Rain is a Good Thing

Rain is typically a good thing for farmers, as it is a source of water for their crops, and is good for their soil. However, a farmer selling his goods at the Sparks Farmers’ Market, as well as market vendors and food trucks, rain may not always be a good thing.

“Rain, who wants to go shopping in the rain? Well I hope people show,” said Cheryl Bartee, owner of All About the Bling.

The Sparks Farmers’ Market welcomed rain this past week on Victorian Square, and some were worried about the possibility of less shoppers attending the market; but rain or shine, the market was still a big hit!

“Sometimes the weather doesn’t matter, we have regulars,” said Deana Sheehan, a fruit vendor at Sparks Farmers’ Market.

For some, it was a welcome change from the blistering heat of the prior week’s Sparks Farmers’ Market.

“Hopefully it will help. Last week it was so hot!” said Ken Jolly, owner of Butcher Boy.

In true Reno fashion, the rain quickly cleared up and the weather was nice and sunny again, just in time for the Nugget’s cooking demonstration. The market-goers enjoyed the rest of the farmers’ market, and farmers and vendors could relax again.

Weekly Cooking Demo Recipes

Each week at the Sparks Farmers’ Market, one of the Nugget’s own banquet or restaurant chefs prepares a cooking demonstration for market goers. The entree that is prepared in the demonstration is also sold at the Nugget food and beverage booth directly next to the cooking demonstration stage.

Each week is a different delicious dish, made with items that can be found every Thursday at the Sparks Farmers’ Market.

Be sure to come by the front entrance of John Ascuaga’s Nugget on Victorian Avenue each Thursday at 6pm. The very last Sparks Farmers’ Market is August 22, so make sure to attend one of these great demos!

Below are the recipes of the past cooking demonstrations. Tonight, Chef Mark Lee will be preparing Pulled Pork Sliders. Stay tuned for more recipes!

Tonight, 7/25/2013

 

7/18/2013

 

 

7/11/2013

6/27/2013

 

 

6/20/2013

 

6/13/2013

 

 

 

6/6/2013

 

All About the Bling

Cheryl Bartee, a new vendor from Texas at her first Sparks Farmers’ Market.

 

For Cheryl Bartee, a good wardrobe starts with the bling, which is why she began her own jewelry line in May 2012, All About the Bling Jewelry Boutique.

This past Thursday was Cheryl’s first time at Sparks Farmers’ Market, and she was very excited to start selling some of her pieces.  Cheryl just recently moved to the Reno area from Dallas, Texas with her husband, and loves it here in Northern Nevada.

Before selling at Sparks Farmers’ Market, Cheryl’s business was solely online.  She has an amazing deal on shipping, which is $6.00 for anything purchased under $49.99, and if your order is $50.00 or more your shipping is free!

Some of the handmade jewelry from All About the Bling Jewelry Boutique.

You can find a little pink ribbon on many of Cheryl’s pieces of jewelry in support for Breast Cancer Awareness.  Cheryl is a cancer survivor, and says that anyone who buys a piece of jewelry in support of breast cancer awareness “will get a special little treat.”

Cheryl makes about 80% of her own jewelry, so each piece is unique.  To see more of her creations, visit her website at www.allabouthebling.net, and like her on Facebook.

A Family-Friendly Thursday Crafternoon

Every Thursday during the Sparks Farmers’ Market, you can find Robynne Carthen and her two daughters running a fun and inventive children’s craft booth, on the plaza between Victorian Avenue and the theater.

Robynne Carthen and her two daughters

The booth is new this year to Sparks Farmers’ Market, and begins at 4 p.m. each Thursday.

“It’s me along with my two daughters,” said Robynne, “it’s fun standing back each time and watching them teach their own activities.”

Robynne lets her daughters take the lead in teaching each craft to families and children stopping by at the market.

Each week, Robynne brings a duct tape activity, along with a secondary activity. Some of the secondary activities include painting, homemade clay, wikisticks, and bingo dauber art.

This past week, the girls were teaching how to create funky duct tape braided bracelets.

These weekly craft-iv-it-eez, as Robynne calls them, are fun for both kids and their parents, and is completely free.

Be sure to stop by the Kid’s Area and learn a fun new craft this week!

Robynne’s daughter starting on a duct tape bracelet.

CRAFT-ive-it-eez with Robynne.

Duct tape flower crafts.

Robynne’s daughter teaching a friend how to make the duct tape bracelets.

Sweet Creams Cheesecakery

Sara Hook always loved baking her special cheesecakes for friends and family, on holidays, birthdays, or really any kind of occasion that warranted sweets. One day, a friend’s husband joked that he would pay good money for the slice of cheesecake he was eating. They all had a good laugh about the idea of turning Hook’s baking skills to profit. Three months later, with the help of her two friends, Sweet Creams Cheesecakery is a growing business, bringing gourmet cheesecake desserts to Northern Nevadans.

Sweet Creams Cheesecakery

Although Sweet Creams does not yet have a storefront, they are a thriving online business. You can order a specialty cheesecake through their online website, and have them delivered to your home. Sweet Creams is also among our new vendors at Sparks Farmers’ Market every Thursday!

Though the Cheesecakery has standard flavors of cheesecake like New York style and strawberry, but adds a unique twist with other specialty flavors. Kiss My Blarney, Hook’s favorite, is flavors with Guinness beer and chocolate filling, and topped with candied bacon.

“We wanted to make a cheesecake geared toward men,” said Hook, “so what better combo than beer and bacon?”

