Great Opening for Pakatakan Farmers Market

HALCOTTSVILLE — Saturday Morning, May 16, and I am thinking there could be no better day to open the Pakatakan Farmers’ Market at The Round Barn, on Route 30 in Halcottsville. I arrived with my trusted, better 3/4, Genie to find the place beginning to buzz.

There were a few old friends missing from this first day, two vendors attending funerals, our heartfelt condolences, one double booked and all in all, about five of the regulars not yet there for the opening.

Many visitors from New Jersey, and a few local families strolled the grounds taking in the smells and flavors which make a visit to the Round Barn a special treat. For those of us who often go, the place shone with the restoration work over the winter and still ongoing. Fresh paint may catch your eye first.  We learn more from Market President Tonya Moyers of Mulligan Creek Acres, a small scale, pasture based, family farm. Tonya reports that there are major renovations underway at present. "We've painted and refreshed the art on the back wall of the pavilion; we've added spray foaming in the welcome center and the walls are getting finished this week; we've added a community space, contractors are working on that this week." The community center is the former booth for musicians. This will be a permanent booth for not for profits which may come to inform the market community about their work. This makes for an exciting boon for the musicians who play at the market. There is to be a music gazebo, with electricity and a ceiling fan. The barn now has new siding, rotted wood has been replaced and the places where vendors stand has had new stone put down, with rubber mats, ensuring a safer environment for those who sell at the market. The displayed farm equipment is being cleaned and the displays made more visible. 

There are many familiar faces, Meredith's Bread, a family owned business which retains its small business charm while being found everywhere there is a farmers market from the Catskills through New York City. Also present, Catskills Comfrey, selling an array of comfrey based skin creams for a host of health benefits; Hotz N' Notz Pickles, homemade pickles for every taste.

An exciting new addition is Genie and my old friends . Genie and I had a tavern in the city, which was possibly the first place in NYC to get a properly served absinthe after the drink became legal. Our first American absinthe was made by this distillery under the masterful direction of  Cheryl Lins. The world was shocked by her death, years ago, but her apprentices keep her company alive and growing, with the care and caution of the founder. At the market now, Ryan Jahn and his girlfriend and able assistant, Laila give tastes and explain the history and mystery of this wonderful and often maligned drink. A quick word on this. Absinthe is not, nor ever was an hallucinogenic substance.

The Union Grove Distillery stall was manned by Victor Mulder.

Besides rain and two stones for every dirt, our mountains are a haven for fungi. This is a good thing you find speaking to Catskill Fungi's Ann Carroll. John Michelotti, her son is the driving force behind the business. He fell for fungi while doing mycoremediation in Ecuador. There he worked in a project which removed oil from soil and water, introducing a native fungi which ate the oil, secreting harmless enzymes, such as laccases to make the water and soil safe again. 

How can you not love mushrooms after that? He worked with pioneers in recognizing the use and protection of fungi and gave workshops through Catskill Fungi.  

Another familiar friendly face is Seth J Hersh of Catskills Comfrey. "Comfrey has an active ingredient that encourages new cell growth." He stands behind rows of jars with various natural ingredients, each with its own special merit for healing or soothing the skin and body. Joy is there at the Pizzo's Pasta table. Among the Italian delicacies are stories of the generosity of the owners in the face of cuts to the Senior Meals Program of late.  Of course Mark of Charlottesville General store was serving up all sorts of wonderful coffees by the cup or bag as breakfast and lunch comfort foods flowed steaming from the grill.

There was a brief concern as a call from the barn for a doctor brought two shoppers, a doctor and a nurse running from the stalls. An ambulance soon arrived and to the relief of all, Corrine of Harpersfield Cheese walked out of the barn attended by the EMS crew, and those who had assisted her at first. She had a brief fainting spell and reluctantly entered the ambulance to go for a check up. We all wish her well, and expect her back selling her family's excellent and artisan cheeses next week.