What’s Happening at This Week’s Orange County HomeGrown Orleans Farmers Market
The Orange County HomeGrown Farmers Market is located on the west side of the beautiful historic Congress Square Park in Orleans, Indiana, and takes place each Saturday from 8:00 a.m. until noon. Please support your local growers, bakers, artists and handcrafters by shopping at the Orange County HomeGrown Farmers Market. Bring your friends and family!
Last week we surveyed our wonderful vendors. Here’s what they expect to have at the Orange County HomeGrown on Saturday, July 25th, 2009:

From the Farm: beets (red, yellow & white), blackberries, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, chard, chili peppers, cilantro, corn, cucumbers, eggs, eggplant, garlic, green beans, herbs, kale, romaine lettuce (???), maple syrup, meat (beef), onions, sweet peppers, peaches, persimmon pulp, potatoes, rhubarb, summer squash, tomatoes, zucchini, fresh flowers, plants
From the Kitchen: cake, cookies, fudge, jams, jellies, lemonade (4 kinds), muffins, sugar free muffins, noodles, pies, quick breads, salt rising bread, sour dough breads, yeast breads
Art and Crafts: aprons, baby bibs, bags, baskets, bean bag toys, bird houses, candles, cat hammocks, cloth books, clothespin bags, crochet, handcrafted crochet needles, cutting boards, horseshoe crafts, hypertufa, jewelry, leather goods, painted gourds, painted tools, planters, photographs, purses, quilts, recycled bags, rugs, rustic furniture, signs, soft goods, soaps, stationary, stilts, monogrammed towels, wooden bowls, wooden toys, wreaths, wool yarns, woven items, knit & crochet kits with unique pattern designs using plant fibers such as cottons and bamboo (Includes FREE jumps start lessons with any kit purchased with assistance as needed throughout projects)
Host Tent: farmers market gift certificates are now available

THIS WEEK’S EVENTS:
If you’ve ever dreamed of learning how to play a musical instrument, you’re in luck! Margie Delph will conduct a Beginning Mandolin Workshop with tips on jamming etiquette.
There’s no excuse to eat instant food from a box at this time of year. We’ll have a Farm to Fork Chef Demo with Candace Grover & Andrew Apple of Goods for Cooks of Bloomington, who will show us how to take the summer bounty and make something delicious to eat. We’ll also have special guests from the Sycamore Land Trust return to the market to distribute information about their organization whose mission is to preserve the disappearing landscape of southern Indiana. Sycamore Land Trust conserves land to provide habitat for wildlife, protect scenic beauty, and provide places for outdoor enjoyment and education. If you are in our Walking Club, don’t forget to stop by the Host Tent to show off your tracking sheet and get a coupon! If you’d still like to be a part of the Walking Club, come see us in the Host Tent. Don’t forget to stop in and enjoy the wonderful music provided by our beloved farmers market jammers. If you play an instrument or like to sing, you can be a jammer too! All musicians are certainly welcome. If you jam with us more than three times, you’ll get a t-shirt and a cap! After the farmers market closes at noon, stick around for the Car Show on Congress Square from 1 to 4 p.m. And don’t forget to check out the Orange County 4-H Fair this weekend.

OUR VENDOR OF THE WEEK: Gerald & Teresa Moon with their pretty as a picture granddaughter, Madison, are our vendors of the week. They sell yummy lemonade. Be sure to quench your thirst with one of their four kinds of lemonade. Their chilly dilly lemonade is a visitor favorite! If you are visiting their booth when the timer rings, you’ll get coupon!

LOVE YOUR FARMERS MARKET CONTEST:
As of July 18, 2009, we’re ranked #34 of the top 100 farmers markets in the country! Here’s another love note quote left at the website about our farmers market: “It’s just a wonderful place for a family outing. Hard working folks are making terrific goods and foods. Tell your friends.” If you think the Orange County HomeGrown Farmers Market is the best in the land, and then please cast your vote for us so that we can win the Love Your Farmers Market Contest and help us defeat the big city markets ranked above us! You can cast your vote online at http://fromaliceskitchen.blogspot.com When you get to this webpage, click on the Vote Today button on the right side of the screen. While there, check out some yummy husband-tested recipes. There are over 200 recipes on the page so far. Recipes featuring ingredients found at Lost River Market & Deli and the Orange County HomeGrown Farmers Market are put to the test and added to the blog on a regular basis.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:
· We have at least a dozen produce vendors who can accept WIC and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program vouchers. Look for their signs or see us at the Host Tent. These vouchers may be used for fresh fruits and vegetables only.
· If you are looking for a gift for someone special, farmers market gift certificates are now available for purchase. You’ll find them at our Host Tent. The gift certificates can be used to purchase any item from any of our friendly vendors.
· Buck-a-Book is in need of cookbooks. Please consider donating or trading cookbooks at our Buck-a-Book trailer.

