Attendance strong at Farmers Market

WINSTED — More than 200 residents shopped for produce, baked goods and homemade items at the Winsted Farmers Market on Friday, Aug. 22, at East End Park.Reese Piper from Ridge Runner Farm in Burville sold his handmade soaps at the market for the first time that day. He offered a variety of scented soaps, from chocolate to multiple types of fruit.“I started making soap about eight months ago when I developed a skin rash to all the store-bought soaps. It started taking off from there. Everybody kept asking me for soap, so I figured why not start selling it and make real money off the hobby,” Piper said. “I customize vegan soaps, vegetarian soaps, pet soaps and in two weeks I’ll have goat milk soap. It’s something I really enjoy. It’s good for people and gives me something to do for a hobby.”Piper described the process of making his soap as combining sodium hydroxide with water and then mixing in oils to cause the chemical reaction that makes soap. He then ages the soap anywhere from two weeks to six months and tests them prior to selling.“This is my first market, but I’m trying to expand. I have pretty much everything for everybody. If you like a certain scent I probably have it here. I also make soap using eggs from chickens on my farm,” he said. Market Steering Committee member Jen Perga said that new vendors are selling at the market all the time. “We are feeling like it’s getting stronger each year. It’s really nice to see people meeting with their neighbors and also meeting new people,” Perga said. “All of the food is made or grown locally, and you get to meet the farmer who’s growing your food, plus it keeps the money in the local economy.”She added that any vendors interested in selling their products at the market should email committee member Loretta Tremblay at sweets280743@gmail.com. Joe and Tina Becker of Swiss House Farm in Riverton sold vegetables, including tomatoes, cabbage, eggplant, green beans and sugar snap peas.“This is our seventh market, and it’s going good. The response has been awesome,” Joe Becker said. “We never could have anticipated everybody seeing our stuff and being overwhelmed by how beautiful it is.”Tina Becker described Swiss House Farm as a nonstop husband-and-wife team.“It’s my birthday today, but there’s no time to take days off when you’re growing. Maybe in the winter,” she said. “We usually start plants in the winter too, though. Garlic gets planted in October or November, after the first really good frost. In February we start onions.” The market is open each Friday from 3 to 6 p.m., continuing through Friday, Sept. 12.For more information go to www.winstedfarmersmarket.org.