Just a little Taste of Life on the Shore

After a hectic week on the western Shore it was good to get back over the bridge to “life on the Shore” -  poking around at the Crumpton auction, stopping in at The Finishing Touch and Bookplate in downtown Chestertown, enjoying a delightful meal at the Imperial Hotel. Friday morning it was back in the saddle and on the air at our local radio station 1530 AM WCTR where I had the opportunity to interview Barbara Ellis (www.EasternShoreGardener.com) about the Plant A Row for the Hungry program (www.gardenwriters.org/par). Like many Eastern Shore entrepreneurs, Barbara wears a lot of hats, and we ended our interview hearing about her latest venture: Fur and Feathers Pet Sitting Service. All things to all people.

It reminded me, what with the launch of the West Annapolis 2^nd Sunday Neighborhood Green Market (see our Upcoming Fairs & Markets link on the left), I’d been remiss in getting the story about Cassinelli Winery & Vineyard (www.cassinelliwinery.com) posted. Al Cassinelli was kind enough to give me a personal tour of the Winery, and I couldn’t have asked for a more hospitable host.

Al and Jennifer Cassinelli started their vineyard just outside of Church Hill four years ago and are now celebrating their grand opening in a big way. We had the pleasure of serving up their Reisling, Merlot and Rose this past First Friday and it got rave reviews. Another genuine Eastern Shore entrepreneur, Al and Jennifer both have day jobs – the Winery is a family affair, with both kids lending a hand, a dog to greet visitors and a cat to keep the mice at bay.

Stop by on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 for a wine tasting. You’ll know you’re getting close by the long white fence running along Route 213. If you can’t get over to Church Hill, check their website and catch them at one of the upcoming wine festivals. And if you’re not a wine connoiseur, they’ll be happy to have you stop by seasonally to pick apples, peaches or pumpkins.

And if you like Festivals, save the date and come over to next year’s Delmarva Chicken Festival (www.dpichicken.org). This year’s Festival took place June 19 and 20 at the 4H Queen Anne County Fairgrounds in Centreville – the first time in this location. There was a huge turnout, and we had to park at a distance and take the shuttle to the Festival – no ordinary shuttle – they were all tractor-pulled get ups with long wooden benches. We could hear the music and smell the aromas on our ride in, so we were ready to go as soon as the wheels stopped moving.

First stop, the Baby Chick Display, including a hatching incubator and a petting station, a delight for kids and grown ups. Events like these give the non-profit organizations an opportunity to publicize their work and to raise money.

We sampled traditional food stands like lemonade from the Queen Anne Volunteer Fire Company, and the innovative Farm to Table Livestock Club’s Frozen Cola. We had hoped to catch up with Kent County Tourism Development Director Bernadette VanPelt and her trusty assistant Jen Davis, but there was just too much to see.

What with the petting zoo, baked goods, music and displays, there was plenty to do. We did catch up with our buddy Lisa Ford and her ingenious recycled craft (and I did my all out best to get her signed up for our Annapolis Market – it’s looking good!).

We were a day too early to catch Jack the Penguin, the band in which Keith Thompson plays (WCTR Jock and master of the boards for Homegrown and Green on the radio), but with good reason. Tonight we’re heading to the Prince Theatre www.princetheatre.org to catch Short Attention Span – 5^th Annual 10 Minute Play Festival. Friend Mark Sullivan, husband of Francoise Sullivan, graphic & web designer extraordinaire, of www.moo-productions.com, has a play in the series, and it will be great to catch up with them. 

                                                                   But the highlight of the Chicken Festival is the infamous Giant Fry Pan

used every year at the festival. The original pan was built in 1950 by Mumford Sheet Metal Works in Selbyville, Delware. It measures 10 feet across and 8 inches deep, with an 8 foot handle, and weighs 650 pounds. It has the capacity for 160 gallons of oil and 800 chicken quarters. That’s a lot of chicken. And all of it was being eaten by many happy festival goers – even those who never eat anything else fried all year long!

The highlight for me, however, was more than the chicken. This is rural America at its best. There were people of all ages, and many three-generation families. They were participating in one of our oldest ways of coming together around shared interests and values, based on one of our most traditional economies. I picked up a fact book from the American Farm Bureau Federation. You might be interested to know that today 98 per cent of all U.S. farms are individually or family-owned, accounting for 86% of farm products sold. Americans spend just 10% of their disposable income on food, less than Japan, France, China, the Philippines and Indonesia, for example. And when it comes to preservation and environmentalism, farmers are part of conservation programs addressing soil erosion, wetlands preservation and restoration, air and water pollution, and wildlife habitat enhancement.

If you missed the Festival, no worries. You can catch an Agricultural Fair in just about any County in Maryland. Go to the Maryland Association of Agricultural Fairs & Shows website www.maafs.com and click on the Members Fairs link on the left.

