CHESTERTOWN — High Street between Queen Street and Spring Avenue along Chestertown’s main thoroughfare, hummed on Saturday, May 11, with pre-Mother’s Day shoppers, strollers, and the sights and sounds of a crowd in the midst of an essential weekly ritual centered around sustenance.
Open weekly from 8 a.m. to noon, that sustenance is just as much about the mind and spirit, as it is about the body. However, market goers—local residents and out-of-towners alike—seem to revel in an esprit de corp that happens when an established and enriched agricultural and artisan community bands together to feed the stomach—and the soul.
Most, if not all, of the long list of vendors were back in full force now that the spring and summer version of the Chestertown Farmers’ Market is back in town and from the sounds of vendors and participants alike, it is going to be another robust season of fresh fruits, hardy veggies, and all manner of creative arts and handmade crafts.
Two of those creative vendors, Tolchester resident Mary Faulkner of Falling Branch Jewelry, Oil Paintings, and Sculpture, and Beverly Miller of Beve’s Creations enjoyed the warm sunshine and chatted with various 9 a.m.-hour market goers.
“I really like talking to the people who purchase what I do, the paintings and the jewelry,” said Faulkner. “It’s a really nice community and this is a nice way to sell my work.”
Miller, who sells colorful handmade quilts from her vendor stand, said she also enjoys the sense of conviviality created at the market and the level of talent that can be found there, as she touted the technique that Faulkner used to create a mural on a wall in her home in Worton. Instances of camaraderie are common occurrences at the market, they said.
A bit further down the artisans row, Mary Yirka of Chestertown and her dog, Eddie, displayed some beautiful and unique jewelry pieces and small-batch greeting cards for sale.
“Everyone is so friendly to Mr. Ed,” Yirka said of her furry, neck-tied buddy who often attends the market with her.
Yirka described the art for sale at the market as diverse and one-of-a-kind.
“You see something different every weekend and you never get bored.”
With just two weeks to go until one of the biggest event weekends in town, the Chestertown Tea Party Festival volunteer committee booth fielded questions of all sorts, ahead of the 250th anniversary of the festival which is set to take place starting on May 24 and running through the 26th.
“I was unaware that this was the 250th anniversary year of the festival. I’m so glad you’re here like this,” said a new market shopper, Yolanda Stuart of Rock Hall, of the committee volunteers tending the booth. Along with answering questions about parking, bringing pets, and what foods we might anticipate enjoying, the committee members were on hand at the market to create the buzz that will no doubt bring the visitors from far and wide.
“This Tea Party is actually larger than Boston’s,” said Committee Member-at-Large, Nina Fleegle, of the event, which she added was attended by 30,000 people last year.
Being a conduit of communication and a support system for the underlying greater community has become a function of the market, which has been a fixture on High Street since it was formally established in 1981. What started out as an outlet for organic produce has grown to attract vendors from across Maryland and beyond offering many different types of products.
“Chestertown has become one of our staples on the Eastern Shore,” said Kari Parreco, who was tending the Gray Wolf Spirits stand.
“The people are so nice here and they tend to appreciate when something is handcrafted,” she said of the spirits produced by their St. Michaels-based distillery.
In addition to spirits, fine local wine, chocolates, fresh pasta, fresh-cut flowers, pet treats, meats, dairy products, (even duck eggs) and artisanal breads from the market’s newest vendor, Lucky Heart Bakery, are all available for purchase—and people are coming from all over to shop here.
“It’s not uncommon, especially during this season to hear people say ‘I’m here from Lancaster for the weekend’, or ‘I’ve come from Annapolis, D.C. or Pasadena’,” said Zach LeDoux of Happy Chicken Bakery and Catering.
LeDoux, who co-owns the business with his wife, Martha, credited the market with helping grow their business from an enterprise that gleaned $100 per outing when they started out five years ago, to one that he says has grown “exponentially.”
Like LeDoux, Melissa McGlynn of McGlynn’s Cottage Pies said her business simply would not exist without the market, which turned out to be a godsend during COVID when her role as pastry chef at a local restaurant was cut and she needed to pivot.
“I just started thinking about what else I could do, and what the town wasn’t already doing, and I thought pies, hearty, savory pies.”
Those hearty, savory pies are now market favorites, and are great for those who struggle with their schedules and meal-planning.
And when it comes to meals, Chestertown Farmers’ Market Manager, Julia Medrano, said she feels the market and its substantial offerings can be the place where you can easily shop for a week’s worth of meals that are both healthy and sustaining.
Medrano, who has been in her role since 2019, sees the market as a huge foundation for the community and its people.
The market, she said, has several things going for it: excellent word-of-mouth advertising, a beautiful location, and the bounty that comes from acres upon acres of local farms.
“Kent County is such an agricultural county and the Farmers’ Market really caters to that. It really shows the public that this is where you can get your meals,” Medrano said.
The market, she added, is also the place where people come to see people they know, so the socialization factor is huge.
And the vendors are also your neighbors or someone you know, she explained, which is a great way to put money right back into the community; all contributing to what she sees as a bright future for the market.
“We moved to a non-profit, so we have a board now, and I’m looking forward to their ideas and their implementation … I hope it just continues to grow.”
All tasty baked goods, bouquets, and boutique bourbon aside, it’s clear that taking time to stroll High Street on Market Saturday reaps benefits beyond finding the perfect melon.
In fact, Saturday mornings at the market has become such an experience, that attendee Julie Armstrong, said her mother, Mary, requested it as her primary Mother’s Day activity with her daughter. A graduate of Washington College, Armstrong, who now resides in Reisterstown, described her trip back to Chestertown’s Market as ‘nostalgic’.
“It’s very poignant to be back,” Armstrong said. “This place has so much gravity to it; it’s hard to stay away for too long.”
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