 Idlewood Road, with a second entrance off  S. Winton, just south of the Westfall/S. Winton intersection.  See www.brightonfarmersmarket.org or “like” the Brighton Farmers’ Market Facebook page.

Brighton Farmers Market

Giving thanks for the harvest takes on a whole new meaning at the Long Season Winter Farmers’ Market, where tables are piled high with the colorful, abundant fruits of our local harvest.  This Sunday, November 20, our farmers will have plenty for you to celebrate an authentic, local Thanksgiving this year.  You can even get a turkey from Fisher Hill Farm, along with a wide variety of vegetables to round out your feast.  Lagoner Farms will have brussels sprouts plus fuji, empire, and honeycrisp apples.  They’ll have 1/2 bushels of a mix of apples for pies and sauce, and will also bring pies they’ve made from their own fruit.  Ann’s Purple Produce will have leeks (baby and regular), delicious watermelon radishes,  baby golden turnips, chard, kale, dried and fresh-cut herbs including sage for your stuffing, purple carrots and purple potatoes, cheery houseplants, and bittersweet and evergreens for holiday decorating.  Seaway Trail Honey is bringing all their seasonal honey varieties of the year, including dark, robust Fall Honey.  Bolton Farms will have green beans; lettuce; swiss chard; arugula; spinach; and butternut, acorn, and carnival winter squash.

Clearview Farm will bring rutabagas, turnips, carrots, potatoes, cauliflower, eggs, scallions, lettuce, spinach, broccoli raab, arugula, and radishes.  Small World Bakery will have pumpkin bars and bagels.  JonJohn’s Bakery is baking apple and peach cobblers, Bourbon Balls, Chocolate Bombs, Pumpkin Cookies, Pumpkin Mess Cake, and Peanut Butter Balls.  Andy’s Specialty Garlic and Produce will have sweet carrots, arugula, lettuce, spinach, bok choi, beets, potatoes, kale, turnips, radishes, and green and purple cabbage.  Flour City Pasta is bringing Cranberry Pistachio Orzo, great as a side dish, and gift boxes.  Flour City Bread will have a variety of wonderful breads, great for stuffing if you can keep from eating the bread first.

The Long Season Winter Farmers’ Market is a collaboration between the Brighton and South Wedge Farmers’ Markets, sponsored by the Town of Brighton and the South Wedge Planning Committee.  The market is held Sunday afternoons, 1 to 4 pm, through December 18.  It meets in Brighton’s Brookside Recreation Center, 220 Idlewood Road, with a second entrance off  S. Winton, just south of the Westfall/S. Winton intersection.  See www.brightonfarmersmarket.org or “like” the Brighton Farmers’ Market Facebook page.

Brighton Farmers Market

Thanks to everyone who came to opening day of the Long Season Winter Farmers’ Market.   The farmers will be back this Sunday, November 13, with more great local food.  Here’s some of what you’ll find:  Honeyhill Farm will have garlic, leeks, lettuce, carrots, collards, kale, turnips, three kinds of potatoes, chickens, and chicken livers for pate lovers.  Clearview Farm is bringing eggs, escarole, arugula, kale, broccoli raab, rainbow chard, carrots, radishes, pointed-head cabbage, turnips, rutabaga, hot and sweet peppers, potatoes, and ground cherries.  Bloomfield Honey will have comb honey — nice to add to a holiday cheese tray — and some new beeswax candles for holiday parties and hostess gifts.  Bolton Farms is bringing a nice mix of lettuces, microgreens, delicata squash, parsley, basil, rainbow swiss chard, fresh pea shoots, and arugula.  Flour City Pasta will have gift boxes plus Pumpkin Chipotle pasta.  K&S Bischoping will be there with a variety of apples.  There will also be milk, cheese, and yogurt from pasture-fed jersey cows, no antibiotics or hormones, certified organic beef and pork, lots of baked goods, ravioli and stuffed breads, sweet treats, and poutine at the green food truck.  Joel Boyer and friends will provide music.

