Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Bounty of the Barrens On the Square Starts Saturday!

In Glasgow there is no better sign that spring has arrived than the opening of our Bounty of the Barrens Farmers’ Market, and that happens this Saturday April 9, on the beautiful bountiful lawn of our Barren County Courthouse at the center of Glasgow’s downtown! For the Sustainable Glasgow team, this move has meant a great deal of work and planning throughout the winter but we are very excited about the new possibilities for improving our local food initiative at the new location. We are deeply grateful for the support and confidence we have gotten from Barren County Fiscal Court and other local officials who believe in us enough to give us permission to have the market in the center of town. Now, it is our job to show them that they made a great decision!

Of course it is April and, while there will not be a vast variety of fresh fruits and vegetables yet available during the first few weeks, there will be a lot of locally raised beef, poultry, buffalo, and pork. There will be baked goods, local milk and cheese, some early season produce, and some of the craft items you have come to expect at the market. Starting at 8:00 a.m., the white tents of Bounty of the Barrens Market will be arranged on the Courthouse lawn and the market will be underway. You can come early and enjoy breakfast at George J’s or Fine Arts Bistro with your family and friends before, or after, strolling around the vendor tents and purchasing your needed items. The Sustainable Glasgow team will be there learning from the initial experience at operating the market on the square and, together, we will learn and adjust and get the kinks worked out of the process during the early season so we can have it all well adjusted by late May when the market, the vendors, the local music, and you, the patrons, are all in full swing.

As with all events on the square, parking will be an issue. Please be aware of the parking available in the parking structure behind the buildings on the north side of the square, the City parking lot behind City Hall, parking behind US Bank, and the city lot on the west side of the square as well as all of the on-street parking available on the many streets leading to and from the Glasgow square. Most of all, please be careful as you leave and return to your vehicles as we all learn how to better mix pedestrian and vehicles around Glasgow’s downtown area! Local law enforcement folks as well as the Sustainable Glasgow team will be working to help drivers recognize the presence of pedestrians on the square to help everyone get to where they are going safely.

It looks like we will enjoy warm weather, copious blooming trees and flowers, great food from the restaurants on the square, and a wonderful opportunity to renew friendships with each other and the vendors who lovingly raise food and create local crafts for our enjoyment. Please make plans to attend the market this Saturday and help us celebrate the beginning of year three of Bounty of the Barrens Farmers’ Market at our new location!