Tag Archives: Franklin

Large Crowds Pack Farmers Market for Franklin Strawberry Festival

Franklin Strawberry FestivalThis year the Franklin Strawberry Festival brought smiles to everyone! A fun day for ALL, especially the kids loving the sweet tasting strawberries, strawberry shortcakes and donuts. We had our largest crowd of the year even with scattered rain showers. We are blessed to have so many customers who support our local farmers each Saturday of the year looking for fresh farm produce, baked goods and unique artisan crafts. A big THANK YOU to all our local farmers who picked strawberries Saturday morning, making 2nd deliveries of strawberries to market for Festival customers. We are grateful for having Ford Lincoln of Franklin as our Strawberry Festival Sponsor. imagesWithout Greg Brown’s generous support of our market and Tennessee Farmers, it would be difficult to have such a large Strawberry Festival. Please support Greg and his Ford Lincoln of Franklin local business!

franklin Farmers marketThank you to Norton Family Farms for baking over 600 shortcakes and Ellie’s Old Fashioned Doughnuts for over 600 strawberry doughnuts. Whipped cream was supplied by Hatcher Family Dairy. The fresh local strawberries came from Delvin Farms, Kelley’s Berry Farm, Kirkview Farm, and Rocky Glade Farm. All the festival preparation and serving of strawberry shortcakes could not have been accomplished without our army of volunteers. You guys are the BEST!!!

Strawberry Festival JudgesA special thanks to our Celebrity Judges who had the difficult task of making the tough decisions of Best Tasting Strawberry and Best Decorated Strawberry Booth. All of you did an outstanding job! We appreciate your time and dedication to judging this years Franklin Strawberry Festival!

-Joe Dubin, WSMV Channel 4 Sports Team, Emmy Award winner and two-time Edward R. Murrow Award         winner while at WKRN
-Marianne DeMeyers, President of Downtown Franklin Association, Owner of Tin Cottage
-Cassie Jones, Director of Sales for Southern Exposure Magazine & The Williamson Herald
-Chef Carlos Garcia, Homestead Manor’s Executive Chef

DSC_3186 2Best Tasting Strawberry Awards to:
1st Place – Rocky Glade Farm, Jim Vaughn and son Dylem
2nd Place – Olivia Olive Oil, Christi Lassen
3rd Place – Evans Produce, Tonya Evans

Best Decorated Strawberry Booth Awards to:
1st Place – The Barkers Market, Eric & Jeanne Floyd
2nd Place – Bloomsbury Farm, Lauren Palmer
3rd Place – Triple L Ranch, Ann Lee & Daniel Fold
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From all our Market staff, Farmers, Bakers and Artisans…THANK YOU!!! The Franklin Farmers Market enjoys putting on this event each year. We appreciate all our customers to come out to support our market each Saturday!

Visit our market photo gallery to see pictures of all the fun we had during this years Strawberry Festival!

Thank you to the Williamson Herald for covering this years market Strawberry Festival!  

Franklin Farmers Market Seeking More Room for Fast Growing Market, Poll Included

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Local Families enjoy shopping for local farm fresh produce each Saturday of the year

Since the Franklin Farmers Market opened in 2002, we’ve always called the Factory our home. But a lot of things have changed in the past 12 years. Instead of 8 farmers, we have over 70 farms at the market throughout the year plus local artisans, prepared food vendors and food trucks which makes the market a pretty popular place to go on Saturday mornings. It’s great that so many of you support local foods and local farms and we enjoy seeing everybody each week.

Rocky Glade Farm

Rocky Glade Farm sold out of their produce by 11am many days

Zadok the Natural Farmer

Zadok the Natural Farmer is a popular stop for farm fresh veggies

Bloomsbury Farm

Bloomsbury Farm is one of many farmers known for their Heirloom Tomatoes

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A long line of customers waiting for Ellie’s Old Fashioned Doughnuts

We love our home at the Factory. We’ve been there over a decade and it’s been a great place for us to be in. The Factory has been diligently listening to our growth needs along with what improvements can be made to make it the best location for you and our farmers. The market board is in active discussions with Factory officials about extending our lease and what can be done to make things easier for access to the market.

Franklin Farmers Market traffic

During peak Spring and Summer months there is a long line of cars lined up for entrance into the market

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The aisles under the shed crowd quickly starting in early spring

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Even our vendor tents next to the shed get really busy

We also have been looking at other possible locations for the market, including the Bicentennial Park location, which is two blocks off the downtown square of Franklin. Some of you may remember it as the old boot factory location on North Margin Street. There’s a lot of activity going on in the area, including the 3rd Avenue extension project, which gives the park easy access from Hillsboro Road as well as downtown routes. We appreciate all the efforts from the City of Franklin in offering us new possible market locations.

