There is a wonderful earnestness about artisan products made in the Hudson Valley. It’s not just that they’re lovingly handmade and environmentally conscious; it’s also that they tend to promote self-care, which is something we could all use a little bit of after a bruising year.
Because of COVID-19, this year there aren’t the usual artisan fairs preceding the holiday gift season. Although it’s not as much fun to shop for knit goods and handmade elixirs online as it is to wander around an old-timey market space, it is still possible to go to the web and find handmade candles and soaps and fermented foods to gift to your beloved(s).
This is the 10th anniversary of the Hudson, N.Y., Basilica Farm & Flea Virtual Market, which is usually not virtual and which is usually held at this time of year in the cavernous Basilica. The website describes the site as “a spectacular solar-powered reclaimed 1880s industrial factory on the waterfront of the historic City of Hudson.”
It’s a wonderful experience to wander the tight maze of tables in the Basilica, and to touch hand-sewn and hand-knit and hand-mixed little indulgences, but that just can’t happen this year. Shopping online is second best but still not bad.
There are about 65 vendors on the Basilica Farm & Flea Virtual Market website, including well-known Hudson Valley brands such as Hillrock Distillery, Jacuterie (maker of artisanal charcuterie) and Hosta Hill, source of fermented deliciousness and hot sauces in many flavors.
There is quirky sweetness, with toys and clothes for youngsters from Petit Pilou and Petit Felt, the company owned by Jocelyn Krodman, a beloved regional felt artist whose extraordinarily lifelike felt animals have been a draw for shoppers to many artisan fairs in recent years (www.petitpilou.com).
Far more rugged are the gorgeous leather goods from P.M. Reed, whose photos show him to be a cowboy type you’d expect to see more in the vast reaches of Montana than in the relatively tame Southern Berkshires (Reed lives in Windsor, Mass.; his website is www.pmreedcarrygoods.com).
So that’s one advantage of shopping at the virtual flea market: You can read the bios of the vendors. And in Reed’s case, you can follow a link to see his photography work, which is exquisite and sophisticated, with many of his images shot in Italy in the 1970s.
Another advantage: It’s always fairly chilly in Hudson in winter, with cold winds blowing off the river. Shopping at home is warmer.
Best of all, though, is the chance to find enticing little treasures of all shapes, sizes and prices. You have to pay for shipping, but you don’t have to pay for gas or lunch.
Shop through the holiday season for Hudson Valley artisan goods online at the Basilica Farm & Flea Virtual Market, www.basilicahudson.org/farmandflea/vendors.
FALLS VILLAGE — The Gilbert/Northwestern/Housatonic Yellowjackets co-op football team lost 47-14 to the Woodland Regional High School Hawks Saturday, Oct. 5.
Woodland’s explosive speed created breakaway plays on the ground and in the air. Woodland QB Jack Brunetti Brunetti threw for 160 yards and the Hawks’ backfield combined for 298 rushing yards.
GNH kept the score close in the first half, but injuries to key players stalled the Yellowjackets’ momentum and Woodland pulled ahead. GNH QB Ty Devita totaled 43 passing yards and 52 rushing yards with a touchdown on the ground. WR Owen Riemer ran in a touchdown and ended with 47 yards before exiting with an ankle injury in the third quarter.
Owen Riemer rushed in a touchdown in the first quarter, giving GNH a 7-6 lead for a short time.Photo by Riley Klein
The GNH home game was played in Falls Village on Housatonic Game Field. It was a clear autumn afternoon, about 71 degrees with a light breeze at kick off.
Approximately 500 were in attendance for the “pink out” match, which raised money for the Jane Lloyd Fund cancer support organization. Players and fans sported pink garments to represent the cause.
The game began with offensive success from both sides. Woodland’s opening drive produced a 50-yard touchdown pass. GNH responded with a six-minute drive that ended on a 12-yard rushing touchdown from Owen Riemer. Woodland’s Jack Brunetti then threw a touchdown pass for 82-yards to WR Josh Steputtis.
