Food & Fun at This Week's Westport Farmers' Market

There are days when attending the Westport Farmers’ Market feels like a festival – food vendors freely offer samples, children play, and music fills the air. This week add The Prospector Theater’s famous popcorn and a high-season bounty of fruits and vegetables, and we have a celebration befitting the 4^th of July weekend. This is the moment farmers’ market goers have waited for – the cucumbers and squash are in; tomatoes are making an appearance; raspberries and cherries look oh-so-sweet next to a beautiful strawberry crop; beets and greens and radishes abound; and meats, cheeses, breads, mushrooms, and pasta complete a meal. Naturally there are desserts – from vegan frozen truffles to gluten-free brownies, the market features something for every sweet tooth.

This week you’ll want to get there early for a seat at the chef demo featuring WUJI, Westport’s newest farm-to-wok restaurant. Part noodle bar, part tapas, part Chinese, WUJI is a Taoist term that means unforgettable, unsurpassable, sublime. This week the WUJI chef promises to create a dish (with recipe!) inspired by its name. As always, the demonstration begins at 10:15 and runs until 11:00. (Speaking of recipes, check out the Westport Farmers’ Market page for a bevy of cocktail recipes using seasonal items, just in time for a long weekend of relaxing).

Lest we forget your four-legged friends, this week’s not-for-profit organization is PAWS, a network of volunteers who provide shelter, medical care, and affection to hundreds of animals while finding homes for abused dogs and cats. Stop by their table to show your support. And don’t forget to visit our pet vendors for treats and locally sourced, handcrafted food.

Whole Foods is sponsoring Get Growing this week, the market’s series of events for children celebrating fresh local food and farmers. And the Young Shoots photo competition with the Westport Arts Center for kids ages 8 to 18 is in full swing (details here).

Are your WFM bags heavy with locally grown fare? This week the Staples High School varsity soccer team will carry them to your car. With tips from shoppers, the team will pick up food at the market and prepare a meal under a professionally trained chef they’ll then serve on July 8^th to folks at the Gillespie Center. The Gillespie Center is part of the grass-roots Homes with Hope organization dedicated to assisting those who have lost their ability to remain in their homes. Let the Staples guys lighten your load Thursday so they can help lighten the load of others.

The Westport Farmers’ Market is held every Thursday from 10 to 2 at 50 Imperial Avenue.