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, September 19, 2009:

From the Farm: beets, cabbage, cantaloupe, assortment of peppers including pepperoncini and poblano, sweet corn, cucumbers, eggs, eggplant, herbs, gourds, kohlrabi, onions, potatoes, pumpkins, summer squash, winter squash, sweet potatoes (yellow and white), tomatoes, turnips, watermelon, fresh flowers, plants including Christmas cactus, aloe, and wooly thyme, water plants including sweet Amy, decorative corn, corn stalks
From the Kitchen: bagels, cake, cinnamon rolls, fruit cobblers, cookies, cornmeal, focacia, fudge, jams, jellies, granola, lemonade (4 kinds), muffins, sugar free muffins, noodles, pies, quick breads, raisin bread, salt rising bread, sour dough breads, teas, yeast breads
Art and Crafts: aprons, baby bibs, bags, baskets, bean bag toys, benches, bookmarks, canes, candles, cat hammocks, chopping blocks, 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), shredded wood animal bedding
Host Tent: farmers market gift certificates are now available

THIS WEEK’S EVENTS:
It’s 4-H Day at the farmers market. Be sure to visit the kids in the 4-H tent to see the projects that they worked so hard on. Phil Mininger returns to the farmers market to demonstrate the use of his antique cider press using local apples. Free samples for everyone! If you’ve not had a chance to play our Farmers Market Scavenger Hunt, you’re in luck. Visit us at our Host Tent to pick up a list of who you should look for. (We even have a kid’s version of the game so the whole family can play!) When you find that person at the market, ask them for their signature. (Someone might even be looking for YOU!) When you have six or more signatures, come back to the Host Tent to draw for a coupon. As always, our beloved farmers market jammers will entertain us with their uplifting music! We might even have horse & buggy rides with Brack, Linda and our favorite farmers market horse, Luke!

OUR VENDORS OF THE WEEK: Local photographer Beverly Baird will be this week’s featured vendor. She takes great photos of our beautiful county. They are framed and ready to hang and would make a nice gift for anyone calling Orange County their home. If you are visiting her booth when the timer rings, you’ll get coupon!

The LOVE YOUR FARMERS MARKET CONTEST ends this Thursday, September 17th! Let’s see if we can make it to the top ten in the nation by then!
As of September 14, 2009, we are ranked #12 of the top 100 farmers markets in the nation! This contest ends soon on September 17th. (To see the current list, go to http://www.care2.com/farmersmarket/top_markets ) Here are a couple of love note quotes left this week at the website about our farmers market: “The Orange County HomeGrown Farmers Market has everything from garden goodies, books, crafts, baked goods, homemade soaps, photographs and plants. Plus there is always beautiful music to greet you and carriage rides through town.” and “I support the Orange County, IN HomeGrown Farmers Market because I always find new and exciting things there and the vendors there are so nice.” 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.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:
· 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 children’s books and cookbooks. Please consider donating or trading cookbooks at our Buck-a-Book trailer.
· We could sure use more volunteers to help with customer counts, veggie inventory, coffee help and set up and tear down. Please see Alice in the Host Tent if you are interested in giving of some of your time. No experience necessary, just a friendly smile is required.

REPORT FROM LAST WEEK’S MARKET:
What a glorious day at the farmers market with 65 vendors in attendance and hundreds of visitors enjoying the cool weather. It was Congress Square Park Appreciation Day so all of our donations for the day went to the Town of Orleans for park upkeep. We were able to write a check to the town for $187.77. Thank you everyone. Our square dancing friends donned their dancin’ finery and swung their partners round and round. United Way was present to distribute Senior Vouchers. We had many visitors earning coupons while playing the Farmers Market Scavenger Hunt. Luke, our favorite farmers market horse, earned his oats pullin people all around the town of Orleans in the buggy with assistance from Linda and Brack. Our chef buddies from the French Lick Resort Hotel cooked up marinated flank steak from Fischer Farms along with a colorful relish of local peppers, eggplant, onions and tomatoes purchased that morning at the market. They even bought paw paws to take back with them to the resort so they could make a paw paw crème brulee dessert. Yum!

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 also offer free ice water to wet your whistle, courtesy of our neighbor, The Dollar Store. 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! 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. 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.

VALLEY FARMERS MARKET:
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.

FREE LAWN CHAIR CONCERT THIS COMING THURSDAY!
Orange County HomeGrown Arts will present its next and last concert in French Lick in front of the French Lick Resort Hotel this Thursday, September 17 beginning at 6:30 p.m. and will feature: Low Gap (David & Ellen Percifield, farmers market vendors) performing Acoustic Folk, Bluegrass plus Songs from “The Flip Side” and then at 7:30 p.m. Swallowtale performing Celtic music. This concert series is made possible through a matching grant from the Indiana Arts Commission, the Jasper Community Arts Council and Visit French Lick West Baden.

OTHER EVENT OF INTEREST:
Stump to Product Tour—September 24, 2009 from 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM Sponsored by White River RC&D Forestry Committee This field day will cover BMP’s, a Landowner chainsaw Safety demonstration, and a tour of International Wood in Salem Pre-registration is required ($10/person; no charge for students). Contact White River RC&D (812)883-3006 Ext. 5.