In the second quarter, both teams added to their scores. Woodland scored before GNH answered with a rushing touchdown from Ty Devita. At halftime, Woodland led 21-14.
GNH captain no. 53 Owen Stimpson tackles Woodland WR Norman Cook, no. 8.Photo by Riley Klein
GNH lost Owen Riemer and RB Jacob Smith to injuries in the third quarter. Riemer came down hard on his right ankle after going up for a contested reception. Smith took a big hit to the chest on a rush up the middle.
Woodland’s defense capitalized on GNH’s loss of key position players and forced stopped GNH’s offensive momentum. The Hawks’ offense continued to produce big plays and scored repeatedly.
Despite the growing lead, Woodland attempted onside kicks throughout the second half. Up 41-14 in the fourth quarter, the Hawks recovered an onside kick and marched down the field draining the clock. Woodland scored once more as time expired and won 47-41.
Woodland FB Will Brooks rushed in a 44-yard touchdown late in the third quarter.Photo by Riley Klein
Woodland advanced to 3-1 this season with a total of 171 points scored. GNH moved to 0-4 this season.
GNH will travel to Naugatuck for a Friday night game Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. Naugatuck High School is 4-0 and coming off a 58-36 victory over Watertown High School.
Photo by Riley Klein
Marble Valley Farm in Kent leases land from the Kent Land Trust at below-market rates. The model enabled owner Megan Haney to grow her vegetable operation in an otherwise harsh economic climate for Connecticut farmers.
Last month, the USDA’s 2024 Land Values Summary reported that Connecticut has the third most expensive farm real estate in the country (tied with Massachusetts) at two times the northeast average for dollars per acre.
To Chelsea Gazillo, the senior New England policy manager for American Farmland Trust, these numbers reflect a “farmland access and succession crisis” that has impacted the state for “the last 15 years at least.”
While the value of farm real estate is on the rise across the U.S., up 5% from 2023, the trendline is particularly steep in Connecticut. In Litchfield County alone, the average estimated market value of farm land and buildings rose 28% between 2017 and 2022 according to a study by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).
“Connecticut is a densely populated state and farmland is in high demand from both farmers and non-farmers,” said Rebecca Eddy, director of communications at the Connecticut Department of Agriculture (DOA), citing the competing pressures of investors and developers.
Farmland values are also reflective of broader trends in the real estate market.
“We’re still seeing ripple effects from the pandemic,” said Gazillo, noting that western Connecticut became an especially desirable region for buyers looking to leave nearby metropolitan areas during lockdowns.
As high demand inflates prices and increases development pressure, Connecticut is losing farmland at a striking rate.
American Farmland Trust ranked Connecticut among the top states in the country for farmland conversion to residential and urban uses; Litchfield County alone experienced a 10.5% loss in total cropland between 2017 and 2022.
Meanwhile, U.S. farmers are getting older. In 2022, there were four times more U.S. farmers over the age of 65 than under 35.
“In the next 20 years or so, we’re going to see a massive amount of land start changing hands,” said Gazillo.
The Working Lands Alliance (WLA), a statewide coalition currently directed by Gazillo, formed in 1999 to preserve Connecticut’s farmland against the threat of transition to development.
In Connecticut, where agriculture contributes a significant $4 billion to the economy each year, maintaining farmland and supporting farmers has been a concern of the state for decades.
DOA’s Farmland Preservation Program was one of the first of its kind when it debuted in 1978. The program places agricultural conservation easements on farmland by purchasing the development rights from farmers, providing a monetary incentive for farmers to preserve their land into perpetuity.
Ella Kennen, coordinator for the New Connecticut Farmer Alliance, noted that while these easements bar development, they don’t necessarily require that “farmland is being actively used as farmland.” Nor do they directly address the challenge of first-time land access for new and BIPOC farmers.
To meet these remaining needs, DOA formed the DEI in Agriculture Working Group in 2021. Based on a report produced by the group last summer, DOA applied for and won $2.5 million through the USDA Land Capital Market Access grant which Eddy says will be employed to “increase land access to historically underserved producers.”
