The 7th annual Franklin Strawberry Festival was our largest one yet as we celebrate the market’s 15th anniversary with over 10,000 market customers who supported our farmers, and 6,000 quarts of strawberries sold! This has been a tough year for our strawberry farms with a hard freeze in April after plants set blooms and the recent wet weather that causes berries to deteriorate quickly. Despite the challenging growing season, our farmers were able to bring the best that they had. Some farmers had to send for help back at the farm for more berries to arrive, and within minutes even those were sold out. Our Strawberry Festival and market sponsor, Greg Brown, owner of Ford Lincoln in Franklin, made it possible for us to have such a large festival. Thank you, Greg! 

 

Visit our Strawberry Festival Photo Gallery.

Karen Norton, of Norton Family Farms made over 700 strawberry shortcakes that were nothing short of amazing. Clearview Baptist Church volunteers spent hours preparing the strawberries and assembling the shortcakes on Friday evening. The strawberries were provided by Kirkview Farm, Delvin Farms, Conry Farms, Kelley’s Berry Farm and cream provided by Hatcher Dairy Farm for this years Strawberry Festival.

Ellie’s Donuts made over 500 special strawberry donuts that were a big hit among children and adults. The line for the donuts never ceased, but the general consensus was that it was worth the wait! Belle Springs Lemonade sold over 300 strawberry lemonades made with fresh strawberries from our farmers at the market. We love the way our food vendors use local ingredients from our farmers!

Children were entertained with free games and art activities, and parents enjoyed live blue grass music on our patio with food from our food trucks, Et Voila, Califarmia and Jay’s Chicago.

The most popular event at the market among our farmers is the best tasting strawberry contest. Winning this contest gives the farmer bragging rights for the rest of the year. It was a close contest, but our winners are:

1st Place Jones Mill Farm
2nd Delvin Farms
3rd Place Rocky Glade Farm

 

We don’t envy our celebrity judges who had to make a decision from the 8 farms who entered their berries because we know how good they all tasted!

Thank you to our judges:
Emily Magid, Williamson County Resident
Jason Collins, Owner of Juice Bar
Linda Childs, Heritage Foundation
Cassie Jones, Williamson Herald and Southern Exposure

 

 

 

 

 

With over 80 volunteers from Clearview Baptist Church working behind the scenes, the festival ran smoothly and efficiently. Thank you so much to our volunteers, and market staff Ryan Palmer for coordinating the event. Ryan spent weeks planning and coordinating this huge event! Our other market staff who helped make this event possible: Deb Grant, market manager, Ron Beagle, media specialist and Amy Tavalin, market director. And finally, thank you to our market customers who attended our market to support to the farmers. We hope you had a “BERRY” good time! Visit this link to view more photos of the fun filled day! 

The Franklin Farmers Market is held every Saturday from 8am-1pm behind the Factory in Franklin, TN. The market is a 15 yr old producers only market with the largest assembly of local farmers providing fresh farm food all year long each Saturday morning. Find us at 230 Franklin Road behind the Factory. Visit us online at www.franklinfarmersmarket.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest market news.

The Franklin Farmers Market will host its 7th annual Franklin Strawberry Festival on Saturday, May 13 beginning at 8am, hosted by market sponsor, Ford Lincoln of Franklin. Farmers will vie for the best tasting strawberry in the popular taste test judged by local celebrity judges, and children will have many free activities for fun and entertainment.

 

 

Karen’s famous short cakes, a local favorite tradition from Norton Family farm, will once again be the popular dessert in the celebration. Karen Norton will be making 1,000 homemade short cakes for the occasion, topped with local berries from our farmers and whip cream made from Hatcher Dairy cream. Ellie’s Donuts will serve up their delicious strawberry donuts and many vendors will have their own strawberry surprises for customers including fresh crushed Strawberry Lemonade from Belle Springs Farm.

 

 

 

 

 

It’s a family affair at the Franklin Strawberry Festival with free children’s activities, homemade shortcakes by Norton Family Farms and locally grown strawberries from our farmers picked less than 24 hours before the event. You can’t find a sweeter event than the strawberry festival!

 

Preserve the Best of the Best Strawberries for All Year Goodness

Strawberry season doesn’t last long, and neither do the berries once they’re picked. To keep your berries fresh, you want to keep them cold and dry so they don’t mold. For short term, arrange the berries (without washing or removing the stems) on a paper towel-lined tray and cover with plastic wrap; then refrigerate. Before eating or using them, wash the berries under cool water and then remove stems. If you remove the stems before you are ready to eat them they will get soft and start molding.

For long term you can freeze your berries and enjoy that goodness all year! Take advantage of peak season of strawberries at the Franklin market and freeze your strawberries for smoothies, shortcakes, and cereal. To do this, place rinsed, dried, and stemmed whole berries, cut sides down, on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet; freeze, uncovered, for six hours, then transfer to a freezer bag. Another option is to freeze them whole! You simply have to remove the stem and core, place them on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet in a freezer then transfer to a freezer bag approximately 1 hour later. You can store them in the freezer for up to six months and enjoy them in the off-season, too!

The Franklin Strawberry Festival isn’t all that is happening at the market. Festival attendees can enjoy all that our market has to offer- fresh, locally grown produce, locally made artisan goods and food trucks, Califarmia, Jay’s Chicago and Et Voila for breakfast and lunch. Admission to the festival and the market is free! The Franklin Farmers Market is located at the corner of Liberty Pike and Franklin Road, behind The Factory.

The Franklin Farmers Market is held every Saturday from 8am-1pm behind the Factory in Franklin, TN. The market is a 15 yr old producers only market with the largest assembly of local farmers providing fresh farm food all year long each Saturday morning. Find us at 230 Franklin Road behind the Factory. Visit us online at www.franklinfarmersmarket.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest market news.