Any if I’ve got you thinking about a trip to my corner of the shore, well come on. Start with a visit to www.kentcounty.com for information about events, attractions, activities, lodging, dining – just about everything you want to know. Here in Kent County we have nine museums, small towns to kick back in, the Eastern Neck Wildlife Refuge, and some spectacular public landings to put in your kayak or canoe. Enjoy the pick-you-own pleasures at Lockbriar Farm www.lockbriarfarm.com, the sponsor of Homegrown and Green on the radio. If you’re here on Saturday morning (and now Wednesday from Noon to 5) you can catch them and other local farmers in Fountain Park in downtown Chestertown.

And if you’re thinking of spending the night, Joe at the Imperial Hotel will put you up and Chef Tom Pizzica will feed you right www.imperialchestertown.com. Or you might go for one of America’s Top Ten Most Romantic Inns, right here in our backyard – the Brampton Inn www.bramptoninn.com. Between the breakfast and desserts, you may never leave the property. Owner Danielle Hanscom will be my guest on WCTR on Friday, June 26. Tune in and hear all about what it takes to make National Geographic’s Top 150 Stay List. Catch a little music and the local scene at Andy’s www.andys-ctown.com. What more can you ask for? As for me, I’ll be here on the Shore. Or in Annapolis. Or somewhere in between. Wherever it is, life is good.

Creating a Neighborhood Market

Creating a Market:

A Vision of What's to Come at the

West Annapolis 2nd Sunday Neighborhood Green Market

One of my favorite things to do when I'm travelling is to find the local farmer's market. It's a great way to get the "flavor" of an area and meet the people and have a genuine experience of a place. Each one has its own individual character, and some of my favorites are the ones that offer a mix of vendors and merchandise.

So when the opportunity to be a part of creating a monthly Neighborhood Green Market in West Annapolis came along, I drew upon some of the most successful markets in the country.

One of those is the Fremont Sunday Market in the Seattle area www.fremontmarket.com, that's been going strong for almost 20 years - long enough to attract the attention of a major magazine (like Country Living if I recall), which is how I discovered it some 10 years ago. More than a traditional farmer's market, the Fremont Sunday Market is a mix of produce, plants, food vendors (both producers and ready-to-eat), along with antiques & vintage goods and craft. 

The mix feels natural, as if these things have always stood side by side, and when you think about the origin of markets - centers for commerce and exchange of all the goods people needed for their lives - there is indeed a centuries-old tradition.

Markets provide the opportunity to meet and interact with the "producer" of the item you purchase. Several years ago I met Leah who created Smart Monkey - Refurbished Yarn & Knitwear (read more about her at www.smartmonkey.etsy.com). I have told almost everyone I know about what she's doing, so I was thrilled to see her at the Market this time.

Leah purchases sweaters at thrift stores, deconstructs and washes them, and then sells the

fibers to use for creating new garments. It is her personal effort to save the planet, one garment at a time.

Leah is not alone in her endeavors. Amy Gibson and Andrea Read (www.colorstorydesigns.etsy.com) are a pair of crafters who are putting together some original, creative designs using recycled magazines. My photo doesn't do their work justice so please do check out their site to see their great work.

And if you wanted flowers, they were there. Along with a band and plenty of people with dogs, and famlies with children happily in tow. It was clear that both vendors and attendees were "regulars", and that there were relationships and friendships that had formed between them at the Market.

You never know what you might find - a coffee table, a baby gift, the perfect thing for dinner, a magazine from the year you were born.

Or you might pick up something from Carol Kiyan of Running Dog Designs. Her recycled bags, wallets and jewelry incorporate found objects - gameboard pieces, sewing patterns, record albums - with recycled materials to create hip, stylish and green accessories. If only I could convince her to come to Annapolis to set up!

And between visiting with vendors, customers stopped into the local shops to see what was new or just to say hello to a shopkeeper whose acquaintance they had made by coming to the Market.

It is a great way to spend a morning, or a day, for everyone. Markets are a vital part of local economies in many communities; the Project for Public Spaces (www.pps.org/markets) offers a wealth of information about the benefits of markets to every part of a community.

We invite you to Come Grow With Us at the West Annapolis 2nd Sunday Neighborhood Green Market, beginning Sunday, June 14. We will be creating a pedestrian walkway on Giddings Avenue between Ridgely Avenue and Annapolis Street. And we will keep updating this site with information about our vendors. If you are a grower, craft or antiques vendor who is interested in participating, email us at westannapolisgreenmarket@gmail.com  or call 410-810-4898 for more information. And if you'd like to be on our email list for updates, that's the email to use as well. We look forward to seeing you June 14!