HLFM’s Wednesday farmers market opens for the season
If it’s Wednesday, it must be the Historic Lewes Farmers Market at Crooked Hammock.
HLFM kicked off its largest mid-week market yet June 4. It had 16 vendors on opening day, according to Ellie Shue, HLFM executive director. She said the Frozen Farmer ice cream truck will start coming with donuts and breakfast treats.
Carol Cross of Cross Farms in Berlin, Md., was one of the first-time vendors.
“I love it. Great atmosphere,” Cross said as she pointed out her lettuce, zucchini, beets and other fresh produce.
Cross said she works with HLFM’s food pantry delivery initiative and hopes to attend the Saturday market.
The Wednesday market had old favorites, like Old World Breads, The Point and Bennett’s Orchards.
Casey Rifenburg of Dream Catcher Homestead in Laurel said selling his beef, pork and homemade beef jerky is his full-time job.
“I do the [Lewes] Saturday market, Berlin on Sunday and Rehoboth on Tuesday,” he said. “Lewes was pretty good last year, and it really gets going during the summertime.”
The Voshell family was visiting from New Jersey. They made the market a stop on their vacation itinerary.
“We’re from Delaware and we came back to our old stomping grounds,” said Ashley Voshell, who was buying Bennett’s blueberries. “We got out early for some treats.”
Fresh turnips turned up at Cosmic Dog Farms, just what John Hawkins and Sylvia Ritchie of Lewes had in mind.
“I also have green onions, asparagus, bread and zucchini. We come to the Wednesday and Saturday markets,” Sylvia said.
Shue said the market has a big celebration planned for its 20th birthday Saturday, July 5.
“We’ll have a little parade to open the market. We’ll have a photo memory walk with photos of the last 20 years of customers, vendors and volunteers and a big cake-cutting celebration with cakes from vendors and local bakeries,” Shue said.
For details, go to historiclewesfarmersmarket.org.
Bill Shull has been covering Lewes for the Cape Gazette since 2023. He comes to the world of print journalism after 40 years in TV news. Bill has worked in his hometown of Philadelphia, as well as Atlanta and Washington, D.C. He came to Lewes in 2014 to help launch WRDE-TV. Bill served as WRDE’s news director for more than eight years, working in Lewes and Milton. He is a 1986 graduate of Penn State University. Bill is an avid aviation and wildlife photographer, and a big Penn State football, Eagles, Phillies and PGA Tour golf fan. Bill, his wife Jill and their rescue cat, Lucky, live in Rehoboth Beach.
