Plimoth Plantation Welcomes Plymouth Farmers Market for a New Season - Community to Enjoy Year-Round Market at Museum

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Laurel Boyd
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Plimoth Plantation Public Relations p: 508-746-1622 x8206 c: 508-425-0561 NLogan@Plimoth.

1 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Plimoth Plantation Public Relations p: x8206 c: Plimoth Plantation Welcomes Plymouth Farmers Market for a New Season - Community to Enjoy Year-Round Market at Museum PLYMOUTH, MASSACHUSETTS March 8, Plimoth Plantation announced today a warm welcome to the Plymouth Farmers' Market. It is the ninth season for the Market, but the first summer that it will be held at the Museum. The Plymouth Farmers Market will start at this new location on June 7. Market goers can plan to find the Plymouth Farmers Market in full bloom every Thursday from 2:30-6:30 p.m., rain or shine, in the grassy field adjacent to the Museum s main parking lot. While the location is new, the Plymouth Market will operate the way it always has striving to educate the community about the benefits of buying and eating locally in celebration of seasonal and local foods. Today s announcement was made amidst a busy Plymouth Farmers Market gathering at Plimoth Plantation. Standing by the hearth in the Museum s Visitor Center, Ellie Donovan, Plimoth Plantation Executive Director, and Plymouth Farmers Market founder, Barbara Anglin, shared their excitement in the Market s new beginning at the Museum. We are delighted to welcome Plymouth Farmers' Market to Plimoth Plantation, said Donovan. Farming is an integral part of Plymouth history and an essential part of this Museum's exhibits so this collaboration makes sense. We are looking forward to a fun, educational and bountiful season ahead! Welcome to our hearth and our fields."

2 The Plymouth Farmers Market is very excited to be deepening our connection here at Plimoth Plantation, Anglin said. The Market s mission has always been to inspire interest in local farms which dovetails nicely with the farm, garden and foodways exhibits found at both the Wampanoag Homesite and in the English Village. The Market will continue to have many of the same farmers, bakers, foodmakers and vendors the community has come to know and love these last eight years, along with some very exciting new additions. We are excited to start a fresh 2012 season with our friends at Plimoth. Plimoth Plantation offers a natural fit for Plymouth Farmers Market to set down roots for the new season. Indigenous People have been farming here from time immemorial. Nearly 400 years ago, the Pilgrims learned the traditional way of growing native corn from the Wampanoag People who shared knowledge of planting corn in hills with herring as fertilizer. The Pilgrims established the first English farming community in New England. Together, the Museum and the Plymouth Farmers Market have the ability to explore and demonstrate how that early history of farming and today s sustainable agricultural methods are much alike. Guiding the community toward a collective farming future by drawing attention to the agricultural diversity and foodways of the region, the Plymouth Farmers Market is organized to provide access to fresh, local, seasonal farm foods grown by regional family farmers to then be sold directly to the greater South Shore community and its visitors. Evoking the small village economies of past generations, a busy market day at the Museum will again allow people to meet new friends, to procure and gather foods for family meals, to share ideas, and trade stories and gardening tips. Today, that early tradition is kept alive and flourishing by connecting the community to local farming endeavors and gathering in a beloved setting known to locals, visitors, and travelers the world over, said Anglin. In November the Plymouth Farmers Market joins America s Hometown Thanksgiving Celebration on the waterfront for the edible South Shore Harvest

3 Festival, followed by its Winter-into-Spring market, held monthly, warm and snug inside the Plimoth Plantation s Visitor Center through April. Farmers and food-makers alike partner at the Market to sustain a vibrant local food economy, and to promote local food literacy by building awareness of what is grown and raised seasonally, and how to prepare it for healthful meals. Both the Market and Museum have a demonstrated commitment to educating their guests about foodways and farming in the region, and will build mutually on each other s strengths to broaden awareness of fresh, farm foods with an experiential twist. Rare breeds, heirloom seeds, and bits and bites from locally sourced prepared foods will be frequent topics for patrons to explore at the weekly markets. "What a wonderful synergy!" said Kim Van Wormer, Director of Education and Public Programs for Plimoth Plantation. "We are always striving to provide our visitors with experiences that help explore connections between the past and their present-day lives. Having the Farmers Market at Plimoth Plantation provides an outstanding opportunity for our guests to think about the food that they eat how it was grown or produced in the 17th century and today, and how our food choices impact our lives. Market customers, Plimoth guests and area visitors hungry for fresh, local, and humanely raised foods will also find an exciting and busy Museum experience offering added value to both their Market time and Museum visit via all that the Museum offers as a vibrant community gathering place. The Plymouth Farmers Market will also provide festive local musical entertainment, story times, and educational opportunities for guests focused on organic farming and gardening; local food literacy such as seasonal availability of crops, recipes and meal preparation; and environmental stewardship topics such as composting, recycling and water conservation. Together, the Museum and Market will provide something truly unique for local residents to enjoy, said Plimoth Plantation Executive Director, Ellie Donovan. You

4 may have visited here before, but there are so many reasons to visit again and again. Last year Plymouth Farmers Market was awarded a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture and the Department of Transitional Assistance to fund the infrastructure needed for EBT/SNAP redemption. WIC and Senior coupons will also continue to be welcome, allowing as many locals and visitors in the community as possible to shop the farmers highly nutritional produce and farm foods. The crop varieties and growing methods may have changed over time, but the need for nourishing food has not. Mark your calendars as June 7 th is set to ring in a whole new era for the Plymouth Farmers Market and Plimoth Plantation. About Plimoth Plantation Plimoth Plantation is a 501(c)3 charitable organization and a 17th-century living history museum dedicated to telling the history of Plymouth Colony from the perspective of both the Colonial English Pilgrims and the Native Wampanoag people. Located less than an hour s drive south of Boston in Plymouth, Massachusetts, (Exit 4, Route 3 south) and 15 minutes north of Cape Cod, the Museum is open daily from 9 am to 5 pm, 7 days a week, from the third Saturday in March through the end of November Plimoth Plantation is a private, notfor-profit educational institution supported by admission fees, contributions, memberships, function sales and revenue from a variety of dining programs/services/special events and Museum Shops. The Museum is also home to Rare Breeds animals, an on-site horticultural department, and Wampanoag and Colonial agricultural programs. Plimoth Plantation is a Smithsonian Institution Affiliate and receives support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, The Federal Institute of Museums and Library Services, The Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities, private foundations, corporations, and local businesses. For more information visit the new: About Plymouth Farmers Market The Plymouth Farmers Market is organized to provide access to fresh, local, seasonal produce grown by regional family farmers to then be sold directly to Plymouth area residents and visitors. The market intends to strengthen Member Farmers and to draw attention to the agricultural diversity and food-ways of our region. Farmers and Food-makers partner in Plymouth to sustain a vibrant local food economy. In 2011, the Plymouth Farmers Market was the recipient of a Massachusetts Department of Agriculture grant and received assistance from the Department of Transitional Assistance to fund EBT/SNAP redemption. The Market hopes to educate the community about the benefits of buying local and also strives to provide a social experience that helps build community by celebrating seasonal

5 and local foods through its Plimoth Plantation location. Visit:

2015 Fall Run Car Cruise By Joe Howard

2015 Fall Run Car Cruise By Joe Howard This year the annual Fall Run took place in Plymouth, MA the weekend of September 18 th, 19 th, and 20 th. The weather was beautiful. Clear and sunny with daytime