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From Our Lands and Hands
Written By: Donna Rhodes | Issue: March 2024
With the return of warm weather, both Farmers’ Markets are preparing to serve up the Plateau’s bounty.
The mountains are on the March. Forests are stretching their trunks and limbs, uniting in a universal yawn after winter’s hibernation. Sprouting in the midst of the awakening is a glorious garden of fresh produce and an array of natural materials for crafts – stones, minerals, fiber, flowers, vines, natural dyes, botanicals, soaps, and more.
If your refrigerator’s produce drawer is down to shrivels and shucks, it’s time to visit one or both of the region’s finest farmers’ markets, where the freshest and the best are right at your fingertips and taste-buds.
The Village Green has unveiled 2024’s Green Market schedule: Wednesdays, 11:00 A.M to 3:00 P.M., May 1 through Oct 30. Exceptions: July 3 (because of July 4 events) and August 7 (the time of the Cashiers Annual Antique Show).
“If you’re new to the area,” says Shelby Batchelor, Community Event and Volunteer Coordinator, “The Green Market welcomes you to our producer-only market. All of the vendors grow, produce, and/or make all the products they sell. It’s food right out of Mother Nature’s finest soil, tended by skilled hands, and nurtured by devoted hearts. This year there will be loads of surprises. Bring the kids – they love those honey sticks and bakery treats. Don’t forget your umbrella, just in case, though the market is weather-protected and has plenty of parking and facilities.”
If the Highlands’ Saturday Marketplace/Farmers’ Market at Kelsey-Hutchinson Founders Park beckons you, here are examples of the vendors’ bounty: fresh vegetables, mushrooms, local honey, nuts, plants, baked goods, flowers, jams and jellies, hormone-free beef and pork, micro greens, homemade barbecue sauce, bear paintings, certified Hemp products, many handmade items, jewelry, and more.
Don Deal, Highlands Marketplace Organizer, says, “We’re open Saturdays, April through October, 8:00 A.M. to 12:30 P.M. Reserve your Saturday mornings for a visit with local farmers, craftsmen, and artists who sell their hand-growns and hand-mades.”
While you’re at it, mark Wednesdays and Saturdays on your calendars for a double delight, two shopping stops for home-produced lusciousness. Your veggie crispers won’t have time to collect shrivels and peels. The fresh food-market fare is just too darn delicious – and nutritious.