The grant provides hope for future change. But for many small farmers, the state policies currently in place do not go far enough to realize their dreams of farm ownership and tenure.
“It’s been simply out of the question that I could own my own farmland,” said Megan Haney, owner and operator of Marble Valley Farm in Kent. “I know of no farmer who can afford real estate based solely on what they make farming.”
Haney has grown her 14-acre sustainable vegetable operation thanks to a below-market-value lease from the Kent Land Trust. She is one of many Connecticut farmers reliant on land trusts or wealthy sponsors as alternative access models.
For the farmers who could afford to purchase their first plots, recent real estate trends may eclipse their plans to grow.
“I was fortunate to purchase my land before the crazy COVID inflation hit,” said Kelley Babbin, owner and operator of Howling Flats Farm in Canaan. “These prices make it unattainable to purchase additional pasture or hay ground.”
While land access is critical to the future of local farming, the issue does not exist in a vacuum. Gazillo noted that many solutions are compounded by other pressures.
“Litchfield County has a lot of protected land, which is both a good and a bad thing,” she said. “Affordable housing groups are saying that if we continue to put easements on properties, then there’s no land to be developed for affordable housing.”
Meanwhile, for older farmers without easements, selling one’s farmland at full market value may be the only path to retirement. “That [land] is their pension,” said Gazillo.
As the issue of farmland tenure grows more pressing and more complex, new policy initiatives hope to meet multiple needs.
WLA has proposed OPAV (Option to Purchase at Agricultural Value), a policy which would compensate farmland owners for selling only to certain farmers or family members at an “agricultural value” below market value. OPAV policies have already been implemented in Vermont, Massachusetts and New York.
OPAV’s future is yet to be determined in Connecticut. As is the future of Connecticut’s remaining farmland.
To Gazillo, the future that Connecticut can count on is one in which local farmers are vital to the community.
“One thing that we learned from the pandemic is that our national food system is very fragile,” she said. “If there are any disruptions to the supply chain, we are dependent on local producers to survive. And as we see more climate-related disasters and weather-related disasters, it’s just going to become more and more of a necessity.”
Tom Barret shows off some Rummage Sale finds.
On Saturday, Sept. 28, the Cornwall Woman’s Society hosted its 100th anniversary celebration at Mohawk Mountain ski lodge.
“This celebration is to thank the people of Cornwall for their support and to celebrate the 100 years that the Woman’s Society has contributed to Cornwall and to needs near and far,” said Nancy Berry, co-chair of the Cornwall Woman’s Society (CWS).
There was food and beverages, even several cakes with wonderful decorations proclaiming the 100th year, but the main part of the event was a fashion show. Cornwall residents modeled outfits that they purchased at the Woman’s Society Rummage Sale, the annual CWS fundraiser held by each July.
The majority of the rummage sale proceeds go to support Cornwall’s high school graduates who plan to continue their education and the many important local organizations that serve education, health/nutrition, social services, and emergency needs.
The history of the society was highlighted by member Susan Hellmann who created a wonderful and informative history display. All guests were also handed a pamphlet containing the history of the society upon entering the ski lodge. The Woman’s Society of the First Congregational Church was formed in 1924 when 26 women from the First Congregational Church gathered at the Manse in West Cornwall to support missions and strengthen their community. They organized fundraisers like tea parties, fairs, and a 1932 “25-cent supper” for 140 people. Over the years, they expanded their efforts, helping with everything from Ellis Island clothing drives to local church improvements.
In 1956, CWS member and reporter Bessie W. Blake wrote an article in The Lakeville Journal titled “A Big Light from a Small Candle,” showcasing the incredible impact of this small group.
In 2006, the women separated from the church and became the Cornwall Woman’s Society. Their famous Rummage Sale, which started in 1955, now funds over 20 local causes, scholarships, and holiday cheer. They still meet on the second Thursday of every month at the UCC in Cornwall Village.
The fashion show was filled with hilarity, hoots and hollers of support, and some very funny antics.