But would that be a good home for the market? Is there a better location or is our current home at the Factory the best place for the market?

We’ve listed a few questions below and would love to hear your thoughts.  Thank you for supporting our Tennessee farmers and Artisans who work hard to bring the best quality produce, meats, baked goods and Artisan Crafts each Saturday to market.

The Polls are now closed, thank you everyone for voting and leaving your valuable comments. 

 

How satisfied are you with parking for the Franklin Farmers Market (FFM) during our peak Spring, Summer and early Fall times?

  • Always plenty of parking (9%, 16 Votes)
  • I can find parking if I come early or late (52%, 97 Votes)
  • It's too congested to get into the parking lot quickly (30%, 55 Votes)
  • I've stop coming because of the lack of parking (10%, 18 Votes)

Total Voters: 186

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How is your shopping experience during our peak Spring, Summer and early Fall times?

  • There's plenty of room to shop among the vendors (2%, 3 Votes)
  • It's crowded but I don't mind the crowds (37%, 70 Votes)
  • I come early to beat the crowds (45%, 84 Votes)
  • I've stop coming because it's too crowded under the shed (16%, 30 Votes)

Total Voters: 187

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How long have you been a FFM customer?

  • Since the beginning in 2002 (21%, 44 Votes)
  • 5 years or more (31%, 64 Votes)
  • 3 years or more (24%, 50 Votes)
  • 1 year or more (20%, 40 Votes)
  • I'm a newbie, less than a year (3%, 7 Votes)
  • Never have visited the FFM (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 205

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Fresh Farm Produce, Pumpkins, Great Food and Coffee!

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A fall display from Time Travelers

We have to admit, it was a little chilly Saturday when the market first opened. But a cup of coffee paired with some sweet, warm Ellie’s Doughnuts made everything okay. And even with a lot of fall festivals going on, there were still plenty of people wandering around the market and we’ve now figured out why. The Franklin Farmers Market is not only the best place for fresh food from local farms; it’s a great spot to socialize on Saturday mornings.

Maybe you pick up a yummy sourdough roll with sausage from Jones Mill Farm or you head over to the Biscuit Love truck for a bite of breakfast to munch while roaming the market. Chances are that you’ll run into a neighbor or an old friend who’s doing the exact same thing.

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Kirkview Farms fresh veggies

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Customers of Rocky Glade Farm

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Local tomatoes still available

Plus it seems like a lot of new people are moving to Franklin and Williamson County too. Every market day, there are people who stop at the info booth to find out more about the farmers and the market.

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V’s Pottery is beautiful!

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Lucy’s Kitchen’s yummy soups

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River Cottage Farm’s meats

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Legacy Acres soft & warm Alpaca yarn

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Great barnwood signs from Tom the Furniture Guy!

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Colorful mums and pumpkins from Purple Tree Farm

A lot of them have just moved here. We’ve been doing a little poll of those people and have found out that quite a few of them are here from California, like this mom and her son standing next to the scarecrow. They just moved here from Los Angeles. Welcome to Tennessee!

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Just moved to Tennessee!

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Smiling faces & sunflowers

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Posing with the pumpkin & scarecrow at the market info booth

And you may have noticed at the market this past Saturday that lots pumpkins can now be found from several farms at the market.

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The King Family Farm grows lots of pumpkins!

And with those pumpkins, little scarecrows are starting to pop up everywhere.

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Little scarecrows popped up at Rainbow Hill’s booth

But just wait… The market will soon be took over by scarecrows and they’ll be bringing lots of fun for the whole family.  It’s The Invasion of the Scarecrows, brought to you by our friends at Williamson Medical Center.

There will be a free pumpkin patch for the kids, complete with a tractor-riding scarecrow watching over the patch. After picking out their pumpkin, kids can paint and decorate it at the Perfect Pumpkin Painting booth. The kids can get “decorated” too with face-painting from Tom the Artist. And once the pumpkins and the kids have been decorated, stop by the Williamson Medical Center’s tent for a free family photo to take home and remember the day!

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Beaverdam Creek Farm’s beef cuts

Of course, there will be plenty of delicious fresh food from your favorite farmers at the market too. From big and tall to short and small, lots of scarecrows will be everywhere. It’s all happening next Saturday, October 19th from 8am – 1pm at the Franklin Farmers Market!

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A good selection from Pilgrims Produce

Click here to view pictures from this past Saturday’s market.

