When Kerry Dunnington was growing up, her grandmother taught her how to craft her own clothing.
She recalls “wonderful memories of sewing” and sharing the tradition with her mother and grandmother. So, when Dunnington needed a way to draw attention to the Kenilworth Farmers Market in Towson, she knew she could put her skill to use.
Dunnington sewed a giant carrot costume for a volunteer to wear when the market was in session; the idea was to show potential customers its new location and draw them in. After seeing the success of the carrot, she decided to expand her collection and create Maryland’s #1 Traveling Vegetable Parade.
“I made six more costumes. I made Swiss chard, purple cabbage, corn on the cob, radish, turnip and green beans,” Dunnington said. “They’re all hand-sewn, there’s no glue, there’s no plastic. They were all self-designed and hand-sewn.”
The parade, which comprises seven volunteers, made its debut at the Kenilworth market April 16. The next stop will be the seasonal opening day of one of Catonsville’s farmers markets, on Wednesday, May 1. The Wednesday market has a rotating cast of vendors, Dunnington said, with about a dozen listed for the first day.
Pixie Miller, who dresses as the radish in the parade, said she is “definitely” excited to “meet some new people and promote the Catonsville Farmers’ Market.”
“It’s really all about our love of food and promoting what’s here, because it’s just a treasure trove,” said Miller, who also co-founded a group called United in Food.
United in Food, a website that Miller started with her cousin, works to “unite communities through their local food sources” and provides information on activities like farmer’s markets, cooking classes and community gardens.
The Wednesday market in Catonsville, which is scheduled to be open for the season from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 1, is located at The Christian Temple parking lot at 5820 Edmondson Ave.
The Wednesday market is year-round, though with limited hours during late fall and winter. The 10 a.m.-1 p.m. hours will extend from May 1 until after Thanksgiving.
The vegetable parade will be on hand, with recipes for customers to take home and puzzles for children. A full list of expected vendors for the market can be found online at http://www.catonsvillefarmersmarket.com/weekly-update/.
The parade has “been so much fun,” Dunnington said. “Just from designing the costumes to sewing them to finding people to wear the costumes.”
For Cindy Yingling, of Glenville Hollow Farms (in York County, Pennsylvania), the Catonsville Wednesday event is a good, mid-sized market with reliable customers.
“It’s a very good bunch, they’re good shoppers, they buy local,” Yingling said.
And, instead of coming in with a list of demands and fresh fruits or vegetables they are looking to buy, Yingling said, the regulars at Catonsville are happy to see what she’s got for sale that’s in season.
“They make their meal plan from that,” she said.
The Wednesday market is not the only one opening soon in Catonsville. On Sundays, the Greater Catonsville Chamber of Commerce sponsors a farmers market at 15 Mellor Ave., from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The market opens Sunday, May 5, and runs until Nov. 24.
The Sunday market is a bit larger, with more than two dozen full-time vendors and about 10 part-time vendors listed online.
Teal Cary, executive director of the Catonsville chamber, said she thinks the Sunday market helps Catonsville develop a “social weekend.”
“It used to be that Frederick Road was pretty quiet on Sunday mornings, but now it’s bustling with people coming to the village on Sunday mornings,” she said.
Arbutus does not have a dedicated farmers market, said Bettina Tebo, head of the Greater Arbutus Business Association.
However, the Saint Agnes Health Institute has a community produce market every Thursday, year-round except for January and February, when anyone can come and pick up a $7 bag of fresh fruits and vegetables. The retail price of that produce in a grocery store would be closer to $15, according to the health system.
The bags come from Produce in a SNAP, supported by Hungry Harvest, a produce delivery service. Produce in a SNAP also has worked with the Community College of Baltimore County to sell reduced-cost produce on the Catonsville campus.
Dunnington said she’s happy to support all local markets and pleased with the legacy of Catonsville’s Wednesday market, which began in 2002.
“The Catonsville community is so supportive, they’re very devoted. A lot of our clients, they just come every week and they have been for years and years and years, and I think it’s a perfect-sized market for them,” Dunnington said.
And Miller — the radish — said she loves being able to talk to people about food while she’s walking around the markets.
“I’m really totally food obsessed,” Miller said. “It’s really about awareness and education.”