In Trumansburg, hump day has an address: Route 227 and Main Street, Wednesdays from 4 to 7pm. This week's market overlapped with the second day of the Trumansburg Fair, and while the crowd wasn't at full capacity, the late-August heat and the music made up the difference. Zaun Marshburn and Michael Stark of MSZM brought energetic jazz to the pavilion — a departure from the market's usual folk and bluegrass — and pulled a crowd of dancers into the grass anyway.
For food, it was Silo's Telekinetic Chicken: half a pound of dark-meat fried chicken, seasonal BBQ sauce, purple coconut sticky rice, and house-made Asian Trio pickles. Grey Moon Homestead's Alyssa, running a five-acre homestead with partner Wren, talked shelf-stable teas, soaps, and tarts. And this week's market had a new face behind the scenes: Pakiza, shooting photos and video to launch The Accidental Reporter's own Instagram page.
You can cram a whole lot into a couple acres — Alyssa of Grey Moon Homestead, on her five-acre operation
Steady rain thinned the crowds but not the vendors. Cider from forgotten apple trees, a $30 hot dog joke, and a tablecloth stain that "represented the market perfectly."
Read the issue →Behind every Wednesday market sits a Village board, a fundraising Friends group, and a nonprofit fiscal sponsor — and a jewelry vendor who can't unbend a paperclip.
Read the issue →An orange tent hands out $25 in Market Dollars to anyone who asks. A wine tasting with Boland Thomas Vineyards, and a soggy set from Richie Stearns and Friends.
Read the issue →Inside the Library Space's evolution from book cart to craft tent, plus tinsel braiding, herbal tinctures, and a chicken bowl worth standing in line for.
Read the issue →The etymology of midweek motivation, Silo's Telekinetic Chicken, energetic jazz from MSZM, and a first look behind Grey Moon Homestead's five-acre operation.
Read the issue →An orange tent by the stone steps hands out no-questions-asked Market Dollars to anyone experiencing economic difficulty — spendable on anything in the market, from produce to soap to a Chicago dog. It runs on donations, and this season's funds are on pace to run out before the market closes on October 28.
More than thirty farms, wineries, food producers, artisans, and local businesses set up under the pavilions each week. Here's who's currently on the roster — find them, follow them, or just go say hi on Wednesday.
Got a question for The Accidental Reporter, a vendor we should meet, or a Wednesday moment worth writing down? This is the tip line. Cadan reads every one.
Story ideas, corrections, and "you should really talk to so-and-so" tips are all welcome — that's how most of these issues started in the first place.
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