The closing of the Durango Farmers Market leaves many a chef and home cook bereft, pining for locally grown produce during the fall and winter months.
Take heart, you lovers of fresh vegetables and local crafts. Vendors from the market will hold two holiday markets, the first Nov. 23, the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and the second Dec. 14.
Also, the Strater Hotel will host the 16th annual artisan holiday gift show Nov. 16 in the Oak Room, featuring food vendors such as Animas Chocolate Co., O’Hara’s Jams and Jellies and San Juan Mountain Mustard. The show will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will feature handmade crafts by local artists.
The Thanksgiving market will be located in the breezeway at the La Plata County Fairgrounds and will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. You can expect root vegetables such as potatoes, fresh eggs and gourds galore.
The Christmas market is being dubbed the Olde English Victorian Holiday Farmers Market, complete with children dressed as street urchins roasting chestnuts, a children’s choir singing carols and History Alive participants dressed in Victorian finery roaming the exhibit hall at the fairgrounds from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Jill Southworth, a Cordon Bleu-trained chef from Australia, will prepare a modern take on an old English lunch, offering hot spiced drinks and gluten-free and vegetarian options, as well, for purchase.
Some artists and craft-makers will be exhibiting their wares alongside the produce. Interested vendors should call MaryAnne LeBlanc, a fiber artist who is organizing the December market, at 903-1685.
