Saturday, April 1, 2017

4MRMarket will reopen April 23rd!!

The Four Mile Run Farmers & Artisans Market (4MRMarket) will re-open April 23rd & every Sunday from 9am until 1pm this Spring in Four Mile Run Park at 4109 Mt Vernon Avenue, Alexandria.  (click here for directions)

4MRMarket will reopen April 23rd!!

We went all the way through the winter last year, but we had to take a break for a few months due to some renovation work on the Four Mile Run Conservatory Center. We are really look forward to getting back outside! Music is booked, the park is being transformed by a nearby wetlands restoration project, and many of our customers stayed with us all winter long!

The 4MRMarket season begins April 23rd, just after Easter, Passover and Spring Breaks. We will continue to operate from 9am to 1pm. Until we're back, below are some ways you can keep in touch with our fabulous vendors and our market team!



What's Been Happening

Market alums Bagel Uprising and Number 1 Sons teamed up to form a pop-up shop at Del Ray's Dairy Godmother while she was away on her winter break. Check out more about Salt | Bagel in this Washingtonian article: A Bagel and Pickle Pop-Up Shop Is Coming to Del Ray



Kremena from Savory 'n Sweet taught a pastry class. She talked to readers of DIY Del Ray readers about techniques for mastering dough (and fillings) for sweet and savory pastry. Read all about it here: Recap: Kremena’s Sweet ‘n Savory Pastry Class

Backyard gardeners, She Peppers, have turned the peppers and herbs that we grow into delicious and unique spice blends and hot sauces. She Peppers also sells a variety of spices, gourmet salts, as well as seeds and seedlings of the various types of peppers and herbs for patrons. They specialize in hard to find peppers such as Carolina Reapers, Scorpion peppers, Ghost peppers, Shishitos, Padron, Thai peppers, and Scotch Bonnets to name a few. Find them in more and more local stores.

Rebecca from Second Rising Bakery continues to see Saturdays at Eastern Market and to mentor fellow bakers through Together We Bake. Once Rebecca's new business is up and running, it will help provide women that have been victimized by the sex trade a second chance.

If you're missing the musicians from the 4MR Stage, check out our playlist on Spotify to hear many of their recordings. Or find more info about them on their Reverbnation pages:
Dan Barry
Back Alley Blues Boys
Matt Buchanan
Matt Tarka
Janna Audey
Joseph Keith
Libby Wiebel
Lindsay Collette
Ella Sophia
Gillian Thompson Project
The Scrub Pines
Wytold

                      Ongoing

                      We're not just a Farmers Market. We're a cause!! We started a non-profit to improve Four Mile Run Park & Stream. Help us!
                      Founded to support the revitalization and expansion of Four Mile Run Park, 4MRMarket has worked with various community partners to create a venue that is inviting, clean and a resource for the diverse neighborhood of Arlandria.

                      Last year, we funded the formation of the Four Mile Run Conservatory Foundation and this new non-profit is already holding grant-supported park improvement events like the recent planting of 2 dozen new trees. Recently we met some of the neighbors and hope to have folks help us learn more about our wild friends living in the park!

                      And we're still looking for help to make park and environmental improvements. As we continue working to plant trees and remove invasive plants, this year we also aim to reduce litter throughout lower Four Mile Run with "Clean Stream Extreme"!! Help us equip volunteers with tools for stream clean-ups and install recycling bins & litter traps to make that less necessary. Our Spring2Action fundraising goal is participation - 100 donors, at any giving level. Help us today!

                      Check out the Four Mile Run Conservatory webpage at: www.FourMileRun.org.


                      Have you met the neighbors?

                      We've all helped bring about a lot of improvement to Four Mile Run Park through fund-raising and plain, old hard work. We've helped raise funds for a variety of other non-profits and helped folks of all walks of life Buy Fresh, Buy Local.

                      As a 100% neighborhood volunteer run market, we are proud that 4MRMarket serves as an incubator for small start-up businesses, a space for non-profits to promote their causes, and a community gathering place for live music, fellowship, and quality food and craft options.

                      Check back next week to see what's happening on Sundays this Spring! And see below all the ways to help and follow the links to find our market vendors during the break!!


