Subscribe to our newsletter Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. (Our friend Ben enjoyed selecting his Halloween pumpkin at last year's Harvest Festival) Coventry Regional Farmers' Market Celebrate harvest holidays and traditions... The market masters, farmers, and artisans of the Coventry Regional Farmers' Market invite you to attend our second annual Harvest Festival this Sunday, October 14, from 11-2. A bountiful harvest is IN...this is the perfect time to bring your children, family, and friends for a day at the farmers' market, and don't forget your camera! Complimentary fall foliage hayrides... Climb aboard a tractor-drawn hay wagon and take in the autumn colors as you ride through the farmland surrounding the market. Learn about the history of glassmaking in the area as your excursion is narrated by members of the Coventry Historical Society. Don't miss this opportunity to learn more about the unique past of this historic district! A children's story told with flair... Miriam Epstein, a former elementary school teacher and renowned storyteller, will perform live at 11:30. Epstein, Director and Founder of Books to Dreams, a Connecticut based literacy program for children and parents in homeless shelters and children in need, will present this storytelling session for children.  Through its grassroots work, Books to Dreams has been able to give over a quarter of a million books to children in need and provide over 500 literacy programs in homeless shelters and Head Starts. Do you have new books or like new books you'd like to donate to Books to Dreams? Bring them along with you on Sunday... your gift will make a difference for a child! And an author shares her regional travel tips... At 12:30, Stacy Lytwyn Maxwell, author of the travel guidebook, Consummate Connecticut: Day Trips with Panache, will speak.  Her book, packed with local color, treasured regional history, quirks and customs, is a comprehensive travel guide unveiling secrets that travelers can find in daytrips that are less than two hours away! Face painting and fun for the kids... The Coventry Parks and Recreation Department will offer face painting and popcorn for the little ones. Together, pick out your Halloween pumpkin, colorful gourds, Indian corn, and hardy mum plants and tote them back to the car in a red market wagon! All the delicious tastes of autumn... Shop the best winter produce straight from the farm, purchase local cider, freshly-baked pumpkin tea cake, an apple pie, or a bowl of hearty harvest stew...eat your way through the delicious tastes of the autumn. Sample Snooty Food's organic garlic-herb butter. Bring home aged farmhouse cheeses, perfect pickles, apple butter, peppered goat cheese, cranberry-pecan bread, maple syrup, local honey, and sparkling jars of preserves! Jonathan Eddy Grass-fed Beef offers savory sausage, perfect for a hearty spaghetti supper and gorgeous rib roasts sure to make a family dinner memorable. This is the last week to order October freezer lambs from Regina Malsbury... don't miss the chance to stock the freezer with locally-grown, grass-fed meats! The heirloom apples are in! Golden Russet, Esopus Spitzenburg, Tolmans Sweet, Thomas Jefferson's favorite the New Town Pippin, Yellow Bell Flower and Northern Spy apples are among the heirloom apple varieties coming into season and available at the market this Sunday. The sugars are much higher in many of the late season apple varieties as they are fully tree ripened in local orchards, but more importantly, the flavors of heirloom varieties are often more complex and rich than commercial hybrids. Look for other seasonal produce favorites like autumn raspberries, kale, hubbard squash, beets, spinach, onions, garlic, pumpkins, potatoes, and fall turnips. This winter squash is for keeps... Bird Song Farm is celebrating the Harvest Festival by offering a special on Butternut squash of 75 cents per pound. Abbie and Bruce grow Waltham Butternut, a 1970 All American Selection bred in Waltham, Massachusetts, for its fine flavor and excellent storage capabilities. This is arguably the longest keeping of the winter squashes and the flavor improves with age. It is a tradition at Bird Song Farm to have a side dish of Butternut squash along with the Easter ham. Feel like taking a spin? Regina Malsbury brings us brand new pin-drafted roving just back from the mill.  An ABSOLUTE DREAM TO SPIN, Regina reports spinning an entire pound of it in about 5 hours. It just flew out of her hands, Regina said, she could use less twist and get a much softer yarn.  Farm animals visit too... Throughout the day, look for an Angora rabbit, poultry, sheep, or goat at the market! The 4-H kids are bringing their pals for us to enjoy! Learn more about 4-H groups in our area and the valuable role of these animals on a small, working farm. Sweet autumn treats for you... Collinsville Baking Company will stock pumpkin and apple pies, rustic scones, and chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies. Also try Chaplin's Bats of Bedlam Farm's maple peanut brittle and maple sugar candy and Norm's Best sweet, roasted cashews! And for your dog, Paws 4 Treats bakes up Peanut Butter Bats and Cheddar Cheese leaves with healthy whole grains! Handmade by local artisans... Our artisans offer hand spun yarns, cozy sweaters and hand knit socks, Sleepy Moon's herbal soaps, sea glass jewelry, beeswax candles, and hand thrown pottery. Many guest artisans will also join us this Sunday... Karen Brown of Shooting Star Gallery displays her beautiful hanging bottles and Heather Bruggeman's gorgeous vintage-inspired bags can be found at the Beauty That Moves stall. Check out the fabulous dichroic glass and fimo jewelry from Stone's Throw Studio... it's a great time to start your holiday shopping! A healthy exchange of ideas... At the market’s community table, unendorsed Democrat and Republican candidates running for office will share their goals and ideas with those interested in casting an informed vote.  The Coventry Regional Farmers’ Market is more than just a place to shop. We have hosted over 30 community groups this season ranging from foster care programs to energy conservation, from the Connecticut Humane Society to the Master Gardeners.  We encourage an exchange of ideas… one hallmark of true community gathering place. You CAN make a PUMPKIN PIE from scratch! Farmers' Market Pumpkin Pie 1 medium pumpkin 1 T olive oil 1 pastry for a 9 inch, single crust pie 1/2 tsp each ground cinnamon and ginger 1 tsp sea salt 4 free-range eggs, lightly beaten 1 C honey, warmed slightly 1/2 C milk 1/2 C whipping cream Cut the pumpkin in half and remove the seeds. Place cut side down on a cookie sheet which has been lightly oiled. Bake at 325 degrees F until the pumpkin is tender when poked with a fork. Cool until just warm. Scrape the pumpkin flesh from the peel and mash with a fork. In a large bowl, blend together 2 cups pumpkin puree, spices, and salt. Beat in eggs, honey, milk, and cream. Pour filling into pie shell. Bake at 4oo degrees F for 50 to 55 minutes, or until knife inserted an inch from the edge of the pie comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. No, horses, this isn't heaven... it's Coventry! Crossen Arabians and Warmbloods will host an Open Barn on Sunday from 1:00 pm to 5 pm. Susan and Tom will be having a dressage/sport horse presentation, a presentation of their breeding stock, and open barns from 4 to 5 pm. Susan and Tom's beautiful farm is located on ninety acres and consists of two restored Circa 1899 barns with eighteen stalls which house their broodmares and foals. A newly constructed 81' X 180' indoor arena with an additional eighteen stalls provides space for horses in training. There are over two miles of board fencing, fourteen paddocks, and three custom built turnout sheds. There are also two 60' round corrals and a large size outdoor dressage arena. The farm includes another 42 acres of prime hay fields and is adjacent to the Nathan Hale Forest, and close to an extensive trail system that runs along the old railway lines. If you are a horse lover... you must plan to visit while you're in town for the market on Sunday! Did you see us on TV? Our market was featured on Scot Haney's new program Better Connecticut! If you did not see the show, click here to view the segment via a link on our website! You might even see yourself! Remember, a MOVE is afoot... When the market reopens for a new season on June 1, 2008, you will find us on the beautiful and spacious grounds of the Nathan Hale Homestead in Coventry. In our new home at the Hale Farm, we will be surrounded by over 500 acres of forest and picturesque rural landscape. With this gracious, stunning location as a backdrop, our vibrant and diverse market will be worth the drive from just about anywhere! Mark your calendar and help us spread the word! forward this email to a friend  Join us every Sunday 11am - 2pm at the intersection of Route 44 and North River Road THROUGH the end of OCTOBER click HERE for directions See you at the Harvest Festival! Unsubscribe from our newsletter.

