The Winchester Farmers Market 2016 season has come to a close after a very full year with new popular vendors like Del Sur with their empanadas and Butternut’s pastries. We tried new events at the market like the Iron Chef Contest where local chefs using the items from the market, and expanded the lineup of local musicians performing each Saturday. Unfortunately we experienced some shared hardships starting with the failure of the peach crop across the state, and then the drought that reduced the quantity and the size of some of the produce coming to market.

Overall it’s been a great season and the Winchester Farmers Market management wishes to appreciate the community of volunteers that brought you the market.

Thanks to Anne Hoffman for keeping our finances in order; Elisa Jazan for coordinating the entertainment; Amy Rindskopf, for coordinating and engaging kids at the Kids’ Table; Sue Clark for encouraging the participation of Winchester Artists Network, Elena Baker for coordinating the collection of food contributions to the Dwelling Place; Jennifer Gallagher for coordinating the Chamber of Commerce tent; and Cynthia Latta for taking care of legal matters.

Margo Attaya and Joyce Maxwell did outstanding work promoting the Market. Margo put together our weekly email newsletter, kept our social media fresh, created video blogs, and has been working on our new website. Joyce Maxwell made sure that Market information appeared in local newspapers, wrote fresh press releases each week highlighting
vendors, farmers, produce and products, and submitted them with eye-catching photos.

Special thank yous go to: Tom Howley, Judy Manzo, Lori Schaefer, Josh Dobbelaar, Elena Baker, and Shelley Ayervais for making our Iron Chef competition a huge success; Elisa Jazan and Diane Fraser for organizing our annual vegetable garden tour; Bob Hesse and the Winchester Cultural Council for bringing Art in August to the Farmers Market; Kai Chen, Caroline Hirschfeld, and Winchester Multicultural Network for partnering with us on International Day; and Anne Kostos of the Disability Access Commission and Brio Theater for bringing Ability Awareness Day to the town common.

Then there is the farmers market “teamsters’ union” to thank for setting up and taking down the market: Terry Fuller, Susan Lewis, Karl Rexer, Carolyn Starrett, John Stevens, and Sandy Thompson. Sue Doubler, Terry Fuller, and Anna LaViolette fielded questions at the Market Managers’s table.

All these volunteers are so deeply appreciated, not just for their time, but the way in which they took ownership of whatever task they took on. Their creativity and contributions truly made the market part of their lives. That’s part of what I love about this community.

Very special thanks to our sponsors: the Winchester Cooperative Bank for being the Market sponsor and the Craft Beer Cellar for sponsoring our live music.

Last but not least, a huge thank you to all the residents of Winchester and surrounding towns for coming to the market, for bringing their kids and dogs, for joining in our celebration of community, and for keeping it vibrant and strong. 

See you next year!