Oak Ridge Today

Enjoy Ridge City Ramblers, strawberries at Farmers Market

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Ridge City Ramblers

The Ridge City Ramblers will play at the Oak Ridge Farmers Market in Jackson Square on Saturday. The Ridge City Ramblers are, from left, Gary Coleman, Mary Tuskan, Scott Linn, Abbie Hoerner, Tom Beehan, and Steve Reddick. (Submitted photo)

 

The Oak Ridge Farmers Market is hosting The Ridge City Ramblers in concert this Saturday (May 16). The concert is free, and it’s scheduled from 9-11 a.m. in the middle of the market.

Plus, it’s strawberry time in Tennessee! Locally grown, just-picked berries are plentiful this week in the market, which is open Saturdays from 8 a.m.-noon and Wednesdays from 3-6 p.m. in Jackson Square.

On May 23, the Oak Ridge Farmers Market will host its first ever Kids Day, a free event featuring live farm animals, crafts, games, and music for children.

Jackson Square fountain won’t be ready by Lavender Fest, but other work should be

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Jackson Square Parking Lot Work

The interactive fountain in the center of the Jackson Square parking lot won’t be finished before the Lavender Festival in June, but work around the fountain should be completed by then, a city official said Monday.

 

The interactive fountain won’t be in place by the Lavender Festival in June, but other perimeter work around the Jackson Square parking lot should be completed, a city official said Monday.

Construction work on the $1 million rebuild of the parking lot area at Jackson Square started in January. The construction contract was awarded to Rich Construction Inc. of Lenoir City by the Oak Ridge City Council in October.

The work is funded with help from a $741,609 Tennessee Department of Transportation Enhancement Grant that was awarded to the city in June 2012. The TDOT grant covers 80 percent of the work, and it requires a 20 percent city match.

Jackson Square is Oak Ridge’s original town center. [Read more…]

East Tennessee FARM Markets opening soon

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East TN Farmers Association Logo

East Tennessee Farmers Association for Retail Marketing, or FARM, a nonprofit organization, is pleased to announce the opening of its 39th season of farmers’ markets in East Tennessee, in three convenient locations in Knoxville and Oak Ridge. Established in 1976, FARM is Tennessee’s longest continuously operating farmers’ market organization.

“We are proud to offer this service to the Knoxville-Oak Ridge community,” said Steve Colvin, president of East TN FARM. “Our membership typically includes about 70 producer-vendors, offering more than 100 different Tennessee grown products from April through November.”

FARM vendors will offer a wide variety of spring bedding plants, fresh produce, grass-fed and pasture-raised meats, artisan bread and cheese, local honey, and fresh eggs. As the season goes on, they offer the freshest produce possible, including just-picked strawberries, peaches, sweet corn, and heirloom tomatoes. [Read more…]

Star Farm co-owner to discuss ‘Farm to Table’ movement

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Kellye Wilson

Kellye Wilson

Kellye Wilson, co-owner of Star Farm in Anderson County, will discuss the “Farm to Table” movement and the trend toward organically grown produce during a Wednesday presentation in Oak Ridge.

Wilson will be the featured speaker at a Wednesday luncheon meeting of the Altrusa Club of Oak Ridge. That meeting on Wednesday, March 25, will be at the DoubleTree Hotel.

The title of Wilson’s presentation will be “Farm to Table: Support your Local Farmer.” [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Farmers Market opens April 18

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East TN Farmers Association Logo

The Oak Ridge Farmers Market opens for its 39th season in Historic Jackson Square on Saturday, April 18.

The market will be open from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.

The market will also be open on Wednesdays beginning May 6.

Here’s what’s new at the market this year:

  • Senior Day every Wednesday! Seniors over the age of 60 get 5 percent off their purchases at the Oak Ridge Farmers’ Market.
  • FARM Fan Club—Members receive text reminders and shopping rewards. To sign up, visit the website at www.EastTNFarmMarkets.org.
  • Kids’ Day, May 23, from 9-­11:30 a.m., with live farm animals, crafts, games, and a FARM scavenger hunt for children ages 5 to 12!

The Oak Ridge Farmers’ Market will also host live music and workshops on topics such as herb gardening and composting all summer long. [Read more…]

Farmers Markets to open this weekend in Knoxville, Oak Ridge

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Farmers Market

The longest continuous operating farmers markets in East Tennessee will open for the season on Friday, April 11, in Knoxville, and Saturday, April 12, in Oak Ridge. The second Knoxville market location will open on Wednesday, April 16. 

