This Saturday (February 7) from 9 Am – 2 PM the Frankfort Farmer's Market hosts For the Love of Chocolate and Humanity. It will feature a talk on chocolate by regional author Barbara Disborough and many chocolate vendors!
The year-round Frankfort Farmer's Market, held every Saturday morning from 9 AM – 1 PM. In the winter, the indoor location is at the Recreation Center, 9th & Main Street, downtown Frankfort along the Waterfront.
Please call Cindy Lannin at 231-882-5264 for more information or if you would like to participate as a vendor or visit www.frankfortfarmersmarket.org. You can read more about the market right here, get a list of upcoming weekend features in the comments and click the poster or read on for more about "For the Love of Chocolate and Humanity" on Saturday!
Sustainable greenhouse systems, year-round farmers markets and winter CSA programs are cropping up all over cold, cloudy northern Michigan, extending the short growing season and making it possible for locavores to get their greens — and other veggies — all year long.
One of the first in the region to go year-round, the Frankfort Farmers Market is offering fresh produce, along with honey, maple syrup, meat, eggs and other products, from its new winter site at the city-owned Recreation Center.
Market Master Cindy Lannin said the market at the east end of the waterfront Open Space Park will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday through April before moving back outdoors in May.
"We've had very loyal vendors and very loyal customers," Lannin said. "They just begged us to continue and we started seeing it as a viable option."
Definitely click through to read the rest for more about other Benzie County and area farmers who are going year-round – at the end, you'll get a tasty recipe from Chef Eric Patterson of The Cooks' House for his Classic French Onion Soup Gratinee.
The new m22colortour.com web site hopes to cooperatively market M-22. A feature in the Traverse City Record-Eagle relates that Rand McNally recently rated the scenic route as one of the five greatest driving tours in America and that the M-22 Color Tour is a collaborative effort of the visitors bureaus in Benzie, Manistee and the Sleeping Bear Dunes.
"In addition to the color tour, Benzie County offers a wonderful fall festival spread over the first two weekends in October, giving people another reason to make the short drive to our area," said Steve Campbell, owner of the Harbor Lights Resort in Frankfort, whose resort is poised for a solid fall season following a solid summer. "Bringing more attention to this region through promotion and special events will only help our business and the many other businesses that rely on tourism."
…one appeal of the M-22 Color Tour is that it's a one-tank trip for many in Michigan and across the Midwest. That makes it an appealing day trip or weekend getaway for those who want to savor autumnal beauty.
The annual Fall Festival offers two weeks of fun in Frankfort, Beulah, Benzonia and the surrounding area. The Benzie County Visitor's Bureau has a page of information on the festival and for more details visit the Frankfort-Elberta Chamber.
Weekend of October 4-5
Fall food takes center stage with the Fall Soup Contest on Saturday (Oct 4) in Beulah Park and the Honor Lions Club Hillbilly Breakfast from 8:00 – 12:30 and Darcy Memorial Library of Beulah Cookie Bake Sale at the Trailhead in Beulah. 10am -2pm on Sunday (Oct 5).
There's also a Sidewalk Art Contest and a Fall Market in Beulah on Saturday and the Crystal Lake Elementary FallFest Fundraiser in Benzonia on Saturday with a full lineup of fun for families including a produce & products market, cider press, carnival with prizes, food, refreshments, petting zoo and fire truck rides.
Crystal Mountain offers scenic chairlift rides to view the fall colors (4-6 PM both Saturday the 5th & 12th) and a haunted forest (6:30-9:30 PM) on Saturday and then hosts the Betsie Valley Run on Sunday with a 10K Run and Half Marathon Walk & Run.
At 11 AM on Saturday, October 11 2008, the Fall Festival Parade and Mutt March will take place in downtown Frankfort (costume judging for the Mutts is at 10 AM). Other events following the parade include a Pumpkin luncheon at the Recreation Center, performances by the internationally acclaimed Scottville Clown Band and a ton of fall fun at the Open Space including:
Giant Pumpkin weigh-in (guess the weight and win a bike!)
A hay wagon ride through Frankfort with a storyteller
The Pumpkin Regatta
Activities for kids including games, pumpkin decorating, face painting, balloon man, straw maze, fortune teller, pumpkin bowling and pumpkin hillbilly golf!
On Saturday a really cool feature is the Pumpkin Chuckin' Catapults and the Giant Pumpkin Drop on a Car at 3:00 PM in Frankfort! Check out the video below to see what happens when a 500 lb. pumpkin is dropped on a vehicle from over 100 feet in the air.
Explore photos of Frankfort, Manistee, The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and along the Lake Michigan shore in the BetsieBay.net group on Flickr (view full screen!)
The year-round Frankfort Farmer's Market, held every Saturday morning from 9 AM – 1 PM. In the winter, the indoor location is at the Recreation Center, 9th & Main Street, downtown Frankfort along the Waterfront.
