Monthly Archives: May 2014

Strawberry Festival Draws Record Crowd

There’s no doubt about it – y’all sure do love strawberries! This past Saturday was a quite literally a red letter day at the FFM. Our 3rd annual Strawberry Festival brought in droves of berry lovers. And the market was the place to be for all things strawberry. From strawberry cakes and jams to strawberry donuts, it was berry heaven.

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Customers celebrating a bumper crop of fresh local strawberries

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Local Tennessee families enjoy farm made strawberry short cakes

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Fresh picked strawberries bring smiles

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Ann dressed the part getting her some strawberries

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Kelley’s Berries sold a record 2 truck loads of Strawberries

And there was the ultimate treat – homemade strawberry shortcakes. They were deliciously decadent. The shortcakes were made by Karen Norton of Norton Family Farms and the strawberries for the shortcakes came from Delvin Farms, Kirkview Farm and the Kelley’s Berry Farm. To top it all off was the sweet dollop of cream from Hatcher Family Dairy. It really was a strawberry lover’s dream come true.

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Volunteers served up over 1,700 Strawberry Shortcakes

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Yum! Fresh Stawberries with Norton Family Farm baked shortcake and Hatcher Family Dairy cream

Franklin First Lady Linda Moore can't resist some strawberry shortcake

Franklin First Lady Linda Moore can’t resist some strawberry shortcake

There was a lot of fun for the kids too, with the special Kids Game Zone. And of course, the Barnyard Petting Zoo was also a big hit.

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We love animals!

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My new beaded necklace!

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The Petting Zoo was a popular stop for kids to see and pet their favorite animals

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Our Strawberry Judges of the day

And what would a festival be without a little competition going on? First off was the competition for the strawberriest vendor booth at the FFM. Our honorary judges were Najahe Sherman, News2 WKRN-TV Weekend News Anchor, Linda Moore, the First Lady of Franklin and wife of Mayor Ken Moore, Claire Crowell, Puckett’s Director of Operations, and Greg Brown, CEO of Ford –Lincoln of Franklin, the presenting Sponsor of the FFM’s Strawberry Festival. It was their job to decide who had the best strawberry spirit going on and the winner they picked was Giraffe Works Studio, followed by Carol’s Soaps and Barkers Market.

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Giraffe Works Studio took home 1st Place

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Linda’s Soaps took home 2nd Place

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Barkers Market took home 3rd Place

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Thanks to our wonderful volunteers for baking, washing, cutting and serving yummy shortcakes

Then it was on to the big contest of the day – which farmer had the best tasting strawberries at the festival. It was a very tight, tasty-sweet competition. But when it was all over, Kelley’s Berry Farm walked off with the trophy.

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Strawberry Festival Judges had the best job of tasting all the strawberry entries from local farms

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Kelly’s Berry Farm took home 1st Place for best tasting Strawberries

Of course, all of the strawberries at the festival were fresh and sweet and before lunchtime. every last strawberry the farmers had brought to market had been snatched up and were gone. Like we said before, y’all sure do love strawberries!

To enjoy more of the Strawberry Festival you can see pictures of the day in our market Photo Gallery.

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Our local farmers and artisans decorated their booths with Giraffe Works Studio winning First Place!

Squash, Cucumbers and Tomatoes Enter Market!

Chilly with gray skies and a little sprinkle of rain here and there – doesn’t sound like a great day at the market, does it? But despite the weather, this past Saturday was a good day at the FFM. After all, there were lots of good late spring vegetables, such as broccoli, green onions and asparagus.

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Delicious asparagus

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Fresh green onions

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In this corner, everything needed for a salad!

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A colorful display of turnips, shallots and radishes

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Early season green beans

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A springtime favorite – green peas

And there was a little hint of the good things to come with some early cucumbers, squash and tomatoes – yes, tomatoes! Those hoop houses the farmers use can really speed up the growing times on veggies.

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Early tomatoes from Napier Farm

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How about a cool cucumber?

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Fresh radishes to munch

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Bloomsbury Farm lettuce

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Nothing like the flavor of onions

Of course, there were strawberries too – lots of them. It’s definitely berry time in Tennessee. As we do every year at the FFM, we celebrate the arrival of strawberries with our annual Strawberry Festival. It takes place next Saturday (May 24th) and the weather is predicted to be sunny and warm – perfect for a day of homemade strawberry shortcakes, games for the kids and the Barnyard Petting Zoo.

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Strawberry time in Tennessee!

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We agree – eat locally grown food

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Mark your calendar!

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Grill Day has been rescheduled for June 7th

Lots of folks were also going home Saturday with delicious cuts of meat, stocking up early for their backyard Memorial Day grilling to kick off summer in a delicious fashion. Speaking of grilling, the market’s Grill Day has been rescheduled to June 7th and hopefully the weather will match the great taste of the pork, beef, lamb and chicken from our meat farmers.

Chef Jeff Lunsford of the Hearth and Grill Shop will use his skills to grill lip-smacking samples for you to enjoy.

And finally, we notice this past Saturday that there’s more of the sweet treats at the market too, such as delicious Greek pastries and incredibly decadent toffee. We saw you munching. Confession time – we did the same thing! So yeah, it was less than perfect weather at the market. But it was still a great delicious day at the FFM!

