Campus Sustainability Day 2009

Today, the Friends of the Brazos Valley Farmers' Market hosted the Farmers' Market info booth at the Texas A&M University Campus Sustainability Day 2009. And was I in good company! Next to me were representatives from Edible Aggieland and the Campus Community Garden. And not far away were the Be Green in Bryan group as well as lots of other familiar faces and groups from around the community.

It started out a bit chilly, but I managed to bike over to the event and enjoy four hours of visiting with students, staff, and faculty about the amazing farmers' market we have right here in the Brazos Valley.

A big THANK YOU to the coordinators of the event and for John Borden (of Edible Aggieland) for keeping us entertained as he posed for photos around the community garden veggie display.

First Friday / Art Step Event

Last night, the Brazos Valley Farmers' Market made a grand debut at the bi-annual Art Step event in conjunction with First Fridays in downtown Bryan. Fifteen vendors lined the parking lot between Mr G's Pizza and St. Andrews Episcopal Church on 26th street.

Slow at first, by 6:30, the crowds covered our little market area enthusiastic about our market. What more wonderful an opportunity to spread the word than to show them exactly what we're made of! 

To help celebrate the evening, volunteer Cherry Moore donated another of her beautiful paintings for silent auction which began at the Art Step event and concluded at today's farmers' market. 

Many customers made it a point to come to my booth practically begging us to appear at every First Friday, proof that the evening was a wonderful success. Thanks to everyone who helped to make it happen!

First Fridays in Downtown Bryan

Last night was only one of many First Friday events in downtown Bryan, but this was the Friends of the Brazos Valley Farmers' Market's first booth appearance. Market vendors John Flynn (What's the Buzz Coffee), Rebecca Kroencke (Scrap Works) and I celebrated the event inside Greta Watkins' The Frame Gallery, talking to a crowded room of people curious about the farmers' market. The evening also included live jazz music, a wonderful display of food, and wine. 

Making the evening extra special, Friends volunteer Cherry Moore donated 3 of her paintings to be auctioned in a silent auction to raise funds for the "Friends" group, money that helps fund our booths and brochures. The auction started at the Frame Gallery and continued into Saturday morning's farmers' market where all three paintings sold!

A big thanks to Rebecca, John, and Cherry for making the evening extra special!

College of Education Earth Day Celebration

Earlier today, the TAMU College of Education hosted their Earth Day Celebration at Harrington Tower and what an event! So many wonderful vendors came out and we were swamped with visitors most of the day. Of course, The Friends of the Brazos Valley Farmers' Market was out with their market info booth and volunteers Brad Roberson, Pilar Gonzales, and I talked non-stop with faculty, staff, and students all interested in our local farmers' market. 

A special thanks to Pilar and Brad for hosting the booth! Today was a real success and I couldn't have done it without you!

TAMU Health Fair

It was beautiful day to be outdoors and the Friends of the Brazos Valley Farmers' Market was asked to enjoy it as part of the TAMU Health Fair. I had a chance to reach out to quite a few people interested in eating locally encouraging them to visit our farmers' market. 

I keep telling the farmers, "if you grow it, they will come." Well, they've done their part to provide an amazing harvest week after week, and I think that after this fair we'll have a few more regulars at the market to enjoy that harvest. 

Yeah for local!

TAMU Residence Life Energy Challenge

Today's TAMU Residence Life Energy Challenge marked the "Friends" very first non-market festival booth. Armed with our brand new banner (doesn't it look great on our table), volunteers Brad Roberson and Betsy "Boots" McCann reached out to students in Rudder Plaza, telling them about the wonderful world of local food and (of course), the best place in town to find all that fresh, local food - The Brazos Valley Farmers' Market. 

A special thanks to Brad and Boots for braving the cold day to share our message. Go local!

Village Foods Grand Opening

Another very successful special event for the Friends of the Brazos Valley Farmers Market. We had 10 vendors participate in the festivities which launched the grand opening of the new Village Foods. 

"Friends" volunteers Pilar Gonzales, Brad Roberson, and Dave Duchscher did a fabulous job promoting the market, handing out more than a hundred market fliers, and giving me a chance to meet with vendors, and give a few of our customers some special attention. After a meeting with me last week, Molly Ward, owner of Square One in downtown Bryan, stopped by the market so that I could introduce her to our local producers. Square One is in the process of going local. They are already using Tanya's Millican Produce tomatoes but are in the process of updating their menus with additional local foods. Way to go local, Square One!

There are plenty more opportunities to volunteer for upcoming event booths. Be sure to check out our Upcoming Events page for more info and let me know if you'd like to volunteer. 

See you next time!

Messina Hof Birthday Bash

Sunday was an absolutely gorgeous day for an outdoor birthday party and winery owners Paul and Merrill Bonarrigo couldn't have picked a better weekend. Hundreds of well wishers from all over the state came in to help Paul celebrate his special day and the Brazos Valley Farmers' Market was there to add to the festivities. 

Messina Hof owners Paul and Merrill, are familiar faces at our weekly farmers' market. And in addition to a winery and a bed and breakfast, the Bonarrigos own an on-site restaurant that serves a wonderful 80% local fare! Go local!

Sixteen vendors set up shop just in front of the store/wine tasting room where visitors talked, sipped wine, nibbled on appetizers, and (thankfully) shopped to their hearts content picking up local foods and crafts.

Pilar Gonzales and I were there to man the informational booth. We had a chance to talk to a few locals about the market and upcoming events, hand out quite a few fliers on our market and the benefits of eating locally, and we even had a potential new vendor approach us about applying. Success! 

This was our first "special event" this year (and the first that was coordinated by "Friends") and I was pleased that it did so well. Hopefully there will be many more special events and celebrations in our farmers' market future. 

In additional to our regular market days, we have many more special events coming up. If you're interested in helping me host a booth, check out our Upcoming Events page, then email me to let me know you'd like to participate.

Hope to see you at our next event!