Business Profiles
The Gateway's Farmer’s Market opens this Saturday
The Gateway's Farmer's Market opens this Saturday with a special celebration of the season, featuring the acoustic trio September, pictured here at a recent benefit performance for Breast Cancer Stories at the Seacoast Repertory Theatre in nearby Portsmouth, N.H. Shoppers can check out the wonderful array of familiar and new vendors at this year's market from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, while hearing the music of September from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
Courtesy photo
YORK - Whether you're craving some of the freshest produce available, a bag of famous popcorn or a sweet-smelling soap or lotion, your wait is almost over.
This Saturday, June 9, the always popular Gateway's Farmer's Market will officially begin its 2007 summer season from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Greater York Region Chamber of Commerce on Route 1.
The market is sponsored by Stonewall Kitchen, whose owners Jim Stott and Jonathan King first shared their specialty foods at similar markets in Portsmouth and Exeter, N.H., only to grow their business over the 16 years that followed into a multimillion-dollar manufacturer of specialty foods, explained Greater York Region Chamber of Commerce Vice President Carrie Eisner in her announcement of this weekend's special event.
Stonewall Kitchen's headquarters and production facility are located right next to the chamber on Route 1, and as part of the celebration of the start of the season, Stott and King will officially open the gates to welcome market-goers on Saturday at 9 a.m.
Once the gates open, September, a local acoustic trio with a sound that blends folk, jazz and blues with intricate vocal harmonies and guitar accompaniment, will be featured from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. This York-based trio delivers an eclectic blend of original songs along with some new takes on favorite "cover" tunes.
Singer-songwriters Jennifer Saunders, York resident and associate editor of The Independent, and Ginger Love of New Hampshire's Lakes Region, have drawn from their years of shared musical experience to create an array of original compositions. Meanwhile, lead guitarist Tom Brown of Portsmouth, N.H., has brought his wealth of musical knowledge to infuse each song with accompaniments that range from earthy to ethereal.
And while you listen to the music of September, you can visit some of your favorite vendors from Farmer's Markets past, including Borealis Bread; Bumblebeads, a maker of lampwork beads; The Dirty Moose, which sells healing soaps and lotions; Connolly's Organics, a grower of seasonal vegetables; Hazyland Soap Company; Highland Pine Gardens, primarily a grower of organic flowers and vegetables; Hubba Hubba Foods, with spice and tea blends plus baked goods like biscotti and crumb cake; The Kettle Boys, famous for their popcorn; Martha's Garden, which includes cut flowers, potted plants, and herbs; River Lily Farm, a grower of flowers and specialty vegetables; Sanger's Sauces, which include hot sauce, BBQ sauce, dog bones and baked goods; Silver Moon Creamery, with fresh and aged artisan cheeses as well as homemade cheeseboards; Something Different, which offers a variety of baked items; When Pigs Fly with their wide assortment of breads, and Zach's Farm with its many fruits and vegetables.
Vendors joining The Gateway's Farmer's Market for the first time are Buddha's Burning Buns, which will offer a variety of baked goods; Coventry Gardens, which offers homemade dip and bagel spread mixes and a no-bake cheese cake mix, and Rising Ridge Farm with its wide variety of organically grown produce.
These vendors will be at the market every Saturday. There is some alternate vendor space, which will feature a variety of vendors throughout the season. Beginning this weekend, the market will be open every Saturday through Oct. 6.
Assisting Eisner as market manager will be Stephanie Oeser, who is returning for her second summer at the chamber after completing her sophomore year at Wheaton College in Norton, Mass.
For more information about the farmer's market, contact Carrie Eisner at the Greater York Chamber of Commerce at 363-4422.
