March has gone out like a lion and April finds us busy as bees! As we zip along toward opening day on May 1, we’ve no shortage of things to do in this blessed spring!

Movie night
Thursday, April 22, 6:45 p.m. at Smoot Library the third film in our series: The True Cost of Food, a Sierra Club production. This short cartoon brings to light the many hidden costs industrial agriculture imposes on our bodies, communities and environment. The film will be followed by a panel of speakers who work to create local food systems in our region:
Matt Benson, Community Viability Specialist with Virginia Extension; Elizabeth Borst, USDA Farmers Market Incentive Program Coordinator Gordon Road Farmers Market (Spotsylvania County);  and Tanikka Cunningham, founder of Healthy Solutions Group, Washington DC, an organization dedicated to getting fresh food into city neighborhoods, nutrition education, and fighting childhood obesity. It will be a very informative evening. There is no charge for the event, although we will accept donations to help cover our costs.

Earth Day
Celebrate Earth Day at Caledon on April 24! 8 a.m.-1 p.m. We will have bedding plants, greens, Virginia Grown shopping bags and KG Farmers’ Market T-shirts available. This is also your opportunity to join our $10 for 10 Weeks incentive program. Make a commitment to support your local growers this summer! If each family in King George spent merely $10 a week out of their current food budget on locally grown, farm-based foods, that we would generate over $4 million for the county in just one year? Your dollars will help us to build a strong local food system in the county and keep King George alive and growing!

Want to participate?
New growers wanted! Applications are now available for our new season!  Interested producers/growers will find our 2010 Market Rules and Regulations at the Virginia Extension Office on Route 3 and online at:
http://offices.ext.vt.edu/king-george then look under Programs to find us. Registration is $75 for the entire season (May 1 - November 30) and $10 per week for drop-ins. We have plenty of room for all interested King George County growers to join us! Welcome!

Mushroom class
Grow Your Own Shiitake Mushrooms Class, Sunday May 2, 1-5 p.m. Spend a hands-on afternoon with Steve Hickman learning from A-Z how to make and maintain your own mushroom logs. Registration is required as space is limited.  A $25 donation to the King George Farmers’ Market will cover the cost of materials and snacks. Register for this class and get more information about any market event by emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   or call the market manager at 775-2963.
Don’t forget to check out King George Farmers’ Market on Facebook for lively discussions and more information about all our upcoming events!
Thank you for supporting the King George Farmers’ Market — I look forward to a wonderful new season!

DeLaura Padovan
Market Manager