Join us at the Ottawa Street Farmers Market second season celebration!

Hamilton Eat Local will be at the Ottawa Street Farmers Market - 204 Ottawa Street - when they unveil their newly designed and installed street sign this Friday May 29th, 2009. The festivities will start at 10am. If you have not checked out the market, now is the time! Come for some treats, then admire and purchase the tasty local food from local farmers and other food producers. This market is open year round, Fridays and Saturdays, rain or shine, 7am-3pm. For more information on the market, visit: www.ottawastreetfarmers.com

Over the weekend....

Hamilton Eat Local had a fantastic weekend handing out maps at the 4th Annual Tastes of Downtown and participating in the "Container Gardening" activity at the Festival Of Hearts.
The weather was perfect for both these events. Over 200 people came out to the walking tour of "Tastes of Downtown" to sample dishes from different downtown restaurants.

Hamilton Eat Local got our hands dirty at the "Festival of Hearts" helping kids and adults alike planting cherry tomatoes. We were thrilled to see Zsuzsi there to help plant with the kids. She shone as usual!

Thanks to the Margo Hebert of Tastes of Downtown and to Marilynne Kennedy, the organizer of Festival of Hearts, for inviting Hamilton Eat Local to take part. See you next year!

Farmers Market Fun!

Hamilton Eat Local was delighted in joining farmers and eaters at the opening of the Hamilton Mountain Farmers’ Market last Saturday. Plenty of fresh local produce was available, including rhubarb, fiddleheads, and sweet potatoes. Beautiful Ontario fresh tomatoes, asparagus, spinach and apples filled vendors’ tables. There was an assortment of bedding plants, flowers, and fresh herbs; as well as other goods including maple syrup, honey and apple cider. All the vendors at the market are also the growers. The number of farmers will increase as more seasonal products are available.

The Hamilton Mountain Farmers Market is open every Saturday, from 7am to 1:30pm until November and is located in the parking lot of Sacred Heart Church – Viewpoint and Mountain Park Avenue.

Thanks to our volunteers Laura, Jarah and Bronwyn for helping Hamilton Eat Local to distribute maps and special thanks go to Laura for taking such great photos and writing this blog entry!

Hamilton Eat Local is out and about this weekend!

We will be at two very fun and exciting events on Saturday May 23, 2009.

Check out the 4th Annual Tastes of Downtown Walking Tour organized by Goodwill. We will be handing out maps at the registration desk at Hamilton Police Services on 155 King William Street. For more information see: http://www.goodwillonline.ca/news/2009%20Goodwill%20Restaurant%20Walking%20Tour.pdf

Hamilton Eat Local will also be at Festival of Hearts from 12-4pm at the Eva Rothwell Centre planting seeds with kids in a gardening workshop. Other activities for the children are: crafts, sports, yoga, and much more!

We will update you on how each event went!

Come celebrate the Opening Day of the Hamilton Mountain Farmers Market with us!

"The Market with a Beautiful View" is back! The Hamilton Mountain Farmers Market is opening for 2009. On Saturday May 16th, check out the delicious, locally produced food, grab a copy of Hamilton Eat Local’s brand *new* 2009 Hamilton Eat Local Farm Map and Directory, stay for the free tea / coffee and enjoy the view. The Mountain Farmers Market is open every Saturday from May 16th to November – 7am to 1:30pm. It is located in the parking lot of Sacred Heart Church – Viewpoint and Mountain Park Avenue. For more information, check out: www.concessionstreet.com
Hamilton Eat Local is looking for volunteers to help distribute maps. Contact Juby, Communications Manager at 905-549-0900 or email jlee.eatlocal(at)environmenthamilton.org if interested.

Thanks for coming out to the Pancake Breakfast and Map Launch Party!

Thanks for joining us at the Bread & Roses Cafe on May 1st for what turned out to be a lively, well-attended celebration of local food and local farms. Chef Lisa's pancakes received rave reviews (as usual) and everyone left smiling.

Special thank yous go to Morden's Organic Farm and Lincoln Line Orchards for supplying many of the delicious ingredients, and to our excellent team of Hamilton Eat Local volunteers.

Even the aprons were a hit! Check out the next day's Hamilton Spectator article:

http://www.thespec.com/article/558941

On that page you will find a link to the online version of our map! We're also busily updating our online farm listings.

See you at the next adventure...