The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Family, recreation, and nutrition
Farmers market at the Madison County Historical Society now open
Fromgelato, to pottery, to living history, the Cottage Lawn Farmers Market has some- thing for everyone.
“It’s a great crowd, lots of great vendors, lots of good activities,” said Marina Macrina, owner of The Cremeria Gelato based out of Sherrill. “It’s such a nice setting.”
This is Macrina’s second year attending the Cottage Lawn Farmers Market and her third year in business. She makes her gelato in Vernon from local sources as much as possible, though she also imports some ingredients from Italy for more authentic flavors, she said. For her, farmers markets like the one held at the Madison County Historical Society are a way for her to “test the waters, see what works.”
“I’ve gotten a really positive response, so it’s really humbling to know people are interested in the business and support us,” she said.
First-time vendor Laurie Turner runs Laurie’s Pottery out of Eaton. She brought an assortment of hand-thrown plates, bowls and other “usable art,” as she calls it.
“I think it’s a great place for people to come,” Turner said.
Oneida Castle resident Mary Allen and her great-granddaughter Gracie May Smith agreed the market was a great place. Gracie enjoyed a festive-looking cupcake on her first trip to the market.
For Allen, the Cottage Lawn Farmers Market was an exciting place to bring her great-granddaughter, as well as a place where local artisans, farmers and craft-
ers could ply their wares.
“It bring us together,” Allen said. “It gives us a chance to show her (Gracie) what people grow and what people sell.”
Family is one of three important components of the market, said Madison County Historical Society Executive Director Sydney Loftus. “We really want this to be family-oriented, and farmers markets are important to nutrition,” she said. “Then you have the recreation component.”
To that end, the market features themed weeks, in- cluding Bike and Scooter to the Market, June 12; Taste of Oneida (recipe exchange and cooking demonstra- tion) June 19, July 3, and August 7; Kid’s Day, June 26 and Aug. 28; Customer Appreciation Day, July 10 and August 21; Community Day — Get to know your Community Organizations, July 17; Get to Know your Area Historical Societies and Museums, July 24; Family Photo Day, July 31; and Pet Adoption Day, Aug. 14.
The market also features around 18 vendors, as well as nonprofit and community groups such as Community Action Partnership, the Oneida YMCA, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and the Madison County Youth Bureau.
“We are very grateful for the variety of vendors we bring to our market,” Loftus said. “We really feel there’s something for everyone here.”
One of the most unique offerings at the market was the Fingerprint Project by Leslie Green Guilbault. A living history project that uses clay dug up from Hamilton and hand-thrown into a vase, Madison County residents are invited to decorate the vessel with their fingerprints.
It’s a living recreation of Madison County in 2018,” said Guilbault, who placed the first fingerprint on the vase.
She plans on taking the Fingerprint Project to each town in the county, with the ultimate goal of having the entire exterior covered in fingerprints. It will then be on display at the Madison County Historical Society.
“No matter our differ- ences, each of us gets to leave an equal and enduring mark on this pot,” according to Guilbault. “A record of our existence in this world and, for many I hope, a connection to each other and to art as a medium for personal expression.”
The Cottage Lawn Farmers Market will run every Tuesday from 3-7 p.m. through Sept. 4.
For more information and weekly updates, visit www.mchsfarmersmarket.org
To participate in themarket, contact the Madison County Historical Society at (315) 363-416, or Mary Patricia, market manager, at (315) 813-2523 or mpatrici@twcny.rr.com.