Summer Roadie Notes 2: Ithaca Farmers Market

Upon arriving in Ithaca, we followed the road signs to the east end of the small inlet on Cayuga Lake, where the Ithaca Farmers Market was located. Situated beneath a well constructed wooden pavilion were about thirty booths wherein folks sold products ranging from notebooks and paper products made from ecological papers to produce (fruits and vegetables), as well as a variety of foods, including Tibeten coleslaw and a sampling of Sri Lankan cuisine.


Music was being played by musicians positioned at each end of the market. At the East end was a young lad of about twelve playing the fiddle behind his open case that passers-by could drop in dollar bills and spare change. On the West end was a quartet of middle aged women who played traditional folk songs on a guitar, bass, tambourine and fiddle.

At the entrance of the Market was a sign posted which forbade dogs to come inside, but this was clearly ignored by many as Ann and I met an old bulldog, a shar pei puppy, and other mutts, all happily wagging their ways up and down the thoroughfare. It was at this time that I began to miss our dog (who usually comes with us to take part in the hiking and resting) but who this time stayed behind, as we would be doing little hiking during this short respite… (I also doubted she would be as quiet and calm as the local pups!)

While at the Ithaca Farmers Market, Ann and I made a few purchases:

1. Three tomatoes of unknown variety—they were very dark colored (we bought a very deep red, almost maroon colored one for sampling later, and two larger unripened ones for use at home). I had never seen tomatoes like these, so we bought them immediately. All the farmers had this available, so we settled on one organic farmer who was offering them at $2.50 a pound.

2. Although we knew we would be visiting some wineries later in the day, we taste and purchase two bottles of wine (1 Pinot Noir and 1 Chardonnay) from a local vintner.

3. A small journal with an illustration of a white-breasted nuthatch. The notebook was produced by Acorn Designs, a company who "hopes to earn a living in an ethical way" by giving "ecologically minded artists and outlet for their work." The nuthatch illustration was the work of an artist named Susan Bull Riley and this particular cover drawing was selected due to both Ann's and my mutual apprecation for thee stocky, little forest bird it depicted. The journal contained paper whihc was made eqaul parts post and pre-use recycled paper and tree-free kenaf fiber. According to the information that came with the journal, Kenaf "offers an ecollogically sustainable source of plant fiber which addresses the fundemental source of paper" and its use could help tp preserve forest land by providing an alternative to wood based paper.

I would be willing to bet that many communities sponsor similiar opportunties to support ecologically minded growers and merchants. If there are any in your community you would like to recommend for visitors to this blog, please do so by posting a comment.

Now on to our next stop!