Vendors bring eggs, bread, art and more to farm market

CORNWALL — Even as vendors were still arriving and setting up for the Farmers Market on May 14, customers were scooping up freshly baked bread, newly laid eggs, art, tomato seedlings and choice cuts of local beef. Nick the Knife was there, too, waving around steel and expounding on the joys of a well-sharpened prep knife.Welcome to Saturday mornings on the shady Wish House front lawn in West Cornwall, and the opening of the Cornwall Farm Market for its fifth season. Locals anxious to sell their locally grown and produced wares at what has become a lucrative venue have overflowed onto a waiting list. It isn’t just about shopping, though. The market is also a place to catch up with friends, enjoy performances by local talent and a place where visitors can get the full flavor of Cornwall. The market has become a wonderful surprise for tourists who happen to wander up the hill from the nearby Covered Bridge.Among Saturday’s vendors was Magaly Ohika. It wouldn’t be Cornwall if there were not at least one artist in the mix. Her whimsical creations are filled with images of charismatic people and animals. They all have names; her inspirations are drawn from life.At the market, she brings new creations as well as pieces that were her bestsellers last season, including embroidery hoops covered with canvas and pencil drawings. Cardboard circle boxes are painted to become wall art. Colorful scraps of material and tiny zippers become pencil cases. Stuffed creatures are meant mostly as art, but a child could love them, too.Inspiration comes from the folk art of Puerto Rico. Ohika was born and raised in the East Village in New York, but has lived in Puerto Rico, where her mother now resides. Her studio is the living room of a tiny Popple Swamp Road home she shares with her sweetie, George Wolfe, and assorted pets.She has exhibited her work and curated shows for other artists, but said the market is by far the most fun, and most lucrative of her ventures.“It’s so much fun to be outside and talk with people,” she said. Ohika’s art in its various forms can also be purchased online at www.itsybitsyspill.etsy.com.For the latest on the farm market, visit the new website and blog at www.cornwallfarmarket.org. The market is open every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Latest News

Wake Robin developers reapply with P&Z
Wake Robin Inn is located on Sharon Road in Lakeville.
Photo by John Coston

LAKEVILLE — ARADEV LLC, the developer behind the proposed redesign of Wake Robin Inn, returned before Salisbury’s Planning and Zoning Commission at its May 5 regular meeting with a 644-page plan that it says scales back the project.

ARADEV withdrew its previous application last December after a six-round public hearing in which neighbors along Wells Hill Road and Sharon Road rallied against the proposal as detrimental to the neighborhood.

Keep ReadingShow less
Housatonic lax wins 18-6 versus Lakeview
Chloe Hill, left, scored once in the game against Lakeview High School Tuesday, May 7.
Photo by Riley Klein

FALLS VILLAGE — Housatonic Valley Regional High School girls lacrosse kept rolling Tuesday, May 6, with a decisive 18-6 win over Lakeview High School.

Eight different players scored for Housatonic in the Northwest Corner rivalry matchup. Sophomore Georgie Clayton led the team with five goals.

Keep ReadingShow less
Troutbeck Symposium 2025: the latest chapter in continuing a vital legacy

Participating students and teachers gathered for the traditional photo at the 2025 Troutbeck Symposium on Thursday, May 1.

Leila Hawken

Students and educators from throughout the region converged at Troutbeck in Amenia for a three-day conference to present historical research projects undertaken collaboratively by students with a common focus on original research into their chosen topics. Area independent schools and public schools participated in the conference that extended from Wednesday, April 30 to Friday, May 2.

The symposium continues the Troutbeck legacy as a decades-old gathering place for pioneers in social justice and reform. Today it is a destination luxury country inn, but Troutbeck remains conscious of its significant place in history.

Keep ReadingShow less
Roaring Oaks Florist launches self-serve flower market

Terence S. Miller, owner of Roaring Oaks Florist in the new self-serve area of the shop.

Natalia Zukerman

Just in time for Mother’s Day, Roaring Oaks Florist in Lakeville has launched a new self-serve flower station next to its Main Street shop, offering high-quality, grab-and-go bouquets from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week — including Sundays when the main store is closed.

Owner Terence S. Miller, who bought the shop 24 years ago at just 20 years old, calls the new feature “a modern twist on an old-school honor system,” with some high-tech updates.

Keep ReadingShow less