A Bounty of Musical Talent in the Barrens

We all know about the musical talents and success of our own Sam Bush, Kentucky Headhunters, and Black Stone Cherry; but for each of these widely recognized talents there are dozens in our region who play music “for the love of the song” to quote Townes Van Zandt. Many of those have performed for us this summer at the Bounty of the Barrens Farmers’ Market to the great pleasure of market attendees.

We have seen great variety – from lone singers onstage with only their voice and their guitar (a brave and outstanding lot) to bluegrass musicians in pairs and up to six on a stage (a small, crowded stage, I might add), a local music teacher and aspiring songwriter accompanied by her voice and piano students, a talented instrumental duet of violin and flute, an aspiring young singer with dreams of the Grand Ole Opry, the cast of a local musical theater production and a local trio playing music with a “south of the border” flavor. All these musicians have donated their time and talents to entertain the market patrons and support the efforts of Sustainable Glasgow and the vendors of the Bounty of the Barrens Farmers’ Market.

I am reminded of a quote I heard from Kenny Weber, the recently deceased and much beloved local musician and owner of Backstage Music here in Glasgow. Kenny said, and I might be paraphrasing, that a successful musician is simply one who loves to play. By that measure, all the musicians who have played at the market are great successes. Their love of the music is readily apparent.

I have seen much live music in my life, and I can tell you that none of it has been any more enjoyable or satisfying than the performances offered up by our neighbors at the market. If you have missed it, you have missed a real treat and a real local “happening.” Don’t let another Saturday go by without venturing to West Main and Water Street for what is becoming a Glasgow Saturday morning tradition of food, folks, and music.

William Travis

Sustainable Glasgow

Good Time Charlies Rock BOTBM on August 15

Bounty of the Barrens Farmers Market Celebrates Farmers Market Week

Now in our third successful month at the Bounty of the Barrens Farmers Market in Glasgow, we have a lot to celebrate. But, the past two Saturday’s have been extra special as the market vendors, patrons and volunteers celebrated National and Kentucky Farmers Market Week. To commemorate Farmers Market week, volunteers at the BOTBMarket handed out hundreds of free, re-usable shopping totes to early morning shoppers on what turned out to be a remarkable day for the BOTBMarket with nearly 900 customers that we were able to track.

This enormous success is great for Sustainable Glasgow, the founding organization of the market, and really tells us that people of the community like what they are getting from the market. Consequently, the community is now supporting over forty regular vendors at the market who provide everything from local, home grown fruits and vegetables to grass-fed beef and pork, cut flowers, great local arts and crafts, and even bison. There really is something for everyone.

Still, there is a lot of room for improving the lot of the vendors. Right now they are in the “fat” part of the growing season and there is more “bounty” than there are buyers. We need more folks to come out and thank these folks who are working hard under the sun, and rain, to feed us. In addition, we all need to be asking the owners of local restaurants for more local food items to be included on their menus. The local farmers seem to always run into problems selling to local restaurants because the local products are not as cheap as the products sold to restaurants from commercial food services. It is up to us, the restaurant customers, to make the source of the food we buy an issue with the restaurant owners. Local food IS 1500 miles fresher!

So, even as farmers market week passes us by, there are so many great reasons to come to the BOTBMarket this Saturday. As always, we’ll have live, local music and a great local restaurant serving up delicious prepared dishes. Sustainable Glasgow will be passing out recipes for new ways to prepare the healthy, seasonal produce available right there at the market from hard-working, local farmers.

We plan on having the market through October to continue to provide an outlet for Fall items like pumpkins and gourds, herbs, flowers, and seasonal produce but also a place to buy arts and crafts and to continue the fellowship that seems to have evolved between regular Saturday customers and vendors. We can only hope that the BOTBMarket will become a part of the fabric of life in Glasgow now and in the future.

Ode to the Tomato

This article in today's Courier-Journal is reason enough for all to come out to Bounty of the Barrens Market this Saturday! There are abundant ripe juicy tomatoes there.

You Say You Want a Revolution?

We certainly cannot claim to have invented the Sustainability movement. In fact this idea is at least ten years old, probably older, and is in full swing in many other communities. But we are proud to bring the idea to our little corner of the world and to raise the awareness of the many issues which fall under the general sustainability umbrella.

If you think that Sustainable Glasgow, Inc., or the Sustainability movement is just about farmer’s markets, then we have done a poor job communicating our mission. Sustainabilty, as a movement, has many faces, but all of them relate to the creation of plans and infrastructure capable of helping us provide for our own essential needs. A sustainable economy would have a master plan and facilities for feeding ourselves, for providing our own energy needs, for providing our own entertainment and quality of life, for supporting and encouraging local artists and performers, and even for providing our own capital (the money necessary to finance all of the above).

Perhaps you have never seen yourself as part of a movement, but it is time to consider joining one. With respect to the idea of Sustainability, you truly are either part of the solution or a part of the problem. Continuing the habit of purchasing your family’s food at a supermarket means that you are not concerned that our present food economy is unsustainable. It continues our vulnerability to contaminated and unhealthy food from factories instead of from local farms. It continues our vulnerability to finding ourselves hungry due to the interruption of a regular supply of diesel fuel, electric power, or even a closure of one highway - Interstate 65!

Continuing to just pay your electric bill instead of asking where your electric power comes from and demanding that its production get cleaner and more sustainable, places you on the other side from those who would like to establish clean, local means of generating some of the power we use in Glasgow. Joining in with Sustainable Glasgow, Inc. and the Sustainability movement would add momentum to the idea of local energy production. Joining our movement would also enlarge the group that wants to provide a venue for local musicians and artists, which would enhance the possibility of making Glasgow more like the places we long to visit in resort communities afar. Sustainable Glasgow will be lobbying for more money spent on things like walking, running, jogging, and bicycling infrastructure and less on investments for foreign companies that take more from our community than they give. We will be working with local banks and businesspeople to establish methods for local investors to buy stock in local businesses and local folks who want to establish, or expand, a local business.

Are you totally satisfied with the way things are in Glasgow and the way you are living your life? If so, peace be with you – perhaps the Sustainability movement is not for you. If you yearn for change, for improvement in the way we provide for the essentials of life, Sustainable Glasgow needs you! If you want to learn more about these sustainable concepts, go to our outstanding local library and check out books like Deep Economy, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Slow Money, Blessed Unrest, and The Small Mart Revolution. And remember our mantra – Live Local!