Celebrate the much maligned honeybee during September

Thanks to the St. Anthony Village Farmers Market I know and want to share that we are now celebrating National Honey Month.  Who knew!  The bee keepers and those involved with processing and selling honey, including the growing number of farmers’ market committed to the locavore movement.

The National Honey Board, which has celebrated Honey Month since 1969, has a delightful blog full of fascinating facts, tips, games, recipes, beauty tips.  Grab a couple of delectable honey sticks and spend some time learning more about this tasty and useful natural resource.  Or pick up a generous jar of locally grown honey at the farmer’s market during your next visit.  And don’t forget to treat that pesky honeybee with some real respect.

17th Avenue Farmer’s Market Serves Northeast Neighborhoods

Sunshine, rain and lots of work bear fruit – literally – with the crops of Summer ’11.  Northeast neighbors are finding a new source of fresh produce and much more at the new 17^th Avenue Farmer’s Market located in the parking lot of St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral.

The Market fills a gap in the expanding array of open markets popping up throughout the Twin Cities.  Residents of four neighborhoods – Holland, Sheridan, Logan Park and Bottineau – worked together to create a unique neighborhood market presence in a unique local setting.

The 17^th Avenue Farmer’s Market is open each Wednesday afternoon through the end of September.  Hours are 1:00-7:00 p.m. Produce options continue to expand while other offerings include honey, jams, salsas, sweet breads, meat, eggs, cut flowers and more.  All of the produce vendors are WIC/FMNP certified.  The Magic Bus Café! pays a visit to  the site once a month.

On the third Monday of the month the Market offers a unique feature – a style show!  It’s  hosted by the Eastside Thrift Shop on Central Avenue.  Local models select outfits from the store and model them at the market.  The Eastside Thrift Shop is on hand every week to accept donations.

Market planners are currently looking for local volunteers to add music, magic and more to the weekly Market.

Call for Models for N.E. Thrift Shop Fashion Show

Face it – You belong on the runway, strutting your stuff, selling the latest fashion to an eager public.  Your chance is at hand.  Thrift Store (formerly Silver Angel) is planning a fashion show for June 15 and they’re looking for models of every age, stature, experience to show off their hot merchandise.  Manager of the store is Lynn Albright.  You’re find more on the web.

Thrift Store is at 1928 Central Avenue Northeast.  612 789 0600  Hours are Mon-Fri 10-6 and Saturday 10-5.

Watch for Thrift Store at the new Village Farmer’s Market at St. Mary’s Cathedral where they will have a presence on hand during Market hours Wednesdays 3:00-7:00.

Village Farmer’s Market Opens – and Expands in Northeast

Farmer’s Markets are popping up all over Northeast Minneapolis!  During the months to come we will be visiting and reporting on the wide variety of options available to Northeast customers.  For Windom Park residents the news is that Village Farmer’s Market is not waiting this year for Lindners to move on.  The season starts on Monday, June 6, with Sidewalk Days – vendors open on the sidewalk outside shops in St. Anthony Village Shopping Center.  June 6-27 the Sidewalk market will be open Mondays, 3:00-7:00 p.m.  The traditional market on the SAV parking lot opens July 11 – no Market on the 4^th.

Meanwhile, the Village Farmer’s Market has opened another site at St. Mary’s Cathedral parking lot, 1701 6^th Street Northeast.  A visit to the new site last week offered promise of a great site, a mix of vendors, and a welcoming atmosphere.  The St. Mary’s Cathedral is open Wednesday afternoons throughout the summer.

Updates at http://www.thevillagefarmersmarket.org.

Music, Herbs and a Touch of Spring at the St. Anthony Winter Market

Winter marketing is about the only thing “hot” in Minnesota this year – and the Village Farmer’s Market winter venue turns up the heat this Sunday, February 20, with an afternoon of good listening to spice up the culinary treats.

The big draw is the food, of course.  There are fresh potted herbs (chives, basil, sage, rosemary, oregano, marjoram, mint) and possibly some container-size heirloom tomatoes and peppers.

Once again Lily’s will be serving their famous French crepes.

The first musical set, 11:00-1:00,  features the old time songs and tunes of Bob and Lynn Dixon.  From 1:00 – 3:00 it’s Greenwood Tree with Bill Cagley on guitar, mandolin and Irish drum, and Stu Janis on the hammered dulcimer and bowed psaltery

The Winter Market is at the St. Anthony Community Center, 3301 Silver Lake Road in St. Anthony.  The Market will be open on the third Sunday of March, April and May, 11:00 AM-3:00 PM.

Village Farmers Market Blooms

PRESS RELEASE

Village Farmer’s Market Blooms in St. Anthony Village

Just a month after its grand opening on July 12, the Village Farmer’s Market is thriving.  Neighbors from St. Anthony Village, Northeast Minneapolis, New Brighton and miles around are gathering Monday afternoons to select from the the day’s produce picks and more.  Along with fresh produce the Market features home-produced treats and food vendors.

