Michael and Tammy Deane from Troutville will have handcrafted wooden flowers, lake flip-flop plaques, heart-shaped plaques, baseball plaques as well as some Christmas items this Thursday, June 21 at the Catawba Valley Farmers Market June Artisans & Crafters Day.
The Catawba Valley Farmers Market is located at the Catawba Community Center, 4965 Catawba Creek Road in Catawba and is open from 3:30-7 p.m. each Thursday, rain or shine.
Elliott and Laura Muncey of the Stone Coal Gap Farm in Troutville will also return with kettle corn made in one of Elliott’s handcrafted copper kettles. They will also have copper pots and other items handmade by Elliott for sale.
They are among the special vendors who will join regulars this week.
Other crafters will include Vickie Wright from Bedford with leather earrings and necklaces, sewn crafts– stars, hearts, crows and pumpkins, painted wood signs and wood signs with fabric and paper flowers, as well as wood signs with fabric deer and trucks. Wright uses repurposed/recycled items and salvaged wood in her crafts.
Kirstann Edwards of Sinking Creek Wool Company will bring needle-felted wool animals, pins and ornaments made from wool from her own Craig County sheep; and Connie Shelor of Catawba will bring kitchen hang towels, microwave bowl koozies, old-timey bonnets, small wooden cars, hand-made fireplace pokers and bird feeders.
Jennifer Fenrich of Shining Readers in Blacksburg will have beginning reader books for children ages 3-7. Her books have short but meaningful stories and encourage children to have conversations, to write and read.
The crafters who regularly attend the Farmers Market will be in attendance with scented candles, goat-milk soaps and lip balms, sewn items, laundry soap, wooden writing pens and wooden lanterns, local photography and note cards.
Musical entertainment on June 21 will be provided by Woodsong, with Jim Robinson on the hammered dulcimer and Sharon Conlyn on guitar and banjo. Shoppers are encouraged to sit and listen to the duo’s music. The musical entertainment is free but donations are encouraged.
As the growing season progresses, the list of available produce and other foods continues to expand. Shoppers can expect to find cucumbers, squash, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, cabbage, onions, radishes, blueberries, beef and pork products, eggs, granola, pickles, relishes, fried pies, cookies, cakes, scones and so much more. Bedding plants and cut flowers are still available.
At last week’s market, Jean Hazlegrove, Executive Director of the Botetourt/Craig/Roanoke office of Farm Service Agency (FSA), displayed numerous publications concerning programs available through FSA and she discussed the programs with numerous persons at the farmers market.
Tim Miller, Education and Outreach Coordinator with the Mountain Castles Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD), displayed a large map of Virginia and had folks place replicas of agricultural products on the map area where they are actually grown or produced. Miller also explained programs available to local farmers and homeowners through Mountain Castles SWCD.
Lillie Fisher of New Castle was the lucky recipient of a certificate for two meals at The Homeplace Restaurant. Shoppers received free tickets that were entered in a Father’s Day drawing.
The Community Center where the market is located is a Roanoke County Park with covered picnic shelter, green space, basketball court, restrooms and playground.
The market now has a website in addition to the Facebook page. The website (www.catawbafarmersmarket.com) includes up-to-date information on availability of foods each week, a short profile of each vendor, an explanation of the Wooden Nickels program, many photos taken at the market, a copy of the weekly newsletter, etc.
The Catawba Valley Farmers Market is a collaborative project of the Virginia Tech Catawba Sustainability Center, County of Roanoke, Catawba Valley Ruritan Club and the Catawba community.