                      Food Vendors
                      • Bigg Rigg Farm (Hampshire County, WV) - Some fruits & vegetables come from as far away as Mexico and even China, With Bigg Riggs, you can be guaranteed that what you're eating is grown nearby in and hand pick high in the mountains. A fifth-generation family farm.
                      • Montoya's Farm (King George, VA) - Northern Neck farmers specializing in Latin ingredients and many varieties of popular produce.
                      • Savory 'N Sweet (Alexandria) - Your local Bulgarian baker! Maker of Savory and Sweet Breads, Breakfast Pastries, Fruit Pies, Breadsticks, and Granola.
                      • She Peppers (Alexandria) - Backyard gardeners who have turned the peppers and herbs that we grow into delicious and unique spice blends and hot sauces. She Peppers also sells a variety of spices, gourmet salts, as well as seeds and seedlings of the various types of peppers and herbs for patrons. They specialize in hard to find peppers such as Carolina Reapers, Scorpion peppers, Ghost peppers, Shishitos, Padron, Thai peppers, and Scotch Bonnets to name a few.
                      • Whole Health (Alexandria) - Organic teas, potpourris, and body scrubs from one of the largest Message and Acupuncture Therapy businesses in Northern Virginia.
                      • Bagel Uprising (Del Ray) - Are you ready to rebel against dry, stale, flavorless bagels? Look no further! Bagel Uprising offers authentic handmade bagels—boiled and baked in small batches—that will satisfy your craving for the real thing. Bagel sales begin at 10am!! 
                      • Captain Xans (Alexandria and Bristol Bay, AK) - Wild caught Alaskan salmon straight from the nets to your table from "the most sustainable fishery on earth!" Flash frozen and never thawed for firmness and taste
                      • Switch Doctor (Alexandria) - Their switchel is crafted from the traditional hay maker's recipe of ginger, apple cider vinegar and pure Vermont maple syrup. They add other natural ingredients like green tea, turmeric and fresh squeezed lemon juice!
                      • Tom's Amish Cheese Store (Lancaster, PA) - Artisan Cheese, yogurt and Pennsylvania honey.
                      • Just a Bite (Annandale, VA) - Offering delicious, bit-sized treats such as alfajores, cuñapés, marshmallow rice puffs and sugar cookies.
                      • Second Rising Bakery (Alexandria) - Rebecca bakes delicious breads and cookies that are egg free and made with real butter, honey, and whole grains. Once this new business is up and running, it will help provide women that have been victimized by the sex trade a second chance.
                      • No. 1 Sons (Arlandria) -  Produces wild cultured foods by hand in Alexandria. This brother and sister team live in Arlandria and do not heat treat or use preservatives. They make pickles, sauerkraut, dilly beans, kim chi, beets, hot sauce and more that is "Proudly Cloudy".
                      Offerings from Just a Bite

                      And the talented Crafters:
                      • Felicity's Handcrafted Soaps - (Alexandria) - All Season - Specialty crafter of all-natural hand-made soaps and knitted items.
                      • Nurture Designs (Alexandria) - Local jewelry artisan
                      • Athena Styles (Alexandria) - Athena loves things that are fun, busy and different: "When I design my jewelry its on of a kind and you won't find nothing like it." 
                      • Every Other Week-your local farmer and flea markets. We offer modern, insatiably peculiar and affordable flower arrangements sized moderate to minuscule.​
                      • Paper Z-Art brings the new kind of art: Kirigami aka paper-cut decoration and pop-up cards. Visit their online gallery of their new Holiday cards to see what's in store.
                      Paper Z-Art brings the new kind of art

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                      More ways to support 4MRMarket:


                      The supercool 4MRMarket t-shirt
                      BUY. Proceeds of our 4MRMarket T-shirts go to support the expansion and revitalization of 4MR Park. They cost $12 and come in 4 colors.

                      DONATE. Help 4MRMarket help 4MRPark. Tax-deductible donations can be made to support us in our efforts to revitalize Four Mile Run Park. Donate to the City's Living Landscape Fund to fund tree and other amenities at 4MRExpand More information here.

                      VOLUNTEER. We love help with set-up and tear-down and/or processing SNAP/EBT and Credit / Debit Card sales.  Just find a Market Manager to ask to help, or email us at 4MRMarket@arlandria.org for more info.

                      FOLLOW. Keep up to date on all the goings on by following 4MRMarket on FacebookTwitterGoogle+Email or via our website and blog.


                      SPREAD THE WORD.  Please tell folks about us. And tell folks about some of the great things we're doing. For instance, all SNAP/EBT participants can take advantage of the Inova-sponsored "Double Dollar" program again this year that doubles the first $10 SNAP participants spend at the market. 4MRMarket is the first farmers’ market in Northern Virginia to accept SNAP. 
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                      Buy Fresh Buy Local 4MRMarket products.
                      The Four Mile Run Farmers and Artisans Market (Alexandria, Virginia 22305) brings fresh, nutritious food to people of all income levels, provide an opportunity for local artisans and producers of goods to bring their wares to market, strive to reflect the diversity of the community, and improve the quality of life for Arlandria residents and visitors. It is part of an overall vision to expand and improve Four Mile Run park and the surrounding neighborhood.

                      For more info see: http://www.4mrmarket.org/
                      On Facebook: facebook.com/4MRMarket
                      On Twitter: @4MRMarket
                      Subscribe to Updates: via Email
                      Contact us at: 4MRMarket@arlandria.org
                      Or call the 4MRMarket hotline: (804) 4mi-Run1