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(Friday mornings at 11:30 on WCTR 1530 AM in Chestertown)
Celebrating the people, the produce & products, and the preservation of the landscape and lifestyle of Maryland's Chesapeake Bay area
Thank you to everyone who made the 1st season of the
West Annapolis 2nd Sunday Neighborhood Green Market
A GREAT SUCCESS!
Look for us to return in April 2010!
Click on the Upcoming Fairs & Markets link for updates!
Feature Article The BIG Green & The Little Green That Could
This will be the last post from our road trip - but it's going to be a good one! Still out searching far and wide for Green Markets, and we're bringing you the Grandaddy of them all - the RENNINGERS Markets www.renningers.com.
Many of you may already know the name - in Eastern Pennsylvania it's almost a household word. And with good reason. In 1955 Renningers opened a Farmers Market in Kutztown, Pennsylvania which must have hit a note - it's become an institution in the area. In 1974 an addition to the original building was built, and antiques dealers were added, including an open air market on Saturdays. Then it it gets even better, with the addition in 1975 of the Antiques Extravaganzas in April, June and September - 3 day events with hundreds and hundreds of dealers. Heaven! The April Extrav is for antiquers what opening day is to baseball fans - the beginning of the season they live for all year.
There's so much great stuff that Extravaganza weekend continues at Renningers' Adamstown, Pennsylvania, location - right in the heart of Antique Alley. With antique malls and shops of every kind and variety, Route 272 in Adamstown is an antiquer's paradise - and the proximity to all that Amish and Pennsylvania Dutch food doesn't hurt!
But today, we're headed to Mt. Dora, Florida for THEIR Extravaganza! Mt. Dora is a delightful town, and we've found the ideal B&B as well - the Adora Inn
 www.adorainn.com. Modern and sophisticated, it's a real find, and hosts Arthur and John will share their unparalleled hospitality, original art, accomplished cuisine, delightful conversation and distinguished Salukis.
 Back to Renningers and their location in Mt. Dora, Florida. Now how does that work? Well, here's the thing - what do antiques dealers in the North do when it's too cold to ply their trade? They head South! And since they need a venue - well, it makes sense that Renningers is there. And it really is the Grandaddy of the true Green Market, combining farmers and antiques dealers all in one spot. It's so big, in fact, that we couldn't even get the whole sign in the picture - see what I mean?
 Friend and artist Anne Quinlan joined me for a day of hitting the highlights of this terrific market, set on 117 rolling acres of oak trees dripping with Spanish Moss. No palm trees here - we're in Lake Country, northwest of Orlando. Renningers is HUGE - no matter where we stood to take a photo it was impossible to capture the size of it. So I've borrowed the aerial shot from their website: are you tired yet??
 You can't do it justice in one day, but we did our best, because we were back on the road to the Delray Beach Green Market.
We've frequented the Delray Beach Green Market for years. Set in downtown Delray Beach, it is as much a part of the town as the trendy restaurants and boutique shops "on the Avenue", as they say in Delray, referring to Atlantic Avenue. It's a diverse Market - produce, plants (yes, those remarkable Florida orchids), freshly baked breads, crafters - a little something for everyone.
And the headline of this story, "The Little Market that Could", says it all. For many years it was located in a square right on Atlantic Avenue. Last year it moved to make way for construction of a new condominium complex. Delray Beach is known as "Village by the Sea", but in the controversy the last few years over rampant development the term "Pillage by the Sea" was being thrown around. The economic downturn has scaled things back a bit, but downtown Delray Beach is seeing its share of development.
 This year, the Green Market has moved yet again, this time to make way for a parking garage. But its devotees have followed it to its new location, and it appears to be thriving. Which is a really good thing, because for many of us, Green Markets have become one of our primary sources for good food, locally grown - and a way of meeting and supporting our neighbors and our community. Which, it would seem, is the way more and more people want to live.
I'm already counting the days until the West Annapolis 2nd Sunday Neighborhood Green Market starts up on April 11. Hope we'll see you there. Don't forget, in the meantime, there's the Westfield Sunday Winter Market in Annapolis to get you through.
 Signing off from the Sunshine State for now - Happy Trails and
See you at the Market! |
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