The Long Season Winter Farmers’ Market is a collaboration between the Brighton and South Wedge Farmers’ Markets, sponsored by the Town of Brighton and the South Wedge Planning Committee.  The market is held Sunday afternoons, 1 to 4 pm, through December 18.  It meets in Brighton’s Brookside Recreation Center, 220 Idlewood Road, with a second entrance off S. Winton, just south of the Westfall/S. Winton intersection.  See www.brightonfarmersmarket.org or “like” the Brighton Farmers’ Market Facebook page.

Brighton Farmers Market

The 2011 Long Season Winter Farmers’ Market opens this Sunday afternoon, November 6,  bringing together 30 farmers and vendors from the Brighton and South Wedge Farmers’ Markets.  Despite the chill in the air, our local farmers will offer proof, through tables piled high, that local food doesn’t end with the end of summer.  You’ll find apples, lettuce, fresh herbs, salad mixes, carrots, beets, leeks, radishes, potatoes, sweet and hot peppers, cauliflower, winter squash, pie pumpkins, sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts, tomatillos, gourds, dried flowers, cabbage, chard, kale, spinach, arugula, turnips, parsnips, tomatoes, onions, and garlic.  There will be milk, yogurt, cheese, eggs, certified organic meat and chicken, and you can order your Thanksgiving turkey (from Fisher Hill Farm).  You’ll also find a variety of baked goods, fresh and dried pasta, locally-milled flour and grains, honey, maple syrup, herbal products, jams and jellies, baking mixes and syrups.  There will be live music from Cabbage and Baggage, and Color Brighton Green will join us.

The Long Season Winter Farmers’ Market is a collaboration between the Brighton and South Wedge Farmers’ Markets, sponsored by the Town of Brighton and the South Wedge Planning Committee.  The market is held Sunday afternoons, 1 to 4 pm, through December 18.  It meets in Brighton’s Brookside Recreation Center, 220 Idlewood Road, with a second entrance off S. Winton, just south of the Westfall/S. Winton intersection.  See www.brightonfarmersmarket.org or “like” the Brighton Farmers’ Market Facebook page.

Thanks to Lili Schwartz of www.liliandben.com for another great poster!

Brighton Farmers Market

Wear an extra sweater under your costume and join us as we celebrate Halloween and the last Brighton Farmers’ Market of the summer season, this Sunday, October 30.  Kids in costume will receive a free apple!  We’ll be moving indoors next week, so you’ll still be able to get great food from some of your favorite vendors, but we’ll be saying “see you next year” to some and “thanks for a great season”  to all.  It has been a wonderful season at the market, and we’re grateful to many who have contributed to its success:  to Elizabeth McInerney for layout and other help; to Amy Mednick for coordinating the music and to all the musicians, especially Rick McRae; to Lili Schwartz and Ben Agronick of liliandben.com for amazing design and website support; to Simone, Jack, Cara, Valerie, Phoebe and other teens who have helped each week in the Good Grub Club tent; to members of the market’s advisory board; and to Anne Semel, our market intern who has kept the token program running smoothly.  Above all, thanks to the best farmers and vendors anywhere and to a wonderful community that understands the value of supporting a strong local food system (and that appreciates delicious food).

This week Lagoner Farms will have pumpkins, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and lots of apples, including Braeburn, Fuji, and Idared.  Honeyhill Farm will have large frozen chickens, 3 kinds of potatoes, kohlrabi, lettuce, green tomatoes, onions, garlic, leeks, tatsoi, watermelon radishes, collards, and turnips.  East Hill Farm will have pie pumpkins and lots of root vegetables.  Freshwise Farm will have baby arugula, field mix, microgreens, cilantro, basil, and peppers.  Seaway Trail Honey is bringing snack size honeycomb and mini-honey bears.   Bloomfield Honey will have treats for kids.  Flour City Pasta will have Holiday Orzo — cranberry and pistachio.  Biscotti for Everybotti will be back, and Tripleberry Farm will have pesticide-free berry jams, fudge, and blueberry double chocolate brownies.  Ann’s Purple Produce will have the last of the Icicle Pansies, which will bloom until covered by snow, double in size, then start blooming again as soon as the snow melts in spring.  Ann will also have the last of the dahlias and zinnias,  red amaranth, bittersweet, purple potatoes, leeks, chard, kale, cut herbs, watermelon radishes, and hot and sweet peppers.  Organic Matters Farm is bringing red romaine, White Russian kale, red mustard, kohlrabi, pie pumpkins, hot and sweet peppers, butternut squash, small red cabbages, and tomatillos.

