Two Belles Southern Pound Cakes Returns TODAY!

Yay! After a long winter, Two Belle's Southern Pound Cakes returns THIS Thursday, June 2nd, to the Ballston Farmers Market from 3-7 PM!

Sold in slices and whole cakes, these pound cakes are baked by fantastic southern gals who know their pound cake.

FREE Eco-Friendly Tote Bags TOMORROW!

Don't forget to pick up your FREE eco-friendly tote bag at the Ballston Farmers Market THIS THURSDAY, June 2nd!

The first 50 visitors get one absolutely FREE!   Our friends at ArlingtonVirginia.com, Arlington’s Social Media Community, will be on hand for tomorrow to hand them out.

Now, you'll have something cool to carry all of the awesome goodies you buy at the Market.

The Ballston Farmers Market - TODAY!

Don't forget! The Ballston Farmers Market returns to Welburn Square (aka The Ballston Circle) for its Grand Opening TODAY, May 26th, then EVERY THURSDAYfrom 3 - 7 PM until October.

Let's all welcome back market favorites, like Great Harvest Bread Company,Two Belle's Southern Pound Cakes, Gonzales Produce and Café Pacaya. And, give a big Ballston greeting to newcomers, Pleasant Pops and Milk Crate Bakery. Plus, many others!  

Opening Day will also feature live music by singer/songwriter, René Moffatt, from 4 - 6 PM. 

The Ballston Farmers Market makes it easy to pick up your fresh fruits, crispy veggies, mouth-watering breads and pastries, exotic fine teas & coffees and much more. 

See you soon!

Ballston Patch Article on the Ballston Farmers Market!

I love when the Ballston Patch shows us some love. Check out their awesome article announcing the Grand Opening of the Ballston Farmers Market.

http://ballston.patch.com/articles/ballston-farmers-market-season-opener

Get pshyched, folks. Fresh veggies, crisp fruits, delcious patries, gourmet teas & coffees, pound cakes, ice pops, and so much more are on their way to Ballston's Welburn Square in less than 2 weeks. Mark Thursday, May 26th on your calendars -- 3 - 7PM!

See you there!

(Photo courtesy of the Ballston Patch.)

Introducing TommyV's Salsa

We are proud to announce our newest addition to the Ballston Farmers Market this season: TommyV's Salsa!

TommyV’s Salsa is a freshly made salsa that doesn’t taste like your “ordinary” fresh salsa you’ll find at your local grocery store. TommyV's has the perfect blend of fruits, vegetables and spices.

With no artificial flavors and no artificial preservatives, this delicious salsa will stimulate your taste buds with a blast of exhilarating flavor. Enjoy the homemade taste of fresh salsa made from natural quality ingredients!

TommyV's Salsa joins the Farmers Market starting Thursday, May 26th--our Opening Day!

The Ballston Farmers Market - Grand Opening on May 26th!

The Ballston Farmers Market returns to Welburn Square (aka The Ballston Circle) for its Grand Opening on May 26th, then EVERY THURSDAY from 3 - 7 PM until October.

Let's all welcome back market favorites, like Great Harvest Bread Company, Two Belle's Southern Pound Cakes, Gonzales Produce and Café Pacaya. And, give a big Ballston greeting to newcomers, Pleasant Pops and Milk Crate Bakery. Plus, many others!  

Opening Day will also feature live music by singer/songwriter, René Moffatt, from 4 - 6 PM. 

The Ballston Farmers Market makes it easy to pick up your fresh fruits, crispy veggies, mouth-watering breads and pastries, exotic fine teas & coffees and much more. 

See you soon!

Introducing Milk Crate Bakery!

Get ready for artisan chocolates, truffles and cupcakes courtesy of the Ballston Farmers Market's newest addition -- Milk Crate Bakery! They will be joining the Ballston Farmers Market every Thursdays starting May 26th!


Milk Crate Bakery is an artisan bakery based in Arlington, VA. They make our baked goods in small batches to preserve and focus on quality. Using the freshest ingredients, they ensure satisfyingly bold flavors. Yum!

Culinary Herb Farm Returns

Ballston Farmers Market favorite, The Culinary Herb Farm, returns this season with their fresh, organic herb mixes, herb sugars, salts, herb infused olive oils and vinegars -- All grown and mixed locally at their farm in Fairfax, Virginia.


Like owner/chef Kim Kresge's says "Eat. More. Dill."

ArlingtonVIrginia.com & The Ballston Farmers Market

This is so cool! Look what our friends over at ArlingtonVirginia.com did for us. They created a site specially devoted to the Ballston Farmers Market to help promote our local farmers and producers!

Check it out: http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3696246784430809648

ArlingtonVirginia.com and its Social Media Team's mission is to Drive Revenue, Create Awareness, and Connect Businesses within the Arlington community.  Look for ARL-deals for great coupons and discounts from your local businesses. Meet your neighbors around town at events, festivities and enter Contests to win great prizes!  All in one place - ArlingtonVirginia.com!

Thanks so much guys!

Cafe Pacaya Returns!

Good news, coffee lovers!  Cafe Pacaya returns to the Ballston Farmers Market for an entire season starting May 26th!

Cafe Pacaya is now your source for premium roasted, single-origin coffee. Their mission is to offer gourmet coffee-drinkers a coffee that communicates its unique flavor characteristics. They do this by roasting in small batches and carefully controlling the process.

Happy! Happy!

ArlingtonVirginia.com!

