KICK ASS.
I always wished farmer's markets were open later so I can skip the painful early morning wake-up on Saturdays. Thanks for posting this, Cathy!

The Park Ridge Farmers Market opened on Saturday with a few new vendors.

The Necessity Baking Co. (same company that has a booth in the French Market) is new this year. I picked up an artichoke-filled triangle shaped loaf that was a big hit today at a family BBQ.

Also was a couple who produces and sells olive oils and vinegars that were very tasty and reasonably priced.

The Cheese People were back and had the normal line of people waiting to sample and purchase.

We got an email from Ald. Joe Moore that the new "Farmers' Market Arrives in the 49th Ward This Sunday." The opening celebration at the Glenwood Sunday Market begins at 8:30 a.m. on June 6th on Glenwood between Morse and Lunt Avenues.

I hope it's a nice addition to our farmers' markets at the north end of the city.

EvA wrote:We got an email from Ald. Joe Moore that the new "Farmers' Market Arrives in the 49th Ward This Sunday." The opening celebration at the Glenwood Sunday Market begins at 8:30 a.m. on June 6th on Glenwood between Morse and Lunt Avenues.

I hope it's a nice addition to our farmers' markets at the north end of the city.

I moved out of Rogers Park just before this started. Looks like I'll have to hop on my bike to check it out one of these Sundays. For anyone interested in attending, please note this:

Due to Morse Avenue Streetscaping Project, the market will open south of Morse between Farwell & Morse for the first month or so- right across the street.

Wheeler Mansion Market
2020 South Calumet, Chicago, IL 60616

Wednesdays: 4:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Parking: Street & Parking Lot

Contact Info:
Phone 1 312.945.2020
Email stephanie@wheelermansion.com
Website http://marketatthemansion.wordpress.com/

About

Wheeler Mansion Market Starts June 6th 2012!

Description

The Wheeler Mansion Market is a people’s marketplace serving residents and travelers alike. We are devoted to nurturing the artisan food community, small businesses in the Midwest region, and historical roots of the Prairie District in Chicago. We aim to operate as a community hub to celebrate local culture and cuisine. The Wheeler Mansion Market is a vibrant, European-style gathering of local farmers, artisan producers, and independently owned and operated businesses; including an artfully curated selection of jewelry, furniture, art, and handcrafted products by local designers. The market is held on the spacious grounds of The Wheeler Mansion and features live entertainment and prepared food vendors each week. We are creating a community of local and destination shoppers that will:

■ Create a vibrant, thriving community that supports local farms and small businesses.

■ Encourage the consumption and support of locally grown, quality, and healthy foods.

■ Promote the Prairie District’s historical significance, diversity, and culture.

■ Provide a location for the promotion of the world-class food, wine, and craft beer producing regions of the Midwest.

Hi- I was just at the winter farmer's market at the Evanston Ecology Center on McCormick Blvd., and I noticed that Nichols had green onions, spinach, and lettuce, which was all picked yesterday. Thanks to the crazy weather we had last month. They also had some asparagus, but they were out by the time I got there.

BTW- It got cold in S.W. Michigan last night, and all the fruit trees are in bloom. In Coloma where my sister has her farm, it got down to at least 27 in the middle of the night. I haven't been able to get a hold of her yet, to see how much of her peach crop got lost. Peaches and cherries are more frost tender than apples are, and apricots are especially frost tender, and I suspect the apricots got wiped out. We only have a few apricot trees though. We have lots of peach trees though, and I am hoping that she has at least 50% of a crop left. Hope this helps, Nancy

Hi- I just got off the phone with my sister in Michigan, and things on hher farm are not as bad as they could be. She said they got down to 26 degrees in the lowest part of her farm, but her house only got down to 41. She said that she has some minimal damage, but some of the growers really got hurt. The extension office is having a meeting about this tomorrow night with the farmers.

Most of the asparagus farmers lost the rest of their first picking early Saturday morning, and so it will take a few weeks for them to go back into production.

The frost we just had delayed the picking of strawberries, and so everybody might be picking strawberries the same time they are picking cherries. Cherries are going to be four weeks early, assuming they survive the rest of the spring. Hope this helps, Nancy