Cold Spring Farmers' Market to Hold Annual Dinner

A highly successful tradition continues on Wednesday, September 7 as The Garrison hosts the 9th annual Cold Spring Farmers’ Market (CSFM) community dinner.  The dinner celebrates what has become mainstay of Philipstown life  a robust market held every Saturday morning

 that features a variety of fresh foods produced on farms in the Hudson Valley. Residents come out in big numbers to support the market. One estimate put last year’s crowd at 300 fresh-food lovers. Per the organizers “‘With the storm last week and people digging out and some still getting back to having power, our reservations going into the final weekend before our event are much lower than we’d expect at this point. We’re putting up and handing out flyers and doing as much as we can to invite all of our friends, but we’re not sure it’s going to be enough to help us raise the money we’ll need to keep the market going.  This is such a great way for people to get a short break from their cleaning up efforts.” 
         The market was established in 2002, in response to the loss of the Grand Union grocery store which was destroyed by fire. The market had only four or five vendors that first year, but has grown since to include 20 stalls each week. The Village of Cold Spring has been the official sponsor of the market since its inception. A good indication of the support CSFM enjoys in the community is that many local businesses pay a fee to be listed as additional sponsors. 

Guests line up for the feast at 2010 dinner

Planning the dinner makes you realize the talent and resourcefulness of our vendors, and the challenges they sometimes face, said Steve Bates, who co-manages CSFM along with Lachele Coninx-Wiley. Citing last year as an example, he said that Captain Rick, a CSFM vendor who fishes off of Long Island had pledged fifty pounds of sand shark for the dinner.  When he went put out to sea to make the catch just after Hurricane Earl, the aftermath of the storm resulted in there being no catch at all.  Fellow vendors came to the rescue and provided more chicken and beef than originally planned.
        The CSFM dinner may be the definition of low overhead. Almost all of the food served at the dinner is donated by the market’s farmers and vendors. Protein items are provided at greatly reduced cost. The Garrison provides the venue, cooking and wait staff at no cost. Local musicians can be expected to donate their talent as they have in the past. Last year’s band featured Al Hemberger, John Teagle, Mike LaRocca, Andy Revkin, Seth Gallagher and Joe Murphy. The dinner is the market’s biggest fundraiser with all proceeds going to support CSFM.  The menu will include: 

Cocktail Hour
Sweet Sausage with grilled breads and maple syrup 
Popcorn with thyme and sea salt
Selection of local cheeses with apples and pears 

Dinner
Assorted Breads with Honey Butter
Local Greens: Grilled Leek Vinaigrette with herbs and shallots
Heirloom Tomatoes with local Mozzarella and basil
Sweet Yellow Corn with mushrooms and zucchini
Summer Vegetables with olive oil and chives
Potato Salad with green beans, champagne vinaigrette and dill
Beef with chick peas, tomatoes and onions
Chicken with mushrooms, soba Noodles and sweet soy vinaigrette 

Dessert 
Caramel Corn with sea salt 
Apple and pear cobblers
Bread Pudding with blueberries

The Market is actively asking the community to come and support the Community Dinner. Reservations are required and can be made at the market until Sept. 2, via email at [email protected], or by leaving a message at 845-661-1460. Tickets for adults are $35 pp in advance and $40 at the door. Children ages 7-18 are $20 pp and ages 6 and under are free.
Photo by M. Turton