Connecticut-grown produce, as fresh as it gets, delicious things to eat, artisan ware, entertainment, sustainable-living programs, and a free weekly drawing… the Coventry Regional Farmers’ Market is

The market season runs June through October, every Sunday from 11 am to 2 pm, on the grounds of the Nathan Hale Homestead located in Coventry at 2299 South Street. 

The Coventry Regional Farmers' Market provides the community with the freshest and best tasting locally-grown produce at competitive prices.  Here, you buy food directly from the grower.  Produce goes from our farmers to your table. In this way, market-goers help to preserve the tradition of small farms in the region.

The market also features the work of local artists and artisans.  Purchase handcrafts from the artists and artisans who make them and learn how they were created … think goat’s milk soaps, stoneware, herbal tinctures, handcrafted beadwork, and handspun yarns.  Our market’s diverse offerings include free-range eggs, rustic breads, freshly-baked pies and cookies, sparkling jars of preserves, gourmet dog treats, fresh herbs, honey and maple syrup, and more!

Live entertainment makes shopping at the market an opportunity to visit and relax! Weekly programs are a fun way to learn something new.Stop by the Market Masters' table to enter the free weekly gift-certificate drawing. Have lunch at our picnic tables and give your little one a ride in a red wagon. A visit to our market makes a weekend...