43rd Milford outdoor Farmers Market returns on Saturday
MILFORD – It’s been a long wait, but the Milford outdoor Farmers Market will open its 43rd season this Saturday, May 8, from 10 a.m. to 1 . p.m. at 300 Elm St., across from the Antique Coop. (Rain or shine.)
Market organizer Adrienne Colsia said this first market of 2021 will offer a wide variety of foods, beverages and wares, with 19 different vendors.
“We’ll have wines, beer, olive oils, black garlic, fresh fish, baked goods and more,” she said.
Because of COVID, there will be no food or drink sampling allowed and there is no eating or drinking inside the market. Tents will be spaced generously apart, and it would be appreciated if folks would wear masks, and also allow the vendors to bag your foods for you.
As for the 2020 farmers market season, Colsia said it was “great.
The year was better than ever.”
One thing about the Milford outdoor farmers market, noted Colsia, is that it is a “genuine” farmers market.
“It has a lot of variety,” she said. “So many farmers markets are craft shows. This isn’t a craft show at all. This is farmers market and we really strive to have that variety.”
That means that each vendor was carefully chosen to represent the best of what they have to offer.
Colsia said people can actually do their food grocery shopping there.
“There’s fish, beef, poultry, eggs, goatmilk, cheese, vegetables, olive oils, and baked goods,” she said. “It’s just such a nice wide assortment.”
There is also wine, craft beer, and hard cider.
Colsia said she’s had a great number of requests from people, much more than usual, who wanted to work at the farmers market.
“We’re very careful who we admit,” she said. “We had a number of soap vendors who wanted to participate but I already had two of them. I’m very loyal to the vendors who I have.”
The soap vendors themselves are quite dissimilar, as one sells scrubs, muscle rubs and oils while the other sells bars of soap, shampoos and lotions.
Bakers were also applying for attendance in great numbers, but Colsia wanted to provide as much variety as possible.
“I want people to come and see everything that we offer,” she said. “Instead of having ten vendors selling the same things, I’d rather have ten vendors selling ten different things.”
Colsia said that she hopes that shoppers will find the offerings, “interesting.”
“I had many people who wanted to come and sell things like hair scrunchies,” she said. “Or they want to sell masks. I don’t think crafts fit in when there are so many other items like homemade Mac & Cheese, fresh vegetables, cheeses and fresh-cut flowers.”
The goal, Colsia said, is do provide the finest foods and wares for shoppers and offer items that will make people come back again and again.
One standout is Lakonian Olive Oil, owned by Likourgos and his sister Penny, who process their quality extra virgin olive oil in New Hampshire.
“Likourgas spends half the year in Greece picking olives there from his own farm in the province of Laconia,” Colsia said. “And there are no herbicides or pesticides.” They’re based in Manchester.
Liberty Fish is one exception for the Milford market, as every product has to be made in New Hampshire in order to exhibit. The fresh fish arrive from Massachusetts.
“Elisha goes to the docks in Boston every morning and gets the best fresh-cut fish,” Colsia said. “She prides herself on selling quality day-cut seafood that she picks up fresh from the docks the morning of each farmers market.”
Liberty Fish recommends reservations by emailing before noon on Fridays: libertyfish.net.
Colsia added that the fish is never frozen and is sealed with cryovac packaging the morning of the market.
Other vendors include Averill Vineyards, Black Cat Soapery, G3 Baking, Hulda’s Swedish Baked Goods, Kiss the Cook, Ledge Top Farm, Lone Wolf Cheese, Lux Lifestyle, Paradise Farm, Pups Cider, Quarter Moon Farm, Stonegate Farm and Flowers, Winfield Farm, Everything Alpaca, Mola Foods and Pearl Shop.
For complete details, visit milfordnhfarmersmarket.com.