Opening Day

The Belfast Farmers' Market reopens this month at our summer location in Reny's Plaza. This is our twentieth year, a cause for celebration! The market opened in 1980, and just one member, Sandy Spinney of Half Moon Farm, has been with us since the beginning.

A number of events are planned to mark our 20th year. June 23 is our second annual Big Salad Bowl, when we invite you to come and try our tasty salad fixings. The 27th is Farm Animal Day, bring the kids to see donkeys, goats, rabbits and chickens. The weekend of June 30/July 1 will be a Taste of the Market 20th Anniversary Event. On July 22 we will enter our market pushcart in the Belfast Bay Festival Parade. And on September 1st we will hold our annual customer appreciation corn roast.

The Belfast Farmers' Market has received a grant this year from the Maine Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources. We intend to use the grant for a series of informative postcards letting our customers know about market events. So if your receive one of our bright green mailings in your mailbox, please take the time to read it and perhaps come down to the market.

We welcome two new member farms to the Belfast Market this year: Bright Berry Farm in Dixmont and Stone Fox Farm of Monroe.

Bright Berry Farm is owned by Jean Hay and David Bright, who had a successful organic farm in Blue Hill before relocating to Dixmont. Bright Berry Farm is MOFGA certified. They plan to sell raspberries and plenty of produce.

Stone Fox Farm, owned by Kathy and Bruce Chamberlain, offers farm fresh eggs from "happy, healthy hens." The Chamberlains raise Irish Dexter cattle for meat and dairy products, and expect to have a variety of produce this year at market. They encourage farm visits and invite people to come and see their Norwegian fiord horses.

Sixteen other farms are returning to the market in 2000, guaranteeing a strong showing of all kinds of fresh farm goods.

Becky Alley of Bread Box Bakery of East Orland will return with sourdough breads, hearth and European style breads, muffins, cinnamon rolls, and cookies.

Fisher Farm of Winterport will have MOFGA certified cut flowers, annuals and perennials, unusual heirloom tomatoes and hot peppers, produce, duck eggs and flaxseed crackers.

Freyenhagen Family Farm of Union will offer all kinds of maple products, produce, rabbit, and fiddleheads and blackberries in season.

Aqua Terra Farm of Jackson will have baked goods, greens, honey, tomatoes, asparagus, and rabbit. Ed and Molly Hamel have had good success using an innovative greenhousing system to grow out of season vegetables, and they farm with a draft horse.

Peacemeal Farm of Dixmont offers a variety of exceptional MOFGA certified produce as well as herbs, cut flowers, and seedlings. They encourage special orders.

Field of Greens of Albion offers high quality vegetables grown on raised, mulched beds. Appleton Creamery, home of a fine herd of registered Alpine dairy goats, produces award-winning fresh and aged goat cheeses, goat's milk fudge, and goat's milk yogurt.

Tom's Honey Farm of Eddington will have honey, honey jam, pollen, beeswax hand cream, lip balm and other products of the apiary.

Kousky Farm of East Corinth will have early vegetables, hanging baskets, seedlings, perennials, and geraniums.

Apple Hill Farms of Monroe grows free-range poultry. Look for Dana's fresh chicken, smoked chicken, poultry sausages, and turkey, all from birds fed grains that are free of antibiotics, hormones, and animal by-products.

Camelot Farms of Swanville has field grown vegetables, seedlings, and garlic. Rock Bottom Farm of Belfast offers quality flower, herb and vegetable seedlings. Meadowsweet Farm of Swanville is our major meat producer. Sumner and Paula Robert grow beef and lamb using "guilt-free" methods, and sell veal, sheepskins, fleeces, cut flowers, along with vegetables, herbs and potted plants.

Schartner's Mt. View Orchard of Thorndike grows strawberries, raspberries, mixed vegetables, sweet corn, plums, apples, cider, pumpkins, homemade jams, and pickles. Talk with Herb about hayrides and pick-your-own at his farm.

Brae Maple Farm of Union is another MOFGA certified farm offering organic vegetables, herbs, and dried flowers. Make sure to come and see Andrea's donkeys on Farm Animal Day, June 27th at the market.

Half Moon Farm of North Montville specializes in chutneys, jams and sugar-free fruit spreads, plus organic specialty vegetables, herbs for cooking and healing, and flowers. John Spinney makes fine wooden spoons and other kitchen utensils.

Snellbaker Hill Farm of Lincolnville offers farm fresh wild Maine blueberries in season, from the end of July onward.

The market would once again like to thank the Renys for making the Plaza available for our 2000 season. They are not only doing a great service to local agriculture but also to the people of Belfast.

The Belfast Farmers' Market will open its summer season on Friday May 12th at Reny's Plaza at the intersection of Routes 1 and 3. Look for us behind the new Damariscotta Bank, under the big green sign. Open Tuesdays 2:30-5:30 and Fridays and Saturdays 9-1, rain or shine. Come to the Belfast Farmers' Market and bring a friend!