Alden Chamber of Commerce

Farmers Market Mid Season Report

2011 Schedule

Farmers Market

NEW SEASON BEGINS MAY 12, 2012

Costume Parade Winners and End of Season Thank yous

Two dozen creative kids and pets paraded through the Farmers Market on a warm and sunny October 8^th morning. All received “goodie bags” provided by the Alden Chamber of Commerce.

The winners were: 1^stplace, Charlie Freeman as a UPS trash truck; 2nd place, Abby Cocoran as a vampire girl; and 3rd place, Elise and Avery Stahl as princesses.

In the Pet Category, the 1^st place winner was Clyde the pumpkin dog, owned by Tracy Prucnal and 2nd place was Anna the reindeer, owned by Jamie Browarek.

Vendors from Henry's Candy, Pfeiffer Farms and Tupperware served as judges. Sara Elizabeth Genco provided music.

The Alden Farmers Market ended its 9th season on October 15 – a one-week extension of the original closing date, at the request of vendors and customers. It opened May 21 and was our best successful yet. Several vendors introduced new products to Alden; leading to nearly one-stop shopping. Craft shows and on-site entertainment attracted many new shoppers. The Farmers Market is known for its wide range of weekly events.

The Alden Farmers’ Market awarded its’ extraordinary raffle basket worth over $1000 on its’ closing day, October 15. This basket was assembled through the generosity of local Alden merchants and was won by Barbara Hoskyns of Alden. The winning ticket was drawn by 9 year old Riley Wachowiak.

All proceeds of these raffle tickets were used to help fund the Farmers’ Market which is sponsored by the Alden Chamber of Commerce.

We thank everyone who came rain or shine every Saturday over the past nearly five months. We were blessed by fabulous weather for most of the season (except for our “bonus week” closing). Many non-profit groups participated and added greatly to Market success.

Thanks also to our core group of Chamber volunteers for their valuable time, brains, creativity & muscle. They include Gary Wagner, Earl Gillen, Barbara Hoskyns, Chris Dowd, Skip Jablonski and Carolyn Kron– who worked hard nearly every single week of our long season. Many others also pitched in for one or more weeks and are greatly appreciated. A special appreciation goes to the Chamber’s office staff. Barb Hoskyns headed up the Chamber's spices, pasta, raffle & postcard sales as well as the Chamber's hod dog & pizza sales days. She volunteered to be at the Market virtually every week of the season. Meanwhile, Lynda Tucker did a wonderful job with our Facebook page and much of the record-keeping.

Thanks also are directed to our several events sponsors: Alden State Bank, Alden Village Deli, Carbone’s Pizzeria, Crosby's, Doritex Corporation, H&R Block, and Tops Friendly Markets of Alden.

We appreciate the Alden Advertiser's editorial support; running our news articles every week. And, finally, we thank the management of the Alden Village Plaza and especially the Tractor Supply, New2You, and Save a Lot stores for their cooperation and support. All say they benefited from the Market's presence.

2011 was our best season yet. Let us know how we can improve in 2012! Please contact the Chamber office at any time with your suggestions.

See you next year!

Nancy Hughes, Market Mgr

Market Events

2011 Schedule

May
21 Crafts Show + Meet the Candidates
28 Crafts show

June
4 Niagara Frontier Fiddle Club + Educate a Bull (animal rescue)

      (sponsored by Crosby's)
11        Alden HS Jazz Ensemble + other groups
18        Dark Road Duo (harmonica & fiddle music) 11 am - 12:30 pm
25        Crafts show + Fade Away (Music of the 50s & 60s 11 am - noon

July
2          Emma & Carl Eddy (fiddle & guitar tunes) 10:30 am - 12:30 pm               + SPCA Whisker Wagon 10 am - 1 pm
9          Craig Wilkins – country singer 11 am - 12:30 pm + Alden Cub Scout             Pack 160 bottle drive (sponsored by Alden State Bank)
16        Singing Duo “Envy”: Valerie Uebelhoer & Nicole Peters 11 am - noon
23        Health & Wellness Day - Catholic Health System + UNYTS + NYS EPIC
30        Hot Country Liners (line dancers) 11:00 - 11:30 am + FIRST RAFFLE

DRAWING (sponsored by H & R Block)

Aug
6 Village Wide Garage Sale at market + sites throughout the Village

Leonard Oakes Estate Winery
13 Kids Day + June Beyers organ music (sponsored by Alden Village

Market)
20 Cooking Demo - Pampered Chef + Sara Elizabeth Genco,

            Singer/Songwriter, 11 am - 12:30 pm
27        Magician Ted Burzynski - shows at 10 am, 11 am, and noon
(sponsored by Carbone's Pizzeria)
Sept
3         Crafts Show + Meet the Candidates Day
10       Kickin Rhythm Cloggers 11:00 am - noon + Alden Cub Scout Pack 160

Bottle Drive
17 Community Organizations Day + Leonard Oakes Estate Winery +

SPCA Whisker Wagon 10 am - 1 pm
24 Fire Safety Day + Mercy Flight + Irish Volunteer Civil War Band 10 am - noon

Oct

1 Polish Heritage Dancers + Craft Show
8 CLOSING DAY- Harvest Fest - Sara Elizabeth Genco 11 am - 12:30 pm + Costume & Pet Parade 11 am + Leonard Oakes Estate Winery

15 Bonus Week with Craft Show + June Beyers on organ + Jim Vozga &

John Brinkman + Thistle Creek Alpacas + SECOND RAFFLE DRAWING

* Events Subject to Change