“After a long winter, it’s always a welcome sign of spring when the farmers markets open and we see the first of the spring harvest coming in,” said Steve Colvin, president of the East Tennessee Farmers Association for Retail Marketing, or FARM. “We’re hoping the final cold snaps won’t take too much of a toll on the early crops.”

FARM operates markets on Fridays from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m. in the parking lot of the Laurel Church of Christ, 3457 Kingston Pike at Cherokee Boulevard. On Wednesdays, the FARM Market operates at Ebenezer United Methodist Church, 1001 Ebenezer Road near Westland Avenue. The Saturday market is held from 8 a.m. until noon in the parking lot adjacent to historic Jackson Square in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Pedestrian safety project at Jackson Square to be completed soon

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Jackson Square Pedestrian Improvements

Workers repave Broadway at Jackson Square on Oct. 25 as part of a pedestrian safety improvement project paid for with red light camera money.

The city-owned parking lot on the north side of Jackson Square now has two handicapped-accessible areas, and the pedestrian safety improvements under way there could be finished in another week, an official said Tuesday.

The project, which includes road and sidewalk work, is being done under a contract approved by Oak Ridge City Council in August.

It’s part of more than $500,000 worth of projects that use red light camera money. The other projects are designed to make eight Oak Ridge Turnpike intersections safer for pedestrians. Those improvements, which will provide a pedestrian walkway and crosswalk system near Oak Ridge Turnpike businesses, are estimated at $370,000. [Read more…]

Council approves pedestrian safety projects, Chamber contract

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Oak Ridge City Council

During a special meeting Monday, the Oak Ridge City Council approved pedestrian safety improvement projects on Oak Ridge Turnpike and at Jackson Square, and approved a contract worth up to $175,000 with the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce. (File photo)

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday agreed to use more than $500,000 in red light camera money to improve the city-owned parking lot on the north side of Jackson Square and make eight Oak Ridge Turnpike intersections safer for pedestrians.

Council also approved a $175,000 contract with the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce, an amount that was down significantly from previous years but higher than what City Manager Mark Watson had originally proposed earlier this year. [Read more…]

Community-wide, 100-mile potluck at First Presbyterian on Sunday

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Farmers Market

Vegetables from the Farmers Market in Jackson Square in Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

First Presbyterian Church will host a 100-Mile Potluck meal from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday on its soccer field off Lafayette Drive. The field is behind the sanctuary building at 1051 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Everyone in the Oak Ridge community is invited to bring a dish for six to eight people, a press release said. Attendees are encouraged to bring plates and utensils, as well as lawn chairs or comfortable blankets to sit on. Drinks will be provided. [Read more…]

Farmer’s Market starts Saturday in Oak Ridge, opens new Knoxville location

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When the farmer’s market season begins this month, there will be another location for shoppers to find locally grown produce. The East Tennessee Association for Retail Marketing, or FARM, will operate two market locations in Knoxville this year, as well as continuing the Oak Ridge market.

FARM will launch this season on Friday, April 12, at 3 p.m. at the Laurel Church of Christ at 3457 Kingston Pike, across from Cherokee Boulevard. The Oak Ridge market will open Saturday, April 13, at 8 a.m., across from historic Jackson Square. On Tuesday, April 16, the new Knoxville location will open at 3 p.m. at Ebenezer United Methodist Church at 1001 Ebenezer Road. [Read more…]

Breakfast at the Farmer’s Market on Saturday

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This Saturday will be the first Breakfast with the FARM Market in Oak Ridge from 8 a.m. until noon. Chef Xavier Presley will serve breakfast using products from local farmers.

Musicians Beau James and Jeff Stewart will play for market guests.

The farmer’s market is also open on Wednesdays from 3 to 6 p.m.

Farmers Markets open April 13 and 14

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The longest-running farmers markets in the Knoxville area will open for the 36th consecutive year in Knoxville and Oak Ridge this weekend.

The Knoxville market will open on Friday, April 13 at 3:00 p.m. in the parking lot of the Laurel Church of Christ, which is at the corner of Kingston Pike and Cherokee Boulevard, and the Oak Ridge market will open Saturday, April 14, at 8:00 a.m. at Jackson Square.

[Read more…]