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4 Stateline News Wednesday, June 11, 2008
YOUR
TURN
QUESTION:
What is your
favorite
summertime
activity in the
Stateline area?
Matt
Bosen
Beloit
“I like going to
Beloit Snappers
games, and checking out all
the live bands at local bars.”
Nicki
Meyers
Beloit
“I enjoy all the
events that take
place along Beloit’s riverfront,
such as Music at Harry’s
Place.”
Kendra
Ciano
Beloit
“I like riding my
bike along the
bike path with my friends. I
also enjoy going to Krueger
Pool and Pearl Lake.”
Matt
Phillips
Beloit
“There’s nothing
better than
going to Snappers games with
friends. It’s not very expensive
and always a great time.”
Stacy
Heasty
Rockton
“I like going to
all of the area
forest preserves. They are
great places to go walking,
read a book or just to relax.”
Scott
Sunby
Beloit
“I like to go
fishing along
the Rock River. It’s a great
way to relax and enjoy a
beautiful day.”
WEB
POLLS
To vote in Stateline News
Web polls, go to:
www.
statelinenews.com
Name: Nina Yanchik
Age: 34
Hometown/residence:
Janesville
Occupation/civic memberships:
Catering and hospitality
manager for the Atlanta Bread
Company
Family: Children Kaylee, 13,
Cole, 11, Mickai, 2.
■ MARKET
Continued from page 1
“We are thrilled to receive this
amazing honor from the governor
and the Department of
Commerce,” said Kathleen Braatz,
executive director of the
Downtown Beloit Association.
“While our association organizes
the 22-week market season, it’s
important to note that the success
belongs to the market vendors and
our community that continues to
support local food and producers.”
Appropriately, the Beloit
Farmers Market continues to
grow, having doubled in size since
2005.
“We have 94 stalls that people
have locked in for the season,”
Braatz said. “Our growth is certainly
substantial.”
Braatz added that most of the
vendors — many of them familiar
to regulars who make the weekly
Saturday trek to the corner of
State Street and Grand Avenue —
will be back, along with 11 newcomers.
“I think we’ll have about 70 vendors
during peak season,” Braatz
said. That’s up from 60 last year.
Though the market officially
started this past weekend, for the
three weekends preceding the
opening, diehard market fans
were able to attend presales in
Beloit’s Third Street parking lot,
next to the Ironworks building.
The presale was extended this
year, from two weekends to three,
and shoppers enjoyed the opportunity
to get an early shot at spring
specialties like rhubarb, while
stocking up on plants for their
gardens.
“I’m definitely excited about
asparagus and rhubarb,” said
Diane Miller of Janesville, while
FOR THE RECORD
The Stateline News is ...
People You Know
Favorite food: Chicken
parmesan from the Atlanta
Bread Company
Favorite music: Rhythm and
blues
Favorite movies: “Save the
Last Dance”
Favorite books: “Things Fall
Apart” by Chinua Achebe
Favorite vacation place:
LYNN VOLLBRECHT/STAFF
Five-year-old Kaylyn Andrews of
Beloit picks up a hanging basket
filled with geraniums and lobelias
that her mother, Cari Noll, left, of
Beloit, recently purchased at a
farmers market presale in the city.
shopping at a May 31 presale. “All
the flowers look really nice, too,
but we came for the fresh produce,
specifically the asparagus.”
Added Miller’s husband,
Richard, “We like supporting the
local growers, too. And, it’s fresh.”
Vendor Craig Shultz, of CD&E
Family Produce, said his stand
became more popular as interest
increased in heirloom varieties of
plants and produce.
“It’s really catching on, the heirloom
varieties,” Shultz said.
His stand includes seedlings of
the Jersey giant tomato, which is
nearly extinct, and a variety of
hollyhocks grown by Thomas
69926
Mexico
In my spare time I: Like to
spend time doing activities with
my children.
I think the most important
issue in the Stateline area is:
Preventing the loss of familysupporting
jobs.
If I could change one thing:
I would lower the gas prices.
Peak experience: The birth
of my children.
Pit experience: My divorce.
If I could sit down to supper
with anyone, living, dead
or fictional? Martin Luther
King Jr.
Most people don’t know I:
Used to be a real estate agent.
I can’t stand: Loud noises.
I wish I knew how to: Sky-
Jefferson.
“We’ve got a really big following
now,” he said. “People come to us
for all their heirloom varieties.”
Though the market generally
starts off smaller early in the season,
Shultz said that the cool, wet
spring experienced by Stateline
growers won’t necessarily mean
slim pickings this season.
“You deal with what mother
nature gives you,” he said.
“Different things, like the radishes,
they really like the wet.”
The market has been a boon for
the entire downtown business district.
Many people take the time to
do a little shopping and stop for a
bite to eat.
“I like this location … because
you can park and do other things
downtown,” Diane Miller said. “We
like to go shopping, and go to the
bagel shop.”
Like their customers, business
owners also look forward to the
farmers market.
“I’m so looking forward to it —
we’re really excited,” said
Anjanette Aumann, co-owner of
the boutique Pizazz, located on
State Street in downtown Beloit.
“It gives us great exposure. We get
a lot of new customers.”
Braatz said that many downtown
businesses make the farmers
market work for them.
“Most of our businesses take
advantage of our crowds, and pull
some merchandise out onto the
sidewalk,” Braatz said. “It’s just a
very lively, friendly environment.”
With 1,000 to 1,200 people passing
through downtown Beloit
every Saturday during the summer,
some retailers see a spike in
sales.
“There’s a huge increase in our
customers Saturday morning during
the farmers market,” Aumann
said. “Our sales probably at least
double.”
NINA INA YANCHIK ANCHIK
dive
Motto, inspiration or
favorite quote: I have a dream.
‘It’s ... about
going out
and seeing
so many
people that are just so
happy to be there.’
— Kathleen Braatz
Downtown Beloit Association
Though the variety of products
available at the market has
increased dramatically over the
years, Braatz said there’s more to
it than just delicious fresh food
and great vendors.
“It’s also about going out and
seeing so many people that are
just so happy to be there,” she
said.
Longtime customer Ted
Brockner of Beloit agrees, but he
also loves the food.
“I can’t wait until they start
bringing that fresh fruit down — I
want strawberries,” he said. “And
of course, we’ve got to get our
sweets over here at Kaufman’s,”
he said, pointing to the stand
known for its breads and pies.
Brockner estimates he’s been
coming to the market for nearly
10 years, and always brings his
family. One of his favorite vendors
is DL & Sons Farm, which specializes
in seafood products.
“His fish — his smoked fish —
that’s what keeps me coming,” he
said.
Like many other families, the
Brockners make the market a consistent
part of their summer
Saturdays.
“It’s a part of our routine,” Ted
Brockner said. “If we’re not out of
town, we come to the Farmers
Market.”
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