September 26, 1997

Crescent City Farmers Market turns two

The Crescent City Farmers Market will celebrate its second anniversary on Saturday, September 27, from 8 a.m. - noon. Joining the celebration will be University President, the Rev. Bernard P. Knoth, S.J., for the cake cutting at 10:45 a.m.

Light jazz will be provided from 8:30 - noon by the Mark Dobriner Trio. At 9 a.m., Chef Annie Kearney from Peristyle will begin the popular "shop with the chef" journey through the market. Shoppers can accompany her as she purchases the fresh vegetables and produce needed for Zucchini Cakes and Green Vegetable Relish. Chef Kearney's cooking demonstration will begin at 10 a.m. Following the cooking demonstration, Knoth will join the farmers and friends of the market in celebrating the end of a second successful year and the beginning of a third year with a birthday cake from the Swiss Confectionery.

On the milestone of the market's second anniversary, shoppers will have the opportunity to purchase Creole Cottage Herbs brand new line of edible flowers, fresh cut herbs, and herbal pastes; the "Pie Lady" Monica Miller's praline-topped sweet potato pies; and Half-Baked Productions Cajun and Creole pastries and cookies such as pigs' ear and stage planks.

Since its inception two years ago as a community-wide collaboration between Loyola, the William B. Reily Company, and a host of citizens, the Crescent City Farmers Market has provided small plot farmers and cottage industries a cost-effective way to market their goods to consumers.

Today, the market works with more than 50 farmers and small-scale entrepreneurs in 14 Louisiana parishes and four Mississippi counties. The market has been an incubator for grassroots enterprises, demonstrating that new businesses can be established and old ones reinforced. In the course of the market's history several organizations have helped to make the market a success. Partnering organizations have included the Preservation Resource Center, Louisiana Children's Museum, Loyola University New Orleans' College of Business Administration, Tulane University Business School, Tulane School of Public Health, Project for Public Spaces, Alliance Française, Louisiana Department of Agriculture, Mosquito Control Board of Orleans Parish, and Red Stick Farmers Market.

Crescent City Farmers Market Director Richard McCarthy of Loyola University, sums up the market's success by saying, "We are grateful to the loyal and widespread consumer support for creative, small farmers, and cottage industries in the market. Each Saturday morning, the market makes its possible for us to share a sense of community, a love of fresh food, and a belief that we can create an economy in which everyone wins."