July 2, 2009 Harvest Market

One of my favorite parts about the Downtown Elgin Harvest Market is the atmosphere that I get to enjoy on a weekly basis. Meeting genuine people and the great conversations that follow make my trip to Elgin from Aurora a worthwhile commute. It is so relaxing going into my volunteer efforts knowing that I am going to have a great day because of the stress-free environment that a farmers market embodies. Today, I started by greeting all of the vendors and passing out my weekly survey. These surveys are helping me find out important information regarding each vendor such as peak times for sales, how many transactions were made in a given day, and what their top products sold were. In my conversations I can tell that all of the businesses that participate are comprised of hard-working people that truly care about the customers. They are not just in it for the money!
Of course my blog would not be complete without mentioning my weekly purchases. They say it's always better to give than to receive, and it seems that the saying holds true in my mind when shopping at the Harvest Market. Today, I couldn't help but thinking of my significant others’ fond desire for anything involving cinnamon. I stopped at La Spicera and Pierre recommended some finely ground Vietnamese cinnamon that he had just got in. Afterwards, I proceeded to Breadsmith where a cinnamon roll and a cinnamon scone found their way into my tote bag. I couldn't help but steal a small bite of the cinnamon roll and wow! What a treat. The quality and freshness of these products was excellent. What more is there to say, it was another successful day at the market!

Harvest Market Recap- July 2

I hope everyone had a happy 4th of July! Melissa here from Activate Elgin. This past Thursday's market again was a bustle of activity, and the weather was perfect to do some last minute shopping for the holiday weekend. I was not an exception, as I stocked up on some goodies to bring to the lakehouse for an Independence Day feast. I also brought my puppy Layla to meet some new friends and sample some tasty treats!

Layla and I first went to the Pawprint Barkery for some of her favorite treats- peanut butter cookies! (I later found out that my roommate tried snacking on these cookies while I was gone because they look and smell like the real thing!) We then made our way down the rows of vendors and stopped for some focaccia bread, cherries, tomatoes, corn, cheddar cheese, and specialty olive oil. I also grabbed a hot dog and some popcorn to top it off with a quick lunch. After leaving the market, I headed up to Wisconsin to spend some quality time with the family. The focaccia bread was dipped in the olive oil as a snack, and the cherries, tomatoes, and corn accented our 4th of July picnic out on the boat. These items went over BIG, even though I didn't buy the cheese in cheese country!

I was also sure to check out the educational booths while I was at the market. The Elgin Area Historical Museum was teaching people how to make butter- such a great idea if you couldn't wait to get home to munch on some of your goodies from the Breadsmith. The League of Women Voters space was also bustling with people registering to vote, and Ina was hard at work at the DNA booth entering people in the raffle and promoting downtown businesses.

Be sure to check out this coming market day on July 9th- there will be plenty of familiar faces, new foods to try and interesting sights to see :)