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 26, 2009:

From the Farm: beets, cabbage, cantaloupe (???), chestnuts, assortment of peppers including pepperoncini and poblano, eggs, gourds, onions, potatoes, pumpkins and mini pumpkins, (pick-a-pie pumpkin, gold rush, crinshaw, round yellow, prize winner varieties), a variety of winter squashes such as acorn squash, spaghetti squash, butternut squash, sweet potatoes (yellow and white), tomatoes, fresh flowers, plants including Christmas cactus, aloe, coxcombs, water plants, decorative corn, animal bedding
From the Kitchen: bagels, cake, cinnamon rolls, fruit cobblers, cookies, cornmeal, focacia, fudge, jams, jellies, granola, hot chocolate, 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, squirrel feeders, 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:
It’s Family Art Day at the Farmers Market! We’ll have tables set up from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. with plenty of art supplies for anyone who would like to create a piece of art with a farmers market theme. We’ll also provide chalk for chalk drawings on the walk. We’ll give out farmers market coupons for those who participate. Visit with Anna Marie Mahler, watercolor artist and Abstract Artist Ray Beauregard and admire their work which will be on display. It’s also the final day and prize drawing for the Farmers Market Walking Club. Dunn Memorial Hospital will be on hand to do the final health screening. Walking Club Members will certainly see an improvement in their test results! Those who walked regularly during the farmers market season will have a chance to win a prize. The prize drawing will take place at 10:00. (No need to be present to win.) 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, Duke!

OUR VENDORS OF THE WEEK: Jon Hoffman is this week’s featured vendor. Jon brings to the market a wonderful variety of fall pumpkins and squashes to eat and to decorate your home. If you are visiting his booth when the timer rings, you’ll get coupon!

The LOVE YOUR FARMERS MARKET CONTEST ended this past Thursday, September 17th. Thank you and your friends and family for supporting us in the "Love Your Farmers Market" contest. The contest ended on September 17th. We certainly felt the love!!! It looks as if we are #10 in the nation, only 12 votes behind Bloomington (#9) The website now states, "We are in the process of verifying votes and will announce the final winners of our contest soon. Thank you!" We'll let you know as soon as it's official.

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:
The sunrise was quite lovely as we all pulled in to the farmers market to set up. Many thanks go to vendor and farmers market jammer, Dennis Fields who pulled our Buck-a-Book trailer with a chain to the market when our truck wouldn’t start and to Tim True who was able to get our truck started by market’s end. The 4-H kids put on a great display of their projects. Phil Mininger along with some energetic youngsters demonstrated the use of his antique cider press using local apples. Everyone got free samples of the fall treat. Duke, the horse, was busy taking Brack, Linda and buggy loads of visitors on many, many trips around town.

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.

OTHER EVENTS 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.

· The West Baden Historical Society invites you to the 100th anniversary celebration of the First Baptist Colored Church (deeded 1909) Sunday September 27, 2009 12:00 Noon to 4:00PM on the Church grounds. Join us in an old-fashioned celebration with an afternoon of gospel and old-time music and a church social lunch. Tickets are $10 and include lunch. Send check to: WEST BADEN HISTORICAL SOCIETY PO BOX 284 WEST BADEN, IN, 47469 Or Contact: Judi Kimmel @ 812-936-4744 jjkimmel@smithville.net or Bonnie Taylor 812-936-4875 boburto@aol.com