Hello faithful readers and Rosedale Farmers Market friends,

I am so excited to announce that this week the Rosedale Farmers Market will host the very first Fresh Fest, a weekly cooking and nutrition demonstration hosted by our very own summer HKI interns in the fitness center at Southwest Boulevard Family Health Care.  This Sunday the featured recipe is a “Zesty Summer Squash Bake.“ The first demonstration will take place at 12:30 p.m.

See you at the market!

249 = number of market visitors

10 = number of vendors today

1 = number of fire trucks that came to the market to check it out

2 = number of weeks the market has been open

I can hardly believe that this is only the second week of the market!  At the suggestion of a friend at KU Med, we bought a “clicker counter” at an office supply store to count how many people showed up today.  This, happily, was my job.  It made me so elated to click away as cars and bicycle pulled up, and people walking their dogs stopped by to see what was going on.  And I couldn’t believe the numbers!  Over 100 people came to the market before 1 pm, and by the end of the market, my count was 249.  It makes me wonder whether my estimate of how many people came last week was incorrect!

New this week: organic dog treats and a water dish for our furry friends who came along to the market.  I didn’t get a complete count today, but I think we had about 5-10 dogs today.

A huge thank you goes to the many volunteers from Rainbow Mennonite Church who helped today with surveys, information table, the community garden and family activity tables, and waving at people on Southwest Boulevard.  We couldn’t have done it without you.

Stay tuned for pictures from the market, and remember that the market will be open on Memorial Day weekend, same time and same place.  Stock up on fresh local lettuce, salad greens and other goodies for your Memorial Day barbecues and picnics!

What a terrific first farmers market last Sunday!  Despite the chilly weather and chance of rain, we had great turnout at the first Rosedale Farmers Market of 2010, with eight vendors and over 100 customers!  Check out our new Flickr stream for photos from the market, which I hope to update weekly.

We can hardly wait until this Sunday!

Drive past the intersection of Rainbow Blvd/7th St Expressway and Southwest Boulevard and this is what you’ll see:

Only two days before the market begins!  We’re so excited!

Check out the great article in the KC Star today on Rosedale and the Rosedale Farmers Market!

Today is Earth Day.  What are you going to do?

I couldn’t help but get excited about our market this weekend as I saw the signs for the opening of several other farmers markets in the area.  I love everything about farmers markets – the conversations with old friends and new, the festive, cheerful atmosphere, the chance to be outside, and of course, the delicious, locally grown food.  With less than a month to go before the opening of the Rosedale Farmers Market, I find myself already dreaming about fresh salad greens, strawberries, and asparagus; vegetable transplants and spring flowers.

We’re finalizing the market logo this week with the wonderful designers at Springboard Creative, and starting the printing of the Rosedale Farmers Market tokens and banners in preparation for the first day of the market on May 16, 2010.  I’m trying to find a countdown tool to put on our site – check back later today to see if I succeeded!

-heidi

Many thanks to Rosedale community gardener Aaron Barnhart for this fantastic video on the Crescent City Market in New Orleans, and for letting us share it!