 

Franklin Farmers Market on Talk of the Town

The Franklin Farmers Market was featured on WTVF Channel 5 Talk of the Town today with Lelan Statom and Meryll Rose honoring this years Franklin Farmers Market TomatoFest.

www.newschannel5.com
Franklin Farmers Market Recipe Book "Eating in Seasons"

Franklin Farmers Market Recipe Book “Eating in Seasons”

Gayle Franks represented the Franklin Farmers Market with a tomato pasta recipe from the farmers market new “Eating in Season” recipe cookbook!  Gayle chose to prepare and cook the recipe “Fusilli with Raw Tomato” with host Lelan Statom of WTVF News Channel 5 of Nashville, Tennessee.  The tomatoes used in today’s recipe were heirloom tomatoes, bradley tomatoes along with other tomato varieties from our farmers market.

Gayle did a wonderful job representing the Franklin Farmers Market on News Channel 5’s Talk of the Town with Lelan Statom.  Lelan asked about this years TomatoFest and Gail shared that visitors will be able to taste many of the different varieties of farm fresh tomatoes Tennessee Farmers grow and bring to our farmers market each Saturday morning.

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Gayle Franks and Sharon Burbage selecting Heirloom Tomatoes for Talk of the Town Show

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Dottie, Sharon and Gayle selling the Eating in Season market recipe cookbook on market Saturday

We expect a big day celebrating the Tomato used in so many fresh healthy food recipes at this Saturday’s Tomato Festival in Franklin, TN.  The Eating in Season recipe cookbook is designed to be used with farm fresh ingredients for family fresh cooking.  The new Franklin Farmers Market recipe book Eating in Season will be available for purchase every Saturday during market hours 8am till 1pm.

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The Eating in Season Recipe Cookbook can be found at the Franklin Farmers Market each Saturday morning from 8am until 1pm

Hope to see you Saturdays at our Tennessee Farmers Market!

Tomato lovers buy up Tennessee Farm Tomatoes Quickly

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The FFM’s “Growing Kids” gardening students love tomatoes too!

Tomato lovers, rejoice! It truly is tomato season at the Franklin Farmers market. Old favorites, like Bradleys and Big Boys are plentiful now, along with beautiful heirloom tomatoes and colorful cherry tomatoes too.

The market really is a tomato lover’s heaven. For proof of that, don’t miss our celebration of the tomato… TomatoFest!

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Jones Mill Farm Heirloom Tomatoes

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Norton Family Farm Cherry Tomatoes, oh so sweet!

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J.R. and Judy of Jones Mill Farm putting out more Heirloom Tomatoes

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So many nice ripe and juicy farm fresh tomatoes to choose from

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Cherry Tomatoes and Blackberries all around the Market

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A crisp 62 degrees brought out so many Foodies!

On July 27th, tomatoes rule the roost at the Franklin Farmers Market with chef demos from Amerigo Italian Restaurant, tomato squashing and seed saving, yummy samples and the Totally Terrific Tomat-Oh! contest.

Mark your calendars now. You don’t want to miss it.

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The Market was buzzing with the first crop of Tennessee Silver Queen Corn

And while we love our tomatoes dearly, corn was the king of the day this past Saturday as the first crop of Silver Queen corn arrived at the Franklin Farmers Market. It was snatched up so fast, that it was almost as if the farmers were handing out free money. The King Farm and the Gracy Farm sold out quickly and the other farms soon were out of the sweet kernels too. But if you missed out, no problem. There’ll be even more delicious corn next Saturday at the market.

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Market customers helped themselves to fresh corn from the back of pickup trucks

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All gone, sold out in just 2 hours

And a sweet treat made its’ first appearance at the market too. Pilgrim’s Produce farm has yummy watermelons. The “Yellow Doll” watermelons went fast, but more watermelons will be back at the market next Saturday.

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We are blessed to have such wonderful Farmers!  Lucy’s Kitchen visiting with Pilgrims Produce

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Just picked Organic Apples from Delvin Farms

All in all, it was a great market. Lots of families roaming around, enjoying the fresh air and fresh food. A lot of new residents to Franklin stop by too, paying their first visit to the market. And our farmers enjoyed the day as much as you did. Thanks for your support of the Franklin Farmers Market!

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Fresh farm grown Blueberries and Blueberry Syrup made just Friday night before Saturday market

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A great year of nice Tennessee weather delivering wonderful CSA’s from Delvin Farms

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So many farm fresh veggies to choose from

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Another Chef picking up farm fresh cherry tomatoes?

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A happy market visitor finding fresh apples and a sunflower

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This smile says it all…A great week of farm fresh food ahead