Spring is almost upon us! A few weeks ago, a rodent in a number of parts of the continent predicted an early spring and this weekend we set our clocks one hour forward. My snowdrops, crocuses, and other bulbs are all poking up, and my veggie garden layout is complete. Our farmers are all busy with season preparations, and a few of them never really stopped!

The market this Saturday will showcase the coming of spring with fresh farm products, homemade delicacies, and beautiful one of a kind crafts. We’re featuring Ron Ulrich, a summer market favourite with a huge repertoire and a silky voice. We’ve also pleased to be presenting a 30 minute lecture in the lounge with Kelly Kiss, a registered holistic nutritionist about the 10 Healthy Benefits of Eating Local. The lecture will run at  11am and 1pm and will take place in the lounge. It is absolutely free to the public.

Also in the lounge is homemade playdough and colouring for kids. Our community group this month is the  Royal City Gogos – grandmothers helping grandmothers. Finally, If you haven’t signed up to be a RCFM member yet, you can in the lobby! Membership is just $10 and is a great way to show your support for the market and is one of the ways we fundraise.

Our friends at Translink are again sponsoring our transit incentive draw – take transit, walk, or cycle to the market and be entered to win a 3 zone transit pass. Green Zebra is also sponsoring a draw – anyone is permitted to enter to win a Green Zebra Guide – a chock full coupon book for green living. For both draws, see our friendly volunteers at the info desk where you can also pick up some of our new merchandise!

The winter market is Saturday March 12th, from 10-2 at Holy Trinity Cathedral, located at 514 Carnarvon Street in New Westminster. It is very close to the Columbia Skytrain Station. The City of New Westminster is also sponsoring free parking at the downtown waterfront parkade – so grab some friends and carpool to the market.

Here’s the vendor lineup (please note: this list is current as of Monday March 7th – cancellations do occasionally occur):

Eat On Site

• Copeland Foods – hot vegetarian samosas, as well as frozen take home samosas
• Gogo Java – Coffee, tea, smoothies, juice, and other liquids
• Ovenmonkey Bakery – selling fresh Langos – Hungarian fried flatbread

Produce

• Forstbauer Family Natural Food Farm – organic produce, eggs, and beef
• Golden West Farms – Okanagan fruit grown in Summerland, many certified organic
• Misty Mountain Specialties – fresh wild and cultivated mushrooms, dried mushroom products
• Shalefield Organic Gardens – produce from the Columbia Valley

Dairy

• Greendale Herb and Vine – Cheddar cheese, cheese curds, herbs, nut butters and honeycomb

Meat & Fish

• Outwest Ranches – beef raised locally and fresh eggs
• Port Hardy Seafood – BC caught fish and prawns

Bread & Baking

• A Bread Affair – Breads
• Blackberry Hill – Baked Goods
• Sweet Delights – vegan baking
• Sweet Thea Cake Company – tarts, pies, cookies, and cakes

Delectable Treats

• Ace Curries To Go – curry sauces
• AJI Gourmet Products – sauces made using aji spice
• Anne’s Gallery – Jams, jellies & knitting
• Gary’s Kettlecorn – Kettlecorn
• Maples’ Sugar Shack – maple syrup products
• Momma Nellie’s Goodies – Salsa
• Simply Delish Soup Co – layered soup mix, rice pilaf mix, and spice rubs
• Take a Fancy Chocolates and Sweets – handmade chocolates right from scratch

Local Crafters

• Black Bamboo Artisans – hand made glazed pottery and knitting
• Dingolay Glass Creations – African and Caribbean fused glass jewelry
• Ildiko Jewelry – hand forged sterling silver jewelry
• Jewelry by Apt – hand made jewelry
• Magnetite Jewelry by Gina – magnetite jewelry custom fit
• The Other Eden – cold process soaps scented with essential and fragrance oils, room sprays, body products
• Quality Oak Accents – Fine wood creations

PS: Here’s a poster if you’d like to download it and put it up in your building!

We frequently get compliments on the lovely images we’ve used  in our materials and on our site – did you know that all of them (as in every! single! one!) are images that volunteer photographers, both professional and amateur, have taken and given us the liberty of using? We feel really lucky because so many people find inspiration for nice photos at the market and we are always delighted when a new email, tweet, or search results in seeing new and pretty pictures – especially if it’s viewing the market in a way we hadn’t considered before. If pictures say a thousand words, we love what you are saying about us.

Here are two images we found recently from Flickr member hudsonny that really float our boat because they are depictions of the market the way we want to be seen – a community gathering place with producers and shoppers who care.

We’re always on the lookout for some new luscious food and market images to use, and 2011 is the year we’ll be working to expand our library. Want to help? Come to the market (winter and summer!), shoot some angles of the market you’re seeing, and tell us about it in one of the following ways:

• Upload to flickr with the tag “rcfm2011” (and feel free to add it to our group)
• Tweet it (Make sure you @nwfarmers and use the hashtag #rcfm2011)
• Email us at marketmanager at rcfm dot ca (we’ll upload it and tweet it ourselves)

With your permission, we’d like to have a copy of the photo in our library for use in our promotional materials and website. You’ll get a special limited edition RCFM button proclaiming you an official volunteer photographer, and better yet, you’ll be entered to win a super duper prize package, which we’ll be drawing at our last market in the Summer 2011 season – October 6th.

What’s in the prize package? I’m glad you asked! UPDATED March 2nd 2011

• A private tasting for 4 to our favourite local New Westminster winery Pacific Breeze Winery, valued at $100
• Tea for two every month for a year at Great Wall Tea Co, located in River Market, valued at $72
• Two annual subscriptions to Edible Vancouver Magazine: be greedy and have two years all for yourself, or be generous and have one for yourself and one for a lucky friend!, valued at $62.72

Check back as we establish other goodies in the prize bag.

A huge thank you to the sponsors who have donated their goods to the contest! Please check out these great local businesses:

We are very excited to have been supplied with a Green Zebra Guide to give away to one lucky market shopper at the upcoming March 12th market. The Green Zebra Guide is part coupon book and part buyer’s resource guide and the whole thing is actually published by TB Vets Charitable Foundation – you know, the keytag people who raise money for hospitals in BC. Here’s what they tell us about the Guide:

“You can enjoy local savings for sustainable living with 2011 Green Zebra guide.  Discover the best of the Lower Mainland with thousands of dollars in savings at local, community-minded restaurants & markets, spas, yoga studios, ecoapparel boutiques, bike shops, family outings, theatres, and more!  Sprinkled through the stylish book are practical tips and fun ideas for all aspects of a sustainable lifestyle.  It’s easy to change your stripes…with Green Zebra!”

To enter, simply fill out a ticket at the info desk in the lobby of the market on March 12th with your contact info. We aren’t collecting your info – all leftover tickets are destroyed after each market. You can also sign up for our email newsletter at the market (or sign up online right here through My Markets News!) We’ll send you an email before each market event.

Check out Green Zebra Guide online and explore what the guide offers.

As part of our mission to support all of our community, RCFM allocates one space to a community group at every market. The space is offered free of charge, and includes the use of a table, two chairs, and a tent. We encourage groups from New Westminster to apply and give preference to groups working with food security, environmental concerns and health issues. For our complete guidelines and application form, please check out the community group page. We are now accepting applications from community groups for the Summer 2011 season. We encourage you to apply early – the spots fill up fast.