This Week's Event
Happy Thanksgiving! Come pick up your Thanksgiving fixings this Saturday at the Carp Market. PLUS enter our pie contest honoring the late Margaret Hobbs. Pie contest is open to all – vendors and customers, must be pumpkin/squash variety and homemade. One entry per person. If you wish to enter our pie contest please drop your pie off at our Events Tent by 11am. Check out our Info Section below for the full Pie Contest rules and guidelines.
Plus check out the Expressions of Art - Art Show by members of the West Carleton Arts Society in the Agricultural Hall.
Information Section
Producer-Only Farmers' Market: What it Means
A Note from Carp Farmers' Market Board of Directors
Recently CBC’s Marketplace aired an episode investigating resellers at Farmers’ Markets in and around the Toronto region. Unfortunately the presenters did not make clear that not all Farmers’ Markets operate under the same set of rules. The markets singled out in the episode allowed vendors to resell produce that was not grown by the vendor doing the selling. When this information is not made clear, the customer may walk away thinking they have supported the local economy where in fact they have not.
These issues do not exist at the Carp Farmers’ Market.
The Carp Farmers’ Market Association which operates our Market is a non-profit organization run by and for its members, the vendors you see each Saturday. Our farmers grow the products they sell, our bakers bake the bread you buy and all our artisanal crafts are made by our crafters.
To ensure the integrity of our producer-only status we have a rigourous jurying process that ensures that each product on offer meets the standards of the Market. We constantly monitor the products on offer to ensure that no unapproved products are on offer.
You may find some produce to be available in what would seem to be ‘out-of-season’, but that is because we have a number of growers who use different techniques to provide a longer season for a crop to be available to you. These would include different varieties, growing in greenhouses, low tunnels, extended storage. That is why you can find tomatoes and cucumbers in May (grown in a greenhouse), raspberries in June (grown in an unheated greenhouse), strawberries in the fall (day-neutral varieties), carrots at Christmas (extended storage).
We are very proud to be the largest producer-only market in Eastern Ontario for 26 seasons and believe we have the freshest, most delicious local products for you to enjoy. You, our customers are an integral part of our fabulous market, so when you come out next Saturday, we encourage you to talk to our vendors about the their production methods.
See you at the Market on Saturday!
Margaret Hobbs Memorial Pumpkin Pie Contest
Open to all – customers and vendors – enter our Thanksgiving Pie Contest honoring the late Margaret Hobbs, a longtime vendor of the Carp Farmers’ Market who passed away earlier this year. The winner will receive a special prize!
Rules:
• Variety/type of pie must be pumpkin or squash
• Must be pie – no cakes or other pastries permitted
• Pie must be homemade
• One entry per person
• Pie must be dropped off at our Events Tent by 11am, Saturday October 7th. Judging will take place at 11:30am.
• Must include a card or label at the bottom of the pie dish with name of baker, phone number and recipe.
Judging Criteria: Pies will be judged based on 3 criteria and scored out of 5. Marks will be totalled and the pie with the most points will win. The 3 criteria are: (1) Appearance. (2) Crust. (3) Filing.
The Carp Farmers’ Market is the largest producer based Farmers’ Market in Eastern Ontario! The Market is open every Saturday from May until the end of October from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., rain or shine. Entrance and parking are free and the market is wheelchair-accessible.
If you would like to receive up to the date news on all upcoming market events, please “like” us on Facebook (Carp Farmers’ Market) and follow us on Twitter (@Carp_Market). You can also follow us on Instagram (@carpfarmersmarket) for fun photos featuring everything you love about the Carp Market!