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Sweet treats at the FFM to enjoy

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The first of the summer squash now at market

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Fresh, locally grown food and a day at the Franklin Farmers Market always make people happy! 

Fresh Vegetables, Strawberries now in Market

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Organically grown Strawberries from Delvin Farms

May is always a good month at the Franklin Farmers Market. New produce coming into season, warmer temperatures and plenty of sunshine make it a good time to be outside. But one of the best things at the market in May is the colors – the fresh vegetables like purple asparagus, rich green broccoli or the eye-popping red of delicious strawberries. And then there are all of the flowers. It’s an explosion of the color spectrum, that’s absolutely beautiful. Even though this past Saturday started off cloudy, it was still a bright and colorful day at the FFM.

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Beautiful Broccoli from Norton Family Farm

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Fresh Picked asparagus,onions and kale from Delvin Farms

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Brightly colored garden flowers from Kirkview Farm

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Please, take me home and plant me!

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A Teresa creation from Purple Tree Farm

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Organic Fresh Farm Greens from Delvin Farms

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Norton Family Farm fresh picked Kale

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Beautiful Greens from Rocky Glade Farm

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Beautiful Onions from Norton Family Farm

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Lettuce Mix from Norton Family Farm

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Somebody’s proud of her farm strawberries!

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Local Market meats hot off the Big Green Egg smoker and grill prepared by Chef Jeff From Hearth and Grill Shop

May is also the time of year when outdoor grilling starts in earnest. Who can resist the delicious aroma of the perfect steak being grilled to perfection? We’re going to put you to the test next Saturday (May 17th) when grill master Chef Jeff Lunsford of the Hearth and Grill Shop comes to the market. Chef Jeff will be grilling delicious meats from the meat farmers at the market. It’s your chance to sample the tender cuts of beef, chicken, pork and lamb that our farmers have for you every Saturday. It will all be grilled to perfection on special grills from the Hearth and Grill s Shop, including on the Big Green Egg, the choice of grill masters everywhere.

Franklin Farmers Market Strawberry Festival And finally, there is one other thing that makes May so special. Strawberries are in season and at the market. Those perfect little red bites of sweet but tangy deliciousness mean that winter is definitely over. It’s enough to make you want to celebrate. So we’ll do just that at the market on May 24th with the FFM’s annual Strawberry Festival. It’s a great family day with games and the Barnyard Petting Zoo for the kids, plus incredible homemade strawberry shortcakes to munch on. These are not those prepackaged little imitation cakes found in grocery stores. These are sure enough real shortcakes, prepared by Karen Norton of the Norton Family Farm. All in all, It’s a deliciously fun day at the FFM, presented by our friends at Ford – Lincoln of Franklin and it’s just another reason why May is a very good month to be at the Franklin Farmers Market!

Farmers Market hosting local Farmers, Bakers and Artisans

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Fresh picked lettuces and radishes from Colvin Family Farm

Farmers are early birds. Up early in the morning, planting early crops, working early on the farm. So it makes perfect sense that the summer season of the Franklin Farmers Market starts early too. That’s what happened this past Saturday with a market packed with farmers, bakers and artisans. There were a lot of familiar faces, but many new ones too. It was a “berry” good day, with lots of strawberries to take home and enjoy. Music was back at the market too and choice of good fresh food was practically overwhelming.  From Greek pastries to asparagus, goat cheese to tender steaks, the FFM had everything you needed for the perfect meal.

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Fresh baked from Olive Tree Bakery

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Market Lettuces stay fresh in your refrig much longer

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Somebody loves her some Strawberries

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Fresh organic asparagus from Delvin Farms

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Farm fresh eggs from River Cottage Farm

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Nutritious Kale from Bloomsbury Farm

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Just picked Strawberries from FFM farmers

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Chef Cyndi Shalhoub demonstrating her culinary skills with fresh market produce

Speaking of the perfect meal, Saturday was the chance to try out new ways with old favorite. It was our first Chef Saturday at the market and Chef Cyndi Shalhoub was on hand, showing how to prepare three different recipes with some of your favorite veggies and handing out delicious samples to try.

Chef Saturday at the FFM will take place the first Saturday of every month at the market and it’s a great way to learn new recipes for summertime veggies and fruits.

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Beaverdam Creek Farm offers CSA’s along with many other FFM farms

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Herb starter plants from Kirkview Farm

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Kale and Strawberry salad by Chef Cyndi

It surely would not be summer if you didn’t fire up the grill. So that’s what we’re going to do this upcoming Saturday. May 10th is Grill Day at the FFM and it’s the perfect chance for you to sample great cuts of meat from farmers at the market. The ultimate grill master, Chef Jeff Lunsford of the Hearth and Grill Shop will have several grills fired up, including the dream grill of every backyard chef – the Big Green Egg. Sample beef, pork, lamb, chicken and sausage, deliciously grilled by Chef Jeff. It’s the perfect way to start summer at the FFM – yes, it’s good to be the early bird!

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A happy Delvin Farm CSA pick up of organically grown veggies

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Artisan soaps and creams from Beaverdam Creek Farm

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Starter plants available from many local farms

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Beautiful long lasting fresh picked spring flowers are now available from Sue’s Flowers each market Saturday!