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By Vicki Randolph
Last Saturday was opening day for the 2009 season at the Ashe
County Farmers' Market. Despite the cold, dreary weather, there
was a great vendor turnout and a crowd of shoppers. It just
goes to show that the warm smiles and cheerful people at the
market make it worth the trip any time.
There were a surprising amount of tasty early greens to choose
from. There were countless plants and nursery items available
for those with their own green thumb. The usual variety of Appalachian
hand-crafts were also on display. There were locally raised
meats and homemade cheeses for sale too. And of course there
was an irresistible array of fresh baked goods.
The farmers' market on the Backstreet is always the best way
to start a Saturday. In addition to all of the superb products
available, the market will be hosting a number of special events
this year. The first of which will be held this Saturday, April
18.
The New River Earth Institute will be sponsoring an Earth Day
celebration on the market grounds from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. Several
local organizations will be on hand to share with others what
they do and how each of us can help tread lightly on the Earth.
Children of all ages will be able to have a great time no matter
what their interests are. Free activities will be going on throughout
the day, including face painting and giveaways such as stickers,
coloring books, tattoos and lollipops. There will even be an
opportunity for folks to take everyday items and recycle them
into new creative art projects.
Everyone in the community is encouraged to come out and pick
up some tips to help them live a happier, healthier lifestyle
all the while saving money while saving the planet. And at the
same time, it's a great way to stimulate our local economy by
shopping at the farmers' market.
Earth Day has been celebrated since the 1960s and was originally
started by Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin. Nelson claims
the success of the very first official Earth Day on April 22,
1970 was, "because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots
level. We [his staff] had neither the time nor resources to
organize the 20 million demonstrators and the thousands of schools
and local communities that participated. That was the remarkable
thing about Earth Day. It organized itself."
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