We’re lucky to have a first-rate double bill in the music tent this week:  Dave Pronko and Friends will join us, followed by Connie Deming and Friends.  Sierra Club’s Transition to Local Economies group will offer information.  The FIRST Lego League Team of Brighton will demonstrate their invention to prevent contamination in blueberry production.  Brighton’s Veterans Memorial Committee will also join us.

Next week, November 6, the Long Season Winter Farmers’ Market opens, an indoor collaboration of the Brighton and South Wedge Farmers’ Markets.  It will be held Sunday afternoons (not mornings!) from 1 to 4 pm in Brighton’s Brookside Recreation Center, 220 Idlewood Road, with a second entrance off S. Winton just south of the Westfall/S. Winton intersection.  The Long Season Market will run through December 18.

The last Brighton Farmers’ Market will be held this Sunday, October 30 from 9 am to 1 pm in the Brighton High School parking lot, 1150 Winton Road South.  The Market is sponsored by the Town of Brighton.  Sign up for information at www.brightonfarmersmarket.org, or “like” the Market’s Facebook page.

Brighton Farmers Market

This Monday, October 24, is Food Day — a day to promote healthy, affordable food produced in a sustainable, humane way (see www.foodday.org).  This goal aligns perfectly with the mission of the Brighton Farmers’ Market, so to express our solidarity, we propose the following topics of conversation for the — where else? — dinner table:

• What’s the difference between small, local farms and large, industrial farms?  Why do people get so worked up about the differences?
• How can I “vote with  my fork?”
• What would I do if I didn’t have enough food to eat or to feed my family?
• Is the “food movement” a fad or here to stay?  What aspect of it is most important to me?
• How can I help transform our current food system?

These websites can help stimulate the conversation:   www.civileats.com; www.sustainabletable.org.

Here’s some of what you’ll find this Sunday, October 23, at the Brighton Farmers’ Market:  Shady Lane Farm will have Carnival, Delicata, and Butternut squash; pie pumpkins; leeks; red, yellow, and green sweet peppers; Anaheim, jalapeno, and Black Hungarian hot peppers; Beauregard sweet potatoes, mini-gourds, lemongrass, and fall bouquets.  Freshwise Farm will have Rainbow Swiss chard, microgreens, leeks, field mix, and cilantro.  Brian’s Kitchen will introduce gluten-free oatmeal raisin cookies, and Chicory Blue Gardens is bringing cheery sunflowers with grasses and statice.  Honeyhill Farm is harvesting the gorgeous lettuce in the photograph, garlic, onions, radishes, leeks, tatsoi, carrots, kohlrabi, turnips, watermelon radishes, and the last sweet peppers, plus large frozen chickens (around 5 pounds).

Ann’s Purple Produce will have Icicle Pansies, perennials, beautiful dahlias, watermelon radishes, Red Russian kale, scallions, leeks, Bright Lights chard, purple potatoes, amaranth, bittersweet, arugula, Bosc pears, and cut herbs.  Andy’s Specialty Garlic and Produce is bringing red leaf, green leaf, and romaine lettuce; escarole; bok choi; broccoli; sweet fall carrots; spinach; beets; arugula; yellow snap beans; and zucchini.  Bloomfield Honey is bringing beautiful beeswax candles in fall colors; beeswax burns much longer than paraffin, and there is no soot.  Organic Matters Farm is harvesting small red cabbages, Matt’s Wild Cherry tomatoes, tomatillos, potatoes, honeynut squash, parsley, and kale.  Noto Fruit Farm and Cider Mill will have Ida Red, Jonagold, Golden Delicious, and other apple varieties, plus freshly-pressed apple cider, with no additives or preservatives.  Salamone Fresh Pasta will have basil gnocchi and lobster risotto.