REPORT FROM LAST WEEK’S MARKET:
Everyone was shivering a bit this Saturday with fall-like temps, but the chilly weather didn’t make a difference with the numbers of people who came to the farmers market. Gadzooks! We broke the record this week with a whopping 77 vendors! At 11:00 a.m., we counted 265 visitors, our highest customer count this season. We welcomed visitors from Tennessee, Texas, California, Arizona, Kentucky, Florida and all parts of Indiana. Chef Kori Allen of the Sullivan University's Culinary Arts program made a tasty ratatouille with the fresh summer squash, onions and tomatoes available at the market. The Throop Elementary School Cheerleaders held a tip-top pep rally for our vendors with cheers written especially for them. Their enthusiasm brought big smiles from all who watched! Lots of visitors young and old delighted in playing Farmers Market Bingo while they earned coupons for their efforts. We still have Farmers Market Walking Club members stopping by the Host Tent to get their well-deserved coupons too. Seventeen jammers played music all morning for our shopping enjoyment. Brack and Linda were busy taking visitors for horse and buggy rides too! Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one horse open buggy!

OTHER GREAT FEATURES AT THE MARKET: Be sure to stop by to see our BUCK A BOOK where you can browse a great selection of books. (We have thousands!) We welcome the donations of books for the book trailer. All of the money from book sales goes to support Orange County HomeGrown Farmers Market (Orleans). Buy a book for a buck or trade two books for one book. Visit us at the Host Tent and have a free cup of coffee courtesy of our neighbor, Maple Street Restaurant. We are fortunate to have friendly, helpful MASTER GARDENERS at every market. Bring your gardening questions to the MASTER GARDENER TABLE, and they will be very happy to help you! Another great feature of the Market is the addition of the Orange County Recycling Co-op truck. They will take household items for recycling, such as cardboard, newspapers, junk mail, paper, magazines, catalogues, plastic bottles #1 and #2, aluminum cans, scrap metal, metal cans, plastic grocery bags. Please rinse out plastic bottles and remove lids. Also, rinse out cans. Please break down cardboard boxes. Many of our produce vendors are WIC VENDORS and will accept WIC and Senior Farmers Market Nutritional Program vouchers. Visit the LOST RIVER MARKET & DELI INFORMATION BOOTH and learn more about our local community grocery store in Paoli, located at 26 Library Street behind the Paoli Public Library. This full service member-owned food co-op market not only has a deli, but also bulk items, local and organic produce, local meats, cheeses, natural foods, wine and beer. Be sure to stop by to take a look. Everyone is welcome.

SPECIAL EVENT THIS WEDNESDAY, JULY 22:
Join us this Wednesday, July 22nd at Lost River Market & Deli for a “Dine Local Dinner” from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. Diners can expect fresh grilled Fischer Farms burgers and Hall Farm Brats, plus a variety of dishes and salads made from locally grown in-season produce. Enjoy music by Orange County HomeGrown jammers while you eat. This event is open to the public and all shoppers are welcome.

VALLEY FARMERS MARKET ANNOUNCEMENT:
The Orange County HomeGrown Valley Market is open on Tuesdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. now located between the Indiana Railway Museum and the French Lick Springs over-flow parking lot just off of Highway 56. You’ll also find Valley Farmers Market vendors on Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the French Lick Market on W. College Street next to French Lick Post Office with the French Lick Market.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY:
Orange County HomeGrown is an all-volunteer, non-profit, community service organization. If you are interested in volunteering for any of its projects, such as the Orleans or Valley Farmers Markets, the Lawn Chair Concert Series or the Adopt-a-River of Lost River, we’d love to have you. Just call (812) 653-1047 or send us an email at orangecountyhomegrown@earthlink.net