The Heathsville Farmers Market will open Saturday, April 21, at Rice’s Hotel/Hughlett’s Tavern, 73 Monument Place, Heathsville. Many new and returning vendors will participate.
This day-long event also will include the Tavern Quilt Guild’s annual quilt sale, the Northern Neck Wine Fest and an Earth Day celebration.
The market will extend from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Among vendors new to the market are folks selling eggs and free-range poultry, custom hand-painted slates, custom wooden signage, Northern Neck embroidered shirts and hats, hand-quilted and crocheted items, handcrafted nautical decor, designer dog collars and leashes, and Northern Neck arts prints and notecards, reported manager Corrine Becker.
Favorites returning to the market include Garners Produce, Chesapeake Green Farm, Great Harvest Bread, Northern Neck Popcorn Bag, Whitley’s Peanuts, Chef G’s Homemade Soups, Carter’s Jams, Jellies & Pickles, Rivah Southern products, King William Alpacas, Cedar Run Farms soaps, Pampered Chef and Longaberger, and Get Balanced 4 Life.
In addition, there are a number of vendors selling handcrafted items such as wooden walking sticks, tote bags, jewelry, Windsor chairs, baskets, pottery, lamps made from wine bottles, rock oil candles, and more.
Meanwhile, a quilt sale will take in the Transportation Museum Building from 9 to 4 p.m. Quilted items, made by the members of the Tavern Quilt Guild will be on display and for sale.
The Tavern’s annual wine tasting festival will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Five local wineries will offer tastings. Tickets will be sold at the gate for $10, which includes a complimentary etched wine glass. The new Ditchley Cider Works also will participate. Food and other wine-related vendors will participate.
In a field adjacent to the market, the Earth Day Festival from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. will include exhibits, vendors and special activities for children and adults—all with an environmental theme. This event is sponsored by Northumberland Association for Progressive Stewardship. Tour the Northumberland Public Library’s Tech Mobile.
Other participants will include the Native Plant Society, Tidewater Oyster Gardeners Association, Omega Protein, Northern Neck Electric Cooperative, Audubon Society, Northern Neck Land Conservancy, Northern Neck Master Gardeners, Northern Neck Master Naturalists, Friends of the Rappahannock Wildlife Refuge, Keep America Beautiful and the George Washington Birthplace National Monument.
The celebration will open with the Earth Day 5K, sponsored by Run NNK, and will feature the Run NNK School Challenge. A $1,000 prize will be awarded to the high school/middle school (combined) with the most registrations. A $500 prize will go to the school with the next highest number of registrations.
The race will start at 8 a.m. in front of Northumberland Historical Society’s Ball Memorial Library and Museum, 86 Back Street, Heathsville. A free tot trot for ages 5 and younger will begin at 9:15 a.m. Prizes will be awarded to all tot trot participants.
An awards ceremony for overall race, age group and student team winners will take place at 9:30 a.m. The first 100 registrants receive a specially designed T-shirt. To register, visit www.runnnk.org.
The Heritage Arts Center gift shoppe will be open. Shoppers will find artists working in their studios and one-of-a-kind, locally-made artisan wares for sale. The Tavern Café will serve sweet breakfast treats, including glazed donuts hot from the fryer and lunch, all homemade by the volunteers of the Tavern’s Culinary Guild.
Dating from the late 1700s, historic Rice’s Hotel/Hughlett’s Tavern is home to four active artisan guilds, which will be on-site demonstrating and selling their wares. In addition to the quilt guild, there will be blacksmiths working in the forge. The woodworkers will have both a modern and a colonial era workshop in the Carriage House. The spinners and weavers will gather in their studio.
