It's a buyer's market in Canton

Canton - The peaches are ripe, the corn is sweet, and if produce is not what you’re looking for, there are all sorts of interesting items.

The town’s farmers’ market, which takes place each Thursday afternoon at the Massachusetts Hospital School, is now in full swing, and is attracting a variety of people - from Canton and beyond.

“I saw the sign, and I thought I’d try it,” said John Franciosa of Foxboro, who got some broccoli and peaches. “I just like coming to open air markets.”
The farmers’ market is in its second year, and it is still accepting vendors. Kathleen Kalell, director of development for the Massachusetts Hospital School, said the school decided to host the market so residents could become better acquainted with the campus.

“We wanted people to visit and get to know us,” she said.
Starting this week, the market will have three farm vendors – Sunshine Farm of Sherborn, which sells a variety of fruits and vegetables; Hmong Farms, which sells herbs and greens; and another farm, which will sell organic produce. It also includes vendors who sell home-crafted jewelry, crystal and glassware, books, artwork, Native American poetry, stationery, baked goods, and birdhouses.
Katie Geoghegan of Sunshine Farms said her best selling items are corn and tomatoes, but all her produce has been selling well, including cucumbers, green beans, peaches, zucchini and broccoli. Although her farm has included a few tomatoes last week, she said this week they should be fully ripened, and they will have a lot more of them.

Zoua Yang of Hmong Farms in Lancaster offers a variety of lettuce and herbs. Some of the crops are similar to what she grew in her native country of Laos, and they include Chinese broccoli, mint, dill, scallions, and peas. This week, she’s offered recipes on how to cook pea tendrils.

One of the most unusual items are birdhouses, made of hallowed white cedar trunks. A staff member of the school makes them, and they are sold either unpainted, or painted by schools students. The proceeds go to help the school.
Other school staff members also sell items there. Rachel Dunbar-Leal, who teaches at the school’s preschool, sells her handcrafted jewelry. Her pieces, which she has been making for the last few years, include bracelets made of sterling silver and glass stones, crystal and glass beads. She also offers necklaces and earrings.
“It’s a hobby that’s grown,” she said.

Mother/daughter vendors Libby Kaufman of Randolph and Lori Cohen of Canton offer jewelry and custom stationery. Kaufman has a large variety of beaded necklaces from beads she has collected over a number of years. Cohen sells stationery and invitations that can be personalized, as well as gifts.

One of the most unusual tables includes Native American items, including American Indian poetry, blankets and pumpkin bread. Blackfoot Warrior of Boston designed the covers and wrote the books, which he said includes poignant poems about his ancestors. He also baked the pumpkin bread.
“It’s from a 400-year-old recipe passed down from my great-grandmother,” he said.
Topping off the market are some bargain-priced china items in crystal and china, obtained by Janet Conroy of Canton, as well as baked good.s, baked by Carly Starta. The baked goods include whoopee pies (chocolate, raspberry and vanilla)a, which have been some of the best sellers in the market. Starta said she bakes them at home. She sold out by 4 p.m. last week.
“I brought twice as many this time,” she said.

Candace Hall can be reached at cahall@cnc.com

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