Great Barn Giveaway, vote for the Coventry Regional Farmers' Market
Help the Coventry Regional Farmers' Market Win a Barn!
American Farmland Trust received over 60 entries so it took some time to narrow it down! BUT, they did it.
The three finalists have been chosen -- and the Coventry Regional Farmers' Market is among the finalists! Voting ends August 15th!
So, it shouldn't come as any surprise after reading this
New York Times article that the Coventry Regional Farmers' Market is one of three finalists in the running to win an open air post and beam barn estimated at $80,000 through
The Great Barn Giveaway.
But it needs YOUR VOTE! There's only two weeks to vote -- Ending on August 15th.
More than 60 farmers markets submitted entries for a shot at winning a barn. A market in Michigan, another in New Jersey and Connecticut made the cut.
Why? For their awesome essay, their vision for the future of the market and the ever-growing community support. More than 75,000 visitors come to the market each season.
THIS is “the little market that could.” Our all-volunteer team has grown The Coventry Regional Farmers’ Market from a seed to a legend in only eight seasons. Follow a twisting country back road to the Nathan Hale Homestead any summer Sunday, and it will unfold before you, as one visiting chef exclaimed, “like Woodstock.” And that sweet barn you are poised to give away? It’s just the boost needed to propel us that much closer toward farmers’ market Nirvana.
“Equal parts country fair and farmers’ market, The Coventry Regional Farmers’ Market feels like a momentous celebration each and every Sunday, with cooking demonstrations, sustainable living programs, kids’ activities and musical guests. After traveling to over 50 markets while writing my book, Markets of New England (The Little Bookroom, 2011), I can honestly say that the Coventry Regional Farmers Market is easily one of the top five events in the region.” -Christine Chitnis
Over 75,000 visitors make their way to the CRFM every season to enjoy an old-fashioned gathering of farmers, produce, freshly baked pies, sparkling jars of preserves and pickles, handmade goods, and fiddlers. New England Travel Magazine calls it “Connecticut’s preeminent farmers’ market.” Surrounded by over 500 acres of forest and picturesque rural landscape, the historic farmstead setting provides a gracious backdrop for this vibrant, destination market.
It’s the largest and most diverse of the Connecticut Department of Agriculture certified farmers’ markets. Each market day, 3,000-5,000 customers come from nearby, from across the state, and even over from the next to reach us. Along the way, and afterward, they stop to shop at independent businesses, boosting the local economy.
The CRFM’s range and quality of offerings delights customers and chefs who shop here and generate sales that rival New York City markets. A carefully cultivated vendor balance creates a microcosm where farmers, food producers, and artisans buy from, support, and promote one another. Our market offers the kind of substantial, direct sales that can tip the balance toward farm profitability.
Market day is a community event abuzz with people greeting each other, reconnecting, and reestablishing ties. It is a sensory and communal experience that evokes pride what is grown and made in our region.
CRFM market-goers know our farmers, visit their farms, and stay updated on farm happenings through our active use of social media. Our customers have a sense of ownership and personal stake in the future of family farms.
BUT, the Coventry Regional Farmers’ Market could offer MORE if we were to win that gem of open air barn structure from Yankee Barn Homes, the Farmers Market Coalition and the American Farmland Trust!
Our site host, Connecticut Landmarks, has given permission for the barn to be constructed in the market field. The barn would be maintained by the CRFM and its Working Friends of the Market. This market will surely make the most of your gift!
The 24-ft x 36-ft space would allow us to:
Conduct our weekly programs in a sheltered location where the public can gather for chef demonstrations, do-it-yourself lessons, book signings, gardening lectures, and children’s activities and story telling. (Though you haven’t lived until you’ve attempted to lead a program on a windy day while simultaneously holding down an EZ-Up tent!)
Offer a Tanglewood-esque music experience. The CRFM is a favorite site for musical performers, both new and established. Currently, they are wedged into a tight space only advantageous in that it offers shade. To linger, listeners must to sit in a dusty market path. We envision musicians, instead, performing just inside a huge barn door with market goers all about in front, their picnic blankets laid out in the lush, green grass. Audio speakers permanently mounted aloft on the barn would speed setup time and allow music to drift throughout the market field. This public address system would also allow us to make announcements and communicate in the case of emergency.
Support the sharing of community resources. The CRFM Swappers group organizes cash-free swaps of seedlings, garden produce, eggs, preserves, cookbooks and handcrafted foods. Customers and vendors alike join in. The barn would be a perfect meeting place to hold swaps and allow us to grow… a TimeBank? A tool library? We’re full of ideas!
Market barn as ArtSpace! The work of artists young and old could be displayed on barn wall space, giving them exposure and providing the public a free art exhibition on market days. We could kick it off with our own traveling photo exhibit: Market Roots. This wonderful collection of CRFM member farm photos will not otherwise be able to travel to our own market!
Teach Homesteading Skills Workshops after market hours. Our intensive, hands-on classes on canning, cheesemaking, bread baking, pickling, quilting, and more allow market experts to share their skills with folks eager to learn to be more productive and self-sufficient. Room in the barn would allow this program to expand as it would no longer have to compete for space.
Store market materials securely. Last year, vandals stole and damaged market equipment, requiring expensive replacement. We could outfit a portion of the barn to provide secure storage space.
Winning an open air barn structure from Yankee Barn Homes, the Farmers Market Coalition and the American Farmland Trust would propel this farmers’ market to the next level… that beautiful barn would be a touchstone anchoring this place where we gather to shop, socialize, eat, toe tap, learn, play and relax, and strengthen a community of people with a reverence for farming at its very core.