Great news! The Ballston Partnership (soon to be the Ballston BID) is excited to announce that we're teaming up with ArlingtonVirginia.com to make our markets even bigger and better this season!

ArlingtonVirginia.com is a Social Media website designed to connect Arlingtonians to their Community, drive awareness to Arlington Businesses, and be the place to get it all especially to Eat. Play. Dine, and Live in Arlington! Special ARL-deals offer discounts so you can try new things or enjoy your favorite place! Check out their monthly contests--You could win something handmade by a Ballston A&C Market artist!

This is yet another way generous local Arlington businesses are helping to promote the arts in Arlington. Can't wait to work with you guys!

Two Belles Southern Pound Cakes Returning

Great news, Ballston! Arlington's own, Two Belles Southern Pound Cakes, is back for their second season at the Ballston Farmers Market! And you can bet that they are ready to dish out their famous buttery pound cakes for each and every visitor.

So, put us on your calendars--EVERY Thursday from 3-7 PM we'll be setting up in Welburn Square (aka The Ballston Circle) with delicious fruits & veggies, mouth-watering breads and the best pound cakes you've ever tasted! Just ask any in Ballston.

Opening Day--May 26th!

More vendor announcements to come!

New Vendor Alert: Pleasant Pops!

This season, the Ballston Farmers Market returns with your favorite farmers and bakers, like Great Harvest Bread Company and Baguette Republic. And introducing a new face in Welburn Square--Pleasant Pops!

After experimenting with flavors in the kitchen for a year, Pleasant Pops sold their first pop in July 2010 and now have over 40 flavors of Mexican-inspired paletas, all of which are original recipes made from locally sourced fresh fruit, veggies, herbs and dairy. Now you can find Pleasant Pops at the Ballston Farmers Market and visit their truck, “Big Poppa,” (follow them on twitter @pleasantpops for locations), around the District.

Let's give Pleasant Pops a big Ballston welcome come Thursday, May 26th! Their fruit-filled ice pops will be the perfect pick-me-up this summer.

Introducing the 2011 Postcard!

10 Advantages to Going to a Farmer’s Market

Thanks Keith, from LawnCareService.net  for the article! 


Perhaps you’re one of those who have never bought your food anywhere except in a grocery store. You are used to buying everything from raw vegetables to toilet paper all in one place. You are used to air conditioned aisles and computerized checkouts. The thought of going to a farmer’s market to purchase your fresh foods may seem like nothing more than adding an extra step to your grocery shopping. Those who shop at farmer’s markets on a regular basis would tell you differently. Below we will list ten of the advantages of shopping at a farmer’s market that you may not have been aware of.

1. Fresh = longer lasting. You may think of the fruits and vegetables at your grocery store as being fresh when you see the produce being loaded onto the displays from crates, but how fresh is it really? Where was it shipped from? Halfway across the country probably. In some cases it comes from another country. It’s been picked, packaged and shipped to a warehouse. Then it is shipped from the warehouse to the grocery stores.

At a farmer’s market you will often see signs telling you when the produce was picked from the farmer’s fields. Usually the signs will say picked yesterday or picked this morning. That is what fresh should mean. Because this food has not spent time in the shipping process before you buy it, the food will stay fresh for that much longer.

2. Taste. This is one the biggest reasons people buy produce at farmer’s markets. The difference in the taste between the tomatoes, carrots and strawberries found in a farmer’s market compared to what you would buy in a grocery store is hard to believe until you actually eat one right after another. Their just seems to be much more flavor in the locally grown items.

3. More than vegetables. If you think all that you’ll find at a farmer’s market is vegetables, you’re quite wrong. In addition to the vegetables you’ll often find fruit, flowers, preserves, herbs and farm grown pork and beef products.

4. No need for reading labels. We’ve become accustomed to reading labels to find out the details about what we are buying in the grocery store. No need for this at the farmer’s market. If you have any questions about what you’re buying, you can simply ask the vendor selling the products. They’ll be able to tell you where and how the produce has been grown and what the animals graced on for the meat products.

5. Variety. Yes, you’ll find a variety of different products but the variety goes beyond that. Instead of simply finding ‘carrots’, for instance, you may find many different varieties of carrots. Even purple carrots can be found in addition to the traditional orange ones. Many different varieties of tomatoes, corn, squash, onions, beans etc.

6. Quantity. If you are looking for large quantities of produce for canning or freezing, the farmer’s market is the perfect place to shop. Many fine restaurant’s do their shopping for produce at farmer’s market for this reason, in addition to the high quality of products to be found.

7. Support local growers. By shopping your local farmer’s market, you are putting money back into the local economy and assisting your local growers in their ability to continue providing their products to you.

8. Learning experience. The vendors at a farmer’s market have a wealth of information about their product that they can share with you. They can explain the difference between the different species of a product such as which tomatoes are best canning and which are better eaten fresh. Often times they can also give you new ideas and recipes for the preparation of their produce.

9. Organic food without organic prices. In order for food to be labeled as organic, farmers are required to follow certain procedures and have those procedures documented by government agencies. Many times you will find that much of the food sold at farmer’s markets is grown organically even when it isn’t labeled as such. The only way to know for certain is to ask the growers about methods used on their farm.

10. Community. As you begin to make the farmer’s market a regular part of your shopping routine, you will begin to get to know the different growers and perhaps some of the other patrons shopping there. The atmosphere itself is much relaxed and conducive to building relationships between growers and their customers.

In these days where we spend so much time rushing from one place to another looking for convenience in everything we do, the farmer’s market is great place to slow down and make some wise and healthy choices for our families.