More than a market, this is a community-building initiative.  A special feature of the VFM is the weekly Shop and Learn series.  Future S&L programs include a program on Metro Transit, an introduction to Chinese acupuncture techniques and a session on the art of calligraphy.  On August 30, local author Gail Olson will talk about her new book, St Anthony Village: hog farms, floods, tornadoes and alligators. All of the Shop and Learn sessions are held at the St. Anthony Library in the mall.

Shoppers at the VFM sport burlap shopping bags bearing the Market’s logos. Shopping bags are on sale at the VFM station at the Market.

Also on sale at the Market are discount cards good at most SAV shops – possibilities include everything from tea at the Tea Source to a free book evaluation at The Corner Store to reductions at a mix of service providers.

Details about the Market, discount coupons and other special offers at www.thevillagefarmersmarket.org.

More details in an online article in Twin Cities Daily Planet:

www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2010/05/24/farmers-market-coming-st-anthony-village

For additional information contact Wendy Huebner at scarecrow09@rocketmail.com

St Anthony Village Farmer’s Market Opening Day Video

Hmongtown Marketplace – This Shopper’s Perspective

As you can see, he loves his new suit!

The plan was to share my Hmongtown Marketplace with my friend Suzanne.  The result was a half-day of Poking Around in one of the community’s treasures.  Though for Hmong Americans and Frogtown residents the Marketplace is a second home and sole source provider of known commodities, it’s a drive-by location for those who whiz by the former lumber yard on Como near the State Capitol.

Pull in the parking lot ( like every street in the Twin Cities, it does need repair) and plunge into another world – a world in which English is definitely not the first language, where wondrous fruits require a how-to lesson from the vendor, where the delicate aroma of Hmong sausage, egg rolls, stick rice and a zillion other taste treats prove irresistible.

Most of all, it’s world where the awkward native Twin Citian is embraced, literally, by the owners (Toua Xiong and Nou Vang and their family) and by the scores of vendors.

Suzanne and I poked into every nook and cranny, paying  rapt attention as Nou graciously escorted, introduced, and explained the vendors and their wares.

At one point Nou asked if I were looking for anything specific.  Doting grandma that I am I targeted my one and only grandson Will Birmingham, age 19 months.  We sped to the top-of-the-line shop for boys’ togs where Nou introduced us, then surreptitiously purchased a Hmong suit for Will.  The result captures the splendor of the suit and the unbounded delight of an Irish American boy from Northeast Minneapolis who may never again settle for Carter’s

Original post from Twin Cities Daily Planet.    http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2010/06/28/mn-voices-toua-xiong-immigrant-year

Village Farmer’s Market Blooms in St. Anthony

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It’s Opening Day and counting for the Village Farmer’s Market in St. Anthony, Minnesota.  An introduction to the VFM first appeared in the Twin Cities Daily Planet in May.

Though it seemed a distant goal at the time, it’s here.  Vendor stalls are going up, growers, food wagons, and merchants are at the ready, and the Shop and Learn series is good to go.  Opening ceremonies begin at 3:00 p.m.  From July 12-October 11 the Market will be open every Monday (except Labor Day) from 3:00-7:00 p.m.

For the latest on the VFM, the director and board, discounts and more, check the updated website and blog which now include photos and bios of the VFM prime movers.

Also new on the website is the schedule for the season’s Shop & Learn Series which begins with a talk by Ginny Black from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency;  Ginny will offer tips on making your garden grow and composting.

The rest of the Shop & Learn series covers a spectrum of topics – recycling, cookbook collecting, Metro Transit, and local author Gail Olson who will debut her new book in a presentation entitled “St. Anthony Village – hog farms, floods, tornadoes and alligators.”

Shop & Learn sessions will meet at 4:00 and 6:00 in the meeting room at the Hennepin County Library in the Village Shopping Center aka The Village Farmer’s Market.

Added attractions include discount cards from Village vendors, prepared food vendors, and reduced child care fees are all detailed on the VFM website.

Farmer’s Markets Sprout

Farmer’s Markets are sprouting (to coin a phrase) on every church, parking, and vacant lot, it seems.  It’s great.  What I’m learning in my poking around is about the unique nature of many of these sites.  Thanks to Twin Cities Daily Planet shared penchant for poking around, I’ve had a chance to dig a bit deeper into just a couple – so far.

The Village Farmer’s Market, opening July 12 in my community, is the fulfillment of one woman’s dream.  Wendy Huebner is the dreamer who now has the whole community abuzz.  The VFM will feature a generous array of locally produced vegetables and fruit along with a rich assortment of entertainment/educational programs that range from accordions to jugglers to a talk about the history of cookbooks, with emphasis on delicacies created from locally grown produce.  Details on TCDP.

Another community building market is the fulfillment of Toua Xiong’s dream.  The Hmongtown Marketplace in St. Paul’s Frogtown is the hub of the Hmong community.  The nine-acre site features locally grown produce, much of which is new to oldtime Minnesotans.  The Market also features several restaurants and foodstands, acres of purchasable items ranging from clothing to videos to bubble blowing gear.  Again, details on TCDP.

The summer isn’t long enough to poke around all of the market opportunities, but I’ve got a good start on a most delightful and delicious poke!