Coventry's Farmers Market

"Connecticut's preeminent farmers' market"
New England Travel Magazine, Summer 2009

Sunday, July 5: Blues & Brews

This Sunday, it's our homegrown Blues & Brews fest!
There's a resurgent interest in microbrew and home brewing that mirrors increasing enthusiasm for products local and home made. On Sunday, you can dig in and really get a feel for what the area’s brewers have to offer...taste your way through Connecticut's Ales, Lagers, IPAs, Ambers, Belgian and Scottish-style beers!

With us will be The Willimantic Brewing Company, voted best brew pub in Connecticut, whose 7 barrel brewery produces freshly made handcrafted beers just down the road.

Owner and brewer Rob Leonard of New England Brewing, a microbrewery based in Woodbridge, crafts a handful of savory brews including gold medal award winning Atlantic Amber, Elm City Lager, and Sea Hag IPA.

Old Burnside Brewing Company's flagship brew “Ten Penny Ale,” named “Hartford’s Best Microbrew," is a smooth, amber-hued mellow version of a Scottish Ale. The company is a spinoff of a family-owned ice manufacturing business founded in East Hartford in 1911, when ales that were brewed locally provided refreshment after a long day's work.

If you can boil water, you can brew beer...
The economy is one driving factor behind revived interest in the age-old practice in home brewing, as well as home winemaking, cheesemaking, preserving, raising chickens and vegetable gardening. With less than a $100 investment in equipment, homebrewing a five-gallon batch of beer takes minimal household space and only about two hours of time. Those who brew beer at home know that the key ingredients in recipes like Cat's Claw Blackberry Ale, Raspberry Peach Lager, and Amber Maple Ale can be found here at the market.

Meet members of The Knights of the Mashing Fork, the state's largest homebrewing guild, who be serving their American beers. There are over 15 major styles of beers that are considered American and, in the spirit of the 4th of July weekend, the Knights will feature, among others, an American Amber, a hoppy and malty red ale; an American Wheat, a refreshingly light summer beer; and an Old Ale from a colonial recipe that is dark, strong, and uses corn and molasses. Interested in learning to brew on your own? Engage a Knight in some beer talk and learn from our local experts!

Plus, taste trendy Beer and Cheese pairings...
In many cultures worldwide, it's beer you'll find paired with cheese, not wine! Cheese and beer grew up together on the farm; the grain used to produce beer is the same as that which is fed to milk-animals to produce cheese. More importantly, the flavors of beer and cheese – earthy, yeasty, musty, fruity, rich, toasty, floral – groove in a way that many feel those of wine and cheese cannot. Each week the market offers the finest cheeses for sale, and on Sunday you can taste Cato Corner Farm's Bridgid's Abbey with AmBEERlicious from Willimantic Brewing or Beltane Farm's Black Pepper Chevre with Olde Burnside's Ten Penny Ale.

Blues & Brews, rendered by a flatbread pizza artist...
Todd Solek of Farm to Hearth is preparing flatbread dough incorporating local beer from Willimantic Brewing Company. Todd has teamed up with Cato Corner Farm to feature two of their cheeses on his menu this week:

His "Blues Flatbread" will be topped with roasted garlic and caramelized onion marmalade produced by Winding Drive Jams in Woodbury with Cato Corner Farm blue cheese.

Todd's "Brews Flatbread" includes with Cato Corner Farm "Drunk Monk," a washed-rind ripened cheese bathed in brown ale from Willimantic Brewing Company, and fresh organic whole leaf cascade hops from Foothill Hop Farm in upstate New York.

And we'll have BLUES music, of course!
Blues & Brews favorite musical guests Patti Tuite and the Boilermakers return! Influenced in style by Etta James, Bonnie Raitt, Ella Fitzgerald, and Debbie Davies, the group has competed in the finals of the Connecticut Blues Society's Blues Challenge. Patti will be joined by Frank Busse, drummer; Tom "Turk" Neilsen, bassist; and "Wild" Bill Furey, playing guitar.