Now in its sixth year, the Haystack Book Festival brings together writers and thinkers in unmoderated conversation. Produced in conjunction with the Norfolk Foundation, whose mission is “to contribute to the vitality and sustainability of Norfolk, particularly in relation to the town’s natural setting and multiple artistic and cultural attractions,” the Haystack Book Festival takes place at the Norfolk Library. On Sunday, Oct. 6 at 1:30 p.m. the festival will have an event for middle grade readers at The HUB featuring Sarah Maslin Nir.
“We’re excited to be celebrating the sixth year of the festival. This year we have a great program discussing topics as wide ranging as ballet, interpreting the landscape, and looking at the horse as a treasured companion throughout history, along with other ideas that will be discussed on our stage,” says Michael Selleck co-director of the Haystack Book Festival.
On Friday, Oct. 4 the festival kicks off with Marina Harss, author of “The Boy from Kyiv: Alexei Ratmansky’s Life in Ballet,” speaking with Mindy Aloff, author of “Why Dance Matters,” in a conversation called “Out of Steps” at 3:30 p.m.
At 5:30 p.m. Gillian Linden, granddaughter of Brendan Gill and author of “Negative Space: A Novel,” leads the “Brendan Gill Lecture.” Linden’s latest novel follows a week in the life of an English teacher at a New York private school. Linden received her MFA from Columbia University. She is a 2011 winner of the Henfield Prize for fiction. Her previous book — “Remember How I Told You I Love You?” — is a collection of short stories. An open reception will follow at The Manor House on 69 Maple Ave.
On Saturday, Oct. 5 at 10:30 a.m., best selling author Michael Korda, whose book “Muse of Fire: WWI as Seen Through the Lives of the Soldier Poets,” speaks with Simon Winchester, author of “Knowing What We Know: The Transmission of Knowledge: From Ancient Wisdom to Modern Magic,” in a talk called “A Conversation About Wisdom and Memory.”
William Egginton, author of “The Rigor of Angels: Borges, Heisenberg, Kant, and the Ultimate Nature of Reality,” and Samuel Moyn, author of “Liberalism Against Itself: Cold War Intellectuals and the Making of Our Times,” will be in a conversation called “Institutions and Ideas” at 1 p.m.
At 3 p.m., “Reading the Landscape: How Trees Tell a Story” features Mike Zarfos, Executive Director of Great Mountain Forest, speaking with conservation biologist Noah Charney, author of “These Trees Tell a Story: The Art of Reading Landscapes.”
“A Haystack Evening at the Art Barn” is a ticketed event Saturday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. that allows patrons the opportunity to mingle with authors and friends while enjoying cocktails and hors d’oeuvres with live music. Tickets are available online at www.norfolkfoundation.net/book-talks
Sunday, Oct. 6, at 8 a.m., attendees can take a walk in Great Mountain Forest with Noah Charney and Mike Zarfos. Attendance is limited to 20 people and registration is required. Location: TBA. Registrants will be notified.
Back at the Norfolk Library at 11 a.m., “Horses and Us: Treasured Companions and Engines of Power” is a conversation between David Chaffetz, author of “Raiders, Rulers, and Traders: The Horse and the Rise of Empire,” and Pulitzer Prize–nominated New York Times reporter Sarah Maslin Nir, the author of “Horse Crazy: The Story of a Woman and a World in Love with an Animal.”
At 1:30 p.m., kids can meet Sarah Maslin Nir at The Norfolk HUB, where she will talk to young readers about her series “Once Upon a Horse.” Nir will be giving out free copies of her latest novel in the series titled “The Star Horse.”
Together with co-director Steve Melville, former publishing executive Selleck and their hardworking committees are involved with selecting authors and putting the program together to make the Haystack Book Festival rich and intellectually stimulating.
“It’s about bringing great writers to Norfolk and exposing people to their work. We’re trying to create great conversations at the festival,” Selleck says.
The Haystack Book Festival is supported with donations from friends, sponsors, and partners including the Norfolk Foundation. For more information, see their website: www.norfolkfoundation.net
