MARKET MUSINGS

October 30, 2013 · 0 Comments

By Jan Freedman

The outdoor season of the Aurora Farmers’ Market and Artisan Fair has now come to an end on an unseasonably blustery day, with the wind howling and the rain lashing.
Thank you to the hardy vendors and loyal customers who actually made it to the Market on the final Saturday.
One of the worst colds I’ve had in years kept me at home. The weather this year, for the most part, was very good to us. Opening day was lovely and sunny and was a perfect day for our first ever butterfly release.
We did have some intermittent rain on our Strawberry Festival but the day was mild and it was a successful event for us. Our next special event was our Art in the Park day together with a celebration of Kerry’s Place. Happily, unlike last year when it poured and the park was a soggy mess, this year was sunny and hot, the entertainment was great and everyone had a wonderful time.
We then celebrated our annual Seniors’ Day at the beginning of August and, again, the weather co-operated for a lovely day. This was the best attended Seniors’ Day since we began the event and was a truly successful day all around. At the end of August, our Community Corn Roast was held on a warm and sunny day and brought substantial crowds to the Market.
This is clearly a very popular event and, undoubtedly, many people came to hear the Kouncil Kritters band entertain.
Unfortunately, this is where our good luck with the weather came to an abrupt end for a while. At the beginning of September we host our Apples and Honey Festival. For the last two years, this has also coincided with the En Plein Air art event sponsored by the Aurora Cultural Centre. The event was rained out last year except for one intrepid painter, Ted Yao, who stayed to paint in the pouring rain.
Well, Ted returned this year, along with about six other artists and, despite the nasty conditions for a second year in a row, they produced beautiful paintings of the Market and surrounding neighbourhood.
Our next event was at the end of September when we were one of the stops on a York Region Farm Fresh Pumpkin Pie Trail. Unfortunately, this was another wet and miserable day and all the hard work that people put into creating all manner of pumpkin-themed products was for naught. Nevertheless, the entertainers booked for the day sang their hearts out from the protection of the band shell.
The numerous musicians who played for us at the Market throughout this season were eager and professional and brave enough to play for us in all weather conditions – a sincere thank you to all of you. Happily, the next event was our Culinary Arts Day in celebration of Culture Days at the end of September and the gorgeous warm and sunny weather brought out huge crowds to enjoy the delicious culinary delights prepared by our six Market chefs.
By all accounts, it was one of our most popular events. So, I suppose it was too much to hope for that the season would end without any more rain.
I’d like to thank the members of the Market’s Committee for their service this year, especially the members of the Executive, who bore the most responsibility. We are all grateful to our new Market Manager, Kiersten, who kept us organized each Saturday and sorted out any issues that arose with tact and fairness.
Kiersten and Anna, the Chair, were so well organized and prepared that the Market ran extremely smoothly this year. Thank you to both of you from all of us.
I would also like to thank our generous Platinum sponsor, the Wells Street Schoolhouse Lofts. In addition, thank you to our Gold sponsor, Beverley Varcoe of Royal LePage, and to our Silver sponsors: The Optimist Club of Aurora; Brooks Farm; The Rotary Club of Aurora; Aurora Home Hardware and Linda Stephens of Main Street Realty. Their generous support enabled us to plan better special events and entertainment for your enjoyment. The Market is grateful to all of you.
Today’s recipe comes to us from the Aurora Public Library and is originally from a beloved employee, now deceased:

Heather’s Lemon Bars:
Bottom layer
2 cups all purpose flour
½ cup icing sugar
1 cup butter or margarine
Cut butter into flour and sugar mixture until it clings together. Press into a 13”x9” pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Top layer
4 eggs beaten
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ cup flour

Beat together eggs, sugar and lemon juice. Mix flour and baking powder together. Stir into egg mixture. Pour over baked crust. Bake for another 25 minutes. Sprinkle with icing sugar. Cool. Cut into bars and ENJOY!

Now that the outdoor season of the Market is over, we move indoors to the Aurora Cultural Centre approximately once a month over the winter. The first of the indoor Markets is on November 23, to be followed by January 18, February 22 and March 29 from 10.00 am to 2.00 pm. Be sure to keep these dates handy so you’ll be able to come and see your favourite vendors.
As a special treat, on November 23, we will have Janine Fernandes, the daughter of noted environmental advocate, Sue Walmer, playing her harp and singing in the upper hall every hour. This promises to be a very special day!
See you at the indoor Market!