July 29 Market Day: Live Music, Barefoot Books, Tower Craft Beverages, PLENTY of Freshly Picked Produce!

With Lilac Hedge Farm back this week, we will have all six (seven if you count Ackermann’s Maple Farm) here for our July 29 market day! Summer bounty is ever-growing from our produce farmers, and we have Tower Craft Beverages here this week, too. All to great tunes by the Los Sugar Kings Duo! The Wakefield Farmers Market will be at Hall Park, on the shores of Lake Quannapowitt, each Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. through October 14, 2017. To give directions to a friend, just tell them to use 468 North Ave via GPS.

NEWSFLASH! We want to make sure everyone knows: HIP is HERE! Farmer Dave’s is now set up to provide Healthy Incentive Program benefits to all those receiving a helping hand via SNAP. Use your EBT card to purchase your produce from Farmer Dave’s and get the cost credited back to your account up to your maximum monthly HIP benefit. Then come to the Market Manager Tent to get market bucks, (and your match, see below) to purchase your additional items.

For live music, we are excited to have the Los Sugar Kings Duo, featuring Patino Vazquez and Dan Abreu, the latter a resident of Wakefield. The two are part of Los Sugar Kings, a Boston-based Cuban Roots, Rock & Reggae Fusion quartet who write, record, and perform across the North-East United States and are 2015 New England Music Award Winners. They wow the market crowd each year; you don’t want to miss them! Music will start around 10:00 a.m.
The Wakefield Farmers Market Music Program is sponsored by The Savings Bank.

The cooking demo at our Market Kitchen Tent will be presented by Suman Shah, who created a lovely recipe of crispy beans with fresh plum sauce last week. You’ll find our recipes on our new Market Kitchen Tent website: wfmmarketkitchen.site You can also link to this new site via our main website. All recipes present easy, healthy, and tasty ways to use one or more types of produce offered by our farmers. You will find the Market Kitchen tent to the left of the Market Manager tent. Stop by to try a bite! Cooking demos typically start around 10:00 a.m.

NEWSFLASH! Barefoot Book's is here this week! Be sure to stop by to peruse their award-winning books and other fun and educational materials or to just hang out and read a story. Just super books and more for kids.

As always, our friend Yarrow will be with us to create your favorite creature from balloons, the Kid’s Activity tent will be stocked with plenty of paper and crayons, and hula hoops, sidewalk chalk, and jump ropes will be on hand for kids of all ages.

Before we go to the vendor list, here are this week’s specials and news from our vendors:

• Charlton Orchards will have peaches, plums and blueberries!
• Emmett’s Edibles will have Carrot Crunch – a great summer time veggie treat!
• Farmer Dave’s – Farmer Dave says: The first of the peppers, eggplant and field tomatoes, plus more cherry tomatoes and still a lot of berries!
• Barefoot Books – Get an exclusive Barefoot Books bookmark when you follow them on Facebook @KABS’ BAREFOOT BOOKS
• Flats Mentor Farm will have even more produce! The cold rainy May slowed things down, but their harvest size is getting bigger!
• The Popover Lady will be back with her delicious popovers, peach, apple or blueberry pies and scones.
• Swiss Bakers: As always, we like to remind you that we have our amazing sandwiches on pretzel baguettes, as well as our special for the summer: PBB, pretzel burger buns. One bag with 6 large sesame pretzel burger buns for only $10.00!
• Habibi Gourmet Foods: Specials: eggplant salad and artichoke spinach hummus. Delicious!

Now, here’s what you’ve been waiting for – the official list of week’s vendors!

Produce: Charlton Orchards, Farmer Dave, and Kelly's Farm will have an ever-growing assortment of fresh produce, with stone fruit approaching full season and corn a staple now. Berries are still in full force and field tomatoes are here! Plus, Flat’s Mentor Farm now has a steady supply of all your favorite herbs and greens, plus carrots!

Dried Legumes: Check it out! Farmer Dave’s now brings Baer’s Beans to our market! Grown and dried in Maine by Farmers Charley and Carol Baer, they are the best and so fresh there is no need to soak before cooking.

Pasture-raised Meats, Poultry, and Eggs: Lilac Hedge Farm will have all you need for locally raised meats, poultry, and eggs, along with their local. honey. They also often have yummy jerky type products, including dog treats, as well. Charlton Orchards also always has eggs along with their other family farm fare.

Cheese: West River Creamery. Jane and her family make the very best cheese around. Really! You have to try the blue cheese. Heaven!

Seafood: Michelle Kraft aka The Fish Lady has excellent locally caught seafood from Red’s Best. She also offers seafood frozen right off the boat for those who want to have seafood that tastes like fresh later in the week.

Specialty Foods: Deano's Pasta, Habibi Gourmet, (wonderful Middle Eastern foods), and In Good Taste (salsa!) Also check out Farmer Dave’s stand for dried apples, jarred sauces, and more made from their produce depending on the week. Charlton Orchards also has tasty jarred salsa and jams from their kitchen. And for picked veggies and amazing mustards, get those from Jane at the West River Creamery tent.

Baked Goods: Goodies Homemade, (the best cookies!) Mamadou's Artisan Bakery, Swiss Bakers (sandwiches, too!) The Popover Lady will be back! The Bread Shop, and The Roasted Granola which also offers local honey and locally made Greek yogurt.

Beverages: Pony Aaronap Cellers, with wonderful wine, Tower Craft Beverages (root beer and more!) and Pour Man’s Coffee with the most delectable cold coffee and refreshing fruit and tea beverages around. They also have unique treats to enjoy at the market as well as Fair Trade coffee beans from Dean’s Beans to take home.

Pet Treats: Emmett’s Edibles has wholesome treats for dogs AND even some for cats! Boogaloo is quite the fan.

Artisans: Barefoot Books, Sheepshed (hand-spun yarns) and Alison Simcox and Doug Heath will also join us with their great books about Lake Quannapowitt, Breakheart, and The Middlessex Fells.

Coming Up: Music from, to name a few, Gentle Temper, and return visits by Betty’s Bounce and Amy Spillert, and more to come, and Drumlin Farms will be here August 5 and Curious Creatures will be here on September 2! After this week, the next visit from the Pop Up Library will be on August 26. Plus: hold September 9 for the Friends of Beebe Library Book Give-Away!

Want to be part of the WFM Volunteer Team? Go to the How To Volunteer page on our website or stop by the Market Manager table to learn how. Many hands make a better market for all.Our market accepts both SNAP/EBT and credit/debit cards for the purchase of Market Bucks for shopping, and match SNAP purchases up to $10 per visit so that everyone can afford to get fresh and healthy foods at our market. This is in addition to the new HIP program.