Another popular flavor for market-goers, according to Hook, is the avocado cheesecake. Come try out your favorites at the Sparks Farmers’ Market every Thursday this summer, and check out Sweet Creams Cheesecakery on Facebook to learn more! Be sure to like us on Facebook to keep updated with all that’s happening at Sparks Farmers’ Market this year!

Sara Hook, setting up the Sweet Creams booth at Sparks Farmers’ Market.

The weekly menu for Sweet Creams Cheesecakery.

Some of the cheesecake flavors offered at Sweet Creams Cheesecakery.

Beautifully made cheesecakes!

Tany Jane

Each week at Sparks Farmers’ Market, there is a live band playing in front of John Ascuaga’s Nugget to help add a fun and exciting atmosphere to the event.

“The live music at the Sparks Farmers’ Market really helps to set the tone for the event,” said Lauren Garber, Publicist at John Ascuaga’s Nugget Resort Casino. “We want to make sure everyone is enjoying themselves while they shop, and the music contributes to the street festival feel of the market.”

This week’s farmers’ market, we welcomed Tany Jane to the stage.

Tany Jane is no stranger to John Ascuaga’s Nugget. The duo has performed live in Trader Dick’s inside the Nugget, as well as playing at Street Vibrations.

Tany Jane was formed earlier this year, as an acoustic outlet to the duo’s other group, Mimic. Lead singer Brittany Huff and guitarist Eric Strangeland have a shared love of music that started for each of them at a young age.

According to the band’s biography, Brittany ” has been singing since she was a little girl in school talent shows and plays.” She entered a karaoke contest at the Eldorado when she was older, and won first place. She decided she wanted to sing professionally, and started looking for a band to perform with.

Eric has been playing in bands since he was young, and has created many albums of music over the years. His songs have been featured on local radio, and he has received awards for local songwriting and session music on multiple occasions. After receiving “Best Music Teacher” from Reno News and Review for the fifth year in a row, he began his own music teaching business called One Stop Guitar. In 2008 he was voted Best Local Musician and was recognized on the top 101 Most Influential Musician

To listen to some of their music, click here!

If you missed Tany Jane this week, don’t worry! The band will be playing for Sparks Farmers’ Market again on July 25th. Mark your calendars!

Tany Jane performing live right outside of John Ascuaga’s Nugget.

Tany Jane at Sparks Farmers’ Market.

Gourmet Rooster

Among the many great vendors and food stands at the Sparks Farmers’ Market this year is Gourmet Rooster, a specialty sauces and spreads vendor.  Courtney Barnes, the founder of Gourmet Rooster, is a Reno native, wife, and mother of two adorable daughters.

“Of course, she thinks she makes all the sales,” said Courtney, jokingly, about her oldest.  The girls work together with their mom in supplying market-goers with samples of some of their spreads, and telling about some of their favorites and what goes best with each spread.

My favorite, The Roasted Red Pepper and Garlic Spread.  You can find out what else Gourmet Rooster has to offer at http://www.gourmetrooster.com/

All of the spreads and sauces come from Courtney’s own recipes, and each product is made right here in Reno.

Along with owning her own business, Courtney also writes a weekly column for the Reno Gazette Journal called “Courtney’s Kitchen”.  Her columns include original recipes created by Courtney, and how to prepare each meal to be perfect.  Check out this week’s story, showing you how to make a fresh veggie pizza and peach berry shortcake with supplies you can pick up at Sparks Farmers’ Market.

Make sure to like Gourmet Rooster on Facebook! And stop by the Sparks Farmers’ Market page to keep updated with all the events happening at this year’s Farmers’ Market!

The Biggest Little Fashion Truck

Food trucks have recently hit the Reno/Sparks scene as a tasty and different way to grab a quick bite. With the ever-growing popularity of food trucks, Vinnie Lucinda along with his business partner Hillary Schieve hatched a plan for a new kind of truck – The Biggest Little Fashion Truck.

The Biggest Little Fashion Truck parks at the Sparks Farmers’ Market.

After the owners discussed their idea, it wasn’t look before The Biggest Little Fashion Truck took to the streets. Their first event was March 23, 2013 at the Nevada Women’s Expo.

The Biggest Little Fashion Truck is fully equipped with locally made merchandise, ranging from dresses to scarves, quirky jewelry, and LOTS of shoes. There is even a fitting room around the front!

“We really like to support local businesses,” said Vinnie.

The Biggest Little Fashion Truck will be a Sparks Farmers’ Market regular this year, and has made appearances in other venues like Food Truck Fridays and Street Vibrations. This “boutique on wheels” can also be rented for private parties or events. Just let the shopping come to you!

“It’s fabulous,” said one of the truck-goers, “you’re out of the weather. It’s not too hot.”

Cat Stahl, the featured artist for this week’s Sparks Farmers’ Market, embellishes old denim for a fun and contemporary look.

Vinnie said they will be trying something new with the Fashion Truck, where they will be featuring local artists weekly to bring more attention to the local talent in the Reno/Sparks area. The featured artist at this week’s Sparks Farmers’ Market is Cat Stahl. Cat is the creator of Onward Kitty, a clothing brand in Reno. She hand-dyes and hand-paints deconstructed clothing to put a new funky twist on clothes.

To learn more about The Biggest Little Fashion Truck, like them on Facebook, or visit their website, http://www.biggestlittlefashiontruck.com.

 

 

Vinnie Lucido custom built all the shelving inside The Biggest Little Fashion Truck.

Cat Stahl and Vinnie Lucido showing off Stahl’s variety of festival gear.

The merchandise outside the Fashion Truck attracted market-goers to check out the inside of the Fashion Truck.

The Biggest Little Fashion Truck is complete with a mirror and dressing room.