LABOR DAY CELEBRATION ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 6TH

Espaňola Farmers Market will celebrate the first firing of the new Market Horno with special events from noon to 2 P.M. in the Wildflower Garden next to the horno. Dexter Trujillo will be roasting fresh corn and chile and other treats while musicians from Los Resolaneros play traditional norteňo music. Santa Clara poet Beata Tsosie-Peňa will also read some poems and we may have other surprise artists. Visitors can sample the fresh roasted goods from the horno, admire the beautiful new clay oven and also meet the students who helped construct the horno during eight Mondays of work. On Labor Day we celebrate the labor of the horno workers and of the many fine farmers, gardeners, honey producers and fruit growers who bring their produce to the Market each Monday and each Friday in season. The Horno + Wildflower Garden Project has been funded thanks to a grant from Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area (NRGNHA) and support from New Mexico Community Foundation (NMCF).

All DAY FREE CHILE ROASTING: Labor Day is also a regular Market Day. We will have free chile roasting of any fresh local chile purchased at the market throughout the day, 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Please come visit us on your way back from the holiday weekend and stock up on vegetables and fresh fruit for the week. The market accepts WIC, Senior WIC, SNAP (formerly EBT) and Debit cards. Each Market Day, children can select a free book at our Kids Book Exchange. We also have a colorful selection of Market aprons, tee shirts or post cards and issues of A Farming Chapbook from previous Market seasons. We are now also open on Friday afternoons from 2-7pm. Come visit us! Every Market Monday  & every Market Friday is a special event!

REMEMBER LAST YEAR'S HARVEST?

Every year at the end of the season there's a closing ceremony, produce awards, and a reading of original poetry written by young people of northern New Mexico. This is the final harvest photo for 2009 and the photo features vendors and local growers who sell at the Espanola Farmers Market. These annual photographs are a record of the passing seasons and the growth of the market itself. Watch for an announcement for the 2010 ceremonies in October.

VOLUNTEERS ARE VIRTUAL ANGELS

Jim Beverwyk

Damien Turner

The Espanola Farmers Market couldn't get by without its vendors who plant and harvest with tender loving care, the board members, the children who come with their parents to get books and shop with their parents, the sponsors of the oval gardens, the shoppers, and the behind-the-scenes volunteers whose tender loving care adds to the mix of keeping the Espanola Farmers Market alive and healthy.

Meet two of our volunteers: Damien Turner, who has been volunteering since the beginning of the season and stops by every Monday to pitch in, as well as Jim Beverwyk, who's seen in the photo above setting up the signs around town so that everyone knows the market is alive and well. Wave to Jim and Damien and let them know how much they're appreciated. And if you'd like to help out too, stop by the manager's table and speak to Sabra Moore.

NORMA NAVARRO IS NEW MARKET ASSISTANT

Norma Navarro has been working at the Espanola Farmers Market as an assistant to market manager Sabra Moore since June and my, has she been busy. One of her first challenges was to canvas the Espanola business community for contributions for a market portable toilet. It wasn't easy at first, but with persistence she raised $750 from the following businesses: Rigoberto's Mexican Food, El Rodeo restaurant, Cook's, Del Norte Credit Union, Valley Bank, Vecinos del Rio, and the Red Door Cafe. "Small businesses were especially eager to help," she said. Norma will be at the market all season. On Monday she set up a food station to give people a taste of fresh vegetables. The smiles on people's faces summed up their appreciation. In this photo (below) are two of Norma's assistants.

A late August market day is hot and the clouds rumble in the sky before delivering some cool breezes. It's a lot of work to garden and come to market. By the end of the day, everyone's ready for a feast of fresh food. The harvest of corn and chiles is enough to whet anyone's appetite.

Waiting for customers to buy, taste and visit!

HORNO UNDER CONSTRUCTION GETS ATTENTION

This season at the Espanola Farmers Market we'll have our own horno. Hornos are a small squat oval hollowed mound that used to be found in every household in the region. Now they're still seen in the area and they're still used for many purposes. primarily, they're used for making chicos and bread. Stop by the market and watch the progression as young people from our community learn first hand about building a horno.

Yes, the vegetables are plentiful and delicious. There's nothing like fresh tomatoes and corn just picked from the ground. MMmm.

Volunteers are tending the ovals devoted to flowers and flowering plants. Last week another volunteer stepped forward and said she appreciated the opportunity to teach her five year old son about gardening. It's small enough not to be overwhelming and large enough for him to get a taste of getting his hands dirty and watching things grow.

UPDATES ON ESPANOLA FARMERS MARKET

MUSICAL FRIDAY AFTERNOON MARKET: Come visit our Friday Afternoon Market this coming Friday, August 6th @ 5:30 pm- 7pm for a free concert by Corridos y Musica de Memoria de Nuevo Mexico with musicians David S. Garcia on accordion & violin, Jose Martinez on violin and Richardo Vigil on guitar. Stop on your way home from work and stock up on fresh vegetables for the weekend and stay to enjoy an hour of music while sampling fresh biscochitos and tea.

TWICE-WEEKLY MARKET: We now have twice weekly markets with the addition of our Friday Afternoon Market from 2-7pm. Or stop in at our regular Monday Market from 10am-5pm. The Market accepts WIC, Senior WIC, SNAP (formerly EBT) and Debit cards. Each Market Day, children can select a free book at our Kids Book Exchange or customers can purchase a dollar raffle ticket for our Monthly Free Bag of Produce. We also have a colorful selection of Market aprons, tee shirts or post cards and issues of A Farming Chapbook from previous Market seasons. Come visit us!

HORNO: A new horno is being constructed at the Espanola Farmers’ Market in the Wildflower Garden area, thanks to a grant from Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area(NRGNHA)and support from New Mexico Community Foundation (NMCF). Work started on July 5th and will continue each Monday Market through August 23rd. Dexter Trujillo from Abiquiu is constructing the horno with the assistance of four students and interested volunteers. Dexter helped build an horno with a delegation of Abiquenos ten years ago at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. The horno builders are making the adobes on site and will continue each Monday with laying a stone base, laying adobes, mud plastering the horno, making the first firing and finally cooking in the completed clay oven. We invite customers to the Market to visit with the horno builders and watch as the oven grows.

WILDFLOWER OVALS: Visitors may also notice that both flowers and small signs are sprouting in the Wildflower Garden. Last season, students created fourteen oval beds and paths around these beds. This year, the Market is inviting customers and farmers to Adopt an Oval and cultivate flowers and native plants for all to enjoy. Ten of the ovals have already been adopted; you can read the signs with the names of the gardeners inside the adopted ovals. There are still four ovals available for adoption. Consult Sabra, the Market Manager, if you want to adopt any of the remaining ovals.