We’ll enjoy cool jazz from Brighton’s own Joel Kastner and friends.   The Brighton Veterans Memorial Committee will join the market with information about the planned  memorial and will have information on how to donate.

Next week, October 30, is the last market of the regular season.  The following Sunday, November 6, is the first indoor Long Season Winter Farmers’ Market, which will be held every Sunday afternoon, 1 to 4 pm, through December 18.  It will be held in the Brookside Center, 220 Idlewood Road, or just off S. Winton south of the Westfall/S. Winton intersection.  The Brighton Farmers’ Market is sponsored by the Town of Brighton.

Brighton Farmers Market

The vagaries of October weather lend a special quality to the Brighton Farmers’ Market; customers will find extra rewards in the market’s last month of the regular season.  For example, this Sunday, October 16, Karen and Stan Bischoping are bringing 28 different varieties of heirloom and favorite apples to the market — too amazing not to repeat –  28 varieties of apples!  It might be a good day to have an apple tasting party, followed by a big pot of applesauce.  Another special treat:  to help us celebrate the harvest, Chabad of Rochester will bring the “Sukkah-mobile” to the market, a traditional booth used to commemorate the Jewish harvest festival of Sukkot.  And finally, it’s Bike Day again, including a special Farmers’ Market Bike Ride; see below for details.

In addition to all those apples, Karen and Stan will also have quince and Bosc pears.  Andy’s Specialty Garlic Farm will have plenty besides garlic, including green and yellow beans, broccoli, romaine, green and red leaf lettuce, scallions, escarole, bok choi, spinach, arugula, potatoes, kohlrabi, peppers, carrots, beets, radishes, kale, zucchini, and salad turnips.  Clearview Farm will have certified organic Lacinato (dinosaur) kale, broccoli raab, rainbow swiss chard, Natasha escarole, Over the Rainbow carrots, Hakurei and Scarlet Queen turnips, and Aunt Molly’s ground cherries.  Tripleberry Farm will have pesticide-free berry jams.  R&M Bischoping will have bouquets with eucalyptus and ornamental cabbages and peppers, tomatillos, hot peppers, pie pumpkins, sunflower heads, baby zucchini, winter squash, and green beans.

Ann’s Purple Produce will have Icicle Pansies, which grow through the winter into spring, dahlias, striped Chioggia beets, leeks, purple carrots and tomatillos, huge maroon amaranth heads, cut herbs, bittersweet, mums and asters, and finally, the first of the sweet, spicy Watermelon Radishes.  Seaway Trail Honey harvested fresh, raw, dark Fall honey on Tuesday for Sunday’s market.  The Biscotti Lady is moving, so this may be her last week at the Brighton Farmers’ Market; stock up now on Biscotti for Everybotti.

It’s Bike Day at the market again this Sunday, including a bike ride leaving from the market at 10 am.  Richard DeSarra, a Brighton resident who leads bike rides for the Rochester Cycling Alliance, will lead a 7.5 mile family-friendly bike ride through Brighton neighborhoods and on the Erie Canal Trail.  R Community Bikes will accept tax-deductible donations of bikes in any condition, to be repaired and donated to those who can’t afford to buy a bike.  Please consider donating to this terrific cause.  Reconnect Rochester will also offer information on the local public transit system and hand out pins good for free rides on public transit on October 20, Critical Mass Transit Day.  We welcome Ruth and Dana Fine to the music tent.

The Brighton Farmers’ Market, sponsored by the Town of Brighton, is held Sundays through October 30, from 9 am to 1 pm in the Brighton High School parking lot, 1150 Winton Road South.  On November 6, the Long Season Market opens, a collaboration between the Brighton and South Wedge Farmers’ Markets.  The Long Season market will run through December 18 on Sundays afternoons, 1 to 4 pm, at the Brookside Center, 220 Idlewood Road, with a second entrance off S. Winton just south of the Westfall/S. Winton intersection.

Brighton Farmers Market