Welcome to our market, Porsche Club Members!
The Connecticut Valley Region of the Porsche Club of America was founded in 1959 and consists of over 1900 members. Their goal is to provide numerous opportunities for members to enjoy driving their Porsches and socialize with each other. Driving then socializing? That's what our destination market is all about! On Sunday, we welcome Porsche Club members to park in a specially designated area perfect for showing off your car! Sunshine and fair skies are predicted... it's time for a drive!

We've been selected as one of the Boston Globe's
Top Ten Things to Do
in New England this Weekend

In the news: Click here to watch!

and here to see us on
Thank Goodness It's Connecticut

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WE ARE GRATEFUL TO OUR GENEROUS SUPPORTERS:

Ackert Electric All Creatures Veterinary Hospital

BHB Mailing Service Bolton Family Medicine

Crossen Arabians and Warmbloods ESTOccasions

The Garden Barn Nursery Highland Park Market

Landmark Natural Foods Lindlau Realty Inc.

Meadowbrook Wine and Spirits       Meet Me On Main

Nature's Grocer                                New England SARE

PetSmart                                              PLBMdesign.com

Pollansky Construction                    Trattoria De Lepri

The Coventry Regional Farmers' Market

at the Hale Homestead

June through October

11 am-2 pm every Sunday
in Coventry, Connecticut

NEED DIRECTIONS?
We're at 2299 South St in Coventry, CT.
Click here for a map or driving directions.

Offering Connecticut-grown produce, as fresh as it gets, delicious things to eat, artisan ware, entertainment, and sustainable-living programs...the Boston Globe calls the Coventry Regional Farmers’ Market "one of the top ten things to do in New England this weekend." Surrounded by over 500 acres of forest and picturesque rural landscape, the Hale Farm provides a gracious backdrop for this vibrant market.

The Coventry Regional Farmers' Market provides the community with the freshest and best-tasting locally-grown produce while helping to preserve the tradition of small farms in the region. We specialize in organic, heirloom, ethnic and gourmet varieties of fruits and vegetables, and offer grass-fed beef, free-range eggs, smoked bacon, rustic breads, farmstead cheeses, freshly-baked pies, European pastries, sparkling jars of preserves and pickles, gourmet dog treats, fresh herbs, cut flowers, chocolate fudge, honey, maple syrup, and more!

The market also features the work of local artists and artisans. Purchase diverse, handmade wares from those who crafted them and learn how they were created … think hemp clothing, goat’s milk soaps, wrought iron, beeswax candles, stoneware, herbal tinctures, handcrafted beadwork, vintage cotton tote bags, and handspun yarns.

Live entertainment makes shopping at the market an opportunity to visit and unwind. Sustainable living programs are a fun way to learn something new. Pet a goat, have lunch in a grassy spot under the maple trees, or give your little one a ride in a red wagon. A visit to our market with friends and family is the pièce de résistance of any weekend!

Dinner at the Homestead
is part of the "Dinners at the Farm" series of
benefit dinners celebrating farms, local food, farmers and community presented by celebrated chef and owner/chef of Chester's River Tavern, Jonathan Rapp. As Connecticut Landmarks' signature fundraiser for the 2009 season, Dinner at the Homestead will not only include an exceptional multi-course meal with fresh/local food cooked from scratch on Jonathan's cherry-red cook truck, but will also celebrate the beautiful Homestead and its rich agricultural heritage with tours, demonstrations, live music and living history.

About the Hale Homestead...
The Nathan Hale Homestead was the home of the family of State Hero, Nathan Hale. Nathan’s father, Richard Hale, was a prosperous livestock farmer who built the house for his large family. Ardent patriots, six of Richard’s eight sons served in the patriot army. One son, Capt. Nathan Hale was caught and hanged as a spy at age 21 by the British in September of 1776. He is famous for his alleged last words, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”

Constructed in 1776, the Homestead is a pristine example of a Georgian-style home. Although sold out of the Hale family in the 1820s, the house has remained virtually intact. The house was first restored by George Dudley Seymour, who saved the house in the early 20th century. The house is furnished with Hale-family pieces and period antiques based on the family inventories. Much of the acreage associated with the Hale farm, is now the Nathan Hale State Forest.