Join us this week for our Special Holiday Market!

(click here for the flyer)

The Olney Farmers and Artists Market opens for a one-day Holiday Market on Sunday, December 4 from 11 am to 3 pm.  The market will include celebrations of Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and Christmas and will feature a visit from Santa and Christmas caroling.  We’ll be collecting clothing for two important partner nonprofits, Our House and Aunt Hattie’s Place, so please bring your gently used or new clothes to brighten the holidays for those less fortunate.

We’ll be ready for the cold weather!  Sandy Spring Friends School has donated a school bus that will be used as a warming center and will feature musicians who will keep the spirit bright inside.  There will also be fire pits and heaters to keep people warm outside as well.

We are working hard on providing animals for our Farm Animal Parade in the mid-afternoon,  and the Girl Scouts will be selling s’mores to prepare over the fire pits.  In addition to regular food vendors and farmers there will also be specialty items like chickens, turkeys, eggs, and cheeses for sale.  Handcrafted jewelry, photography, and hand-knit items will make wonderful one-of-a-kind gifts.

We’ll be adding to the mix of regulars with some new artists and vendors.

Kelly Shore of Petals By The Shore will present an all-purpose holiday table decor demonstration at 1 pm and will have fresh holiday wreaths and tabletop centerpieces to buy.  Stone Meadow Alpacas, whose farm is one mile over the Maryland line above Hagerstown, will be selling scarves, mittens, socks, and other items that they say are warmer than wool, hypoallergenic, and soft as cashmere.

And Rosario Gamboa of Canela Bakery is going to demonstrate their gelatinas, edible flower shapes inside a beautiful dome of sweet gelatin, which were recently featured in The Washington Post.

This year Manna Food Center purchased 18,982 pounds of food at the Olney Farmers and Artists Market for their clients.  According to Kim Damion, Manna’s executive director, Manna was able to buy the food through county grant dollars and donations, and market farmers and vendors generously supplemented those purchases.

Highlights:

• Expect lots of hand-made holiday gifts from our juried artists. That means fabulous jewelry, hand-painted furniture, photography and paintings.

• We’re also expecting an antiques booth for the first time.

• Our food vendors will be preparing specialty holiday foods for Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. New this season: Bon Vivant will offer chickens, turkey, eggs and specialty cheeses from local farmers.

• Kelly Shore will be doing a Floral demo at 1pm. We’ll also have a surprise chef’s demo, afterward.

• At the Children’s tent, we’ll be doing crafts to celebrate all three holidays.  Plus, we’ll have fabulous door prizes, including shopping sprees, for both children and adults every half hour, starting at 11:30AM.

• A visit from Santa Claus!

• You’ll be treated to live music on board the School Bus, while we keep you warm.

• We’ll close with some caroling, celebrating the holidays and a wonderful Farmers and Artists Market season.

Friends of OFAM

It takes an enormous amount of effort and commitment to keep this market alive.  It also takes your support. This season, we’re initiating our Friends of the Olney Farmers and Artists Market program.  For a $35 or $50 donation, you’ll get a special OFAM button, along with special discounts and free items all season long. A vendor just might spot your button and hand you something free!  Where does the money go?  Tent repairs, umbrella replacements, chef demo tent and children’s tent supplies, and special events. 

Please remember: The Market is smoke-free and does not allow pets.

How Can You Help?

OFAM needs volunteers!!!  With so much to setup and prepare each market day, we sure could use some additional help.  Come on folks - help us to make the Market even better in 2011 !!  If interested, please contact us at info@olneyfarmersmarket.org

To receive information . . .

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See you on Sunday, December 4th!