The first “I Wish it Were Spring” Farmers’ Market will be Saturday at Lock 3 Park, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. inside the Commons Area of Lock 3, the canal level of the State Street Parking deck.

One-of-kind specialty food items and home-made baked goods will be on sale again and will include four local wineries.

“Our Winter Farmers Markets attracted 1,600 people in December and more than 400 in the cold of January,” said Dave Lieberth, Akron’s deputy mayor for administration. “We’ve invited our food vendors from our summer market to come back to Lock 3 this weekend with home-made, home-canned goods that can enliven the final weeks of winter.”

Included in the weekend market are these returning vendors:

• Akron’s own Gourmet Indulgences featuring jams, jellies, and preserves in traditional and very non-traditional flavors and Crooked River Herb Farm with 18 products including pesto, herb jellies, herb vinegars, pepper jellies, and herb-infused honeys.
• Diedre Bevan from Lake County will stock the market shelves with her home-canned “Skinny Pickles,” named after a song by her husband folk artist Alex Bevan.
• Rittman Orchards will offer apples, pears and squash.
• Steiner Cheese from Baltic, Ohio, specializing in the manufacture of old-world style Swiss cheese…“There are certain aspects of the cheese making process that can never be duplicated by machine, only a skilled cheese maker's touch will do,” say owners James and Mary Ann Sommers.
• Homemade Delites will offer baskets of cookies of all varieties.
• The Lazy Bee has honeys, soaps, and bee-products. Kathy Manghillis will be offering hand-dipped chocolates, and Judi Strauss has home made herb mixes
• Summit County’s MRDD will again sell handcrafted ceramic items from its workshop.
• New to the Market this time will be “Totally Cooked,” and Susan’s Coffees.

A late entry into the “I Wish it Were Spring” Farmers’ Market is Downtown Akron’s

And CRAVE Restaurant will introduce its specialty line of three signature sauces. They are made in-house, sold in-house, and featured on the CRAVE menu:

Pepper Haute Sauce in a 8 fl. oz. jar for $6.oo
Sweet Marie Barbeque Sauce in a 16 fl. oz. jar for $7.oo
Caesar salad dressing in a 16 fl. oz. jar for $8.oo

Crave owner Deanna Akers says she uses only the highest quality of fresh ingredients and adds no preservatives. “Over the past seven or so years we have tweaked our recipes to come up with what-everyone-should-have-in-their-icebox products,” said Akers.

Akers says CRAVE is preparing to launch its signature sauces in its own local marketplace. For more information, go to www.eatdrinkcrave.com

Also at the Farmers’ Market, these area wineries selling bottles of locally-produced vino: Myrddin Winery; Viking Vineyards; Candlelight Winery, and the Winery at Wolf Creek. Each will offer 2-oz. samples for $1.00 and bottles of wine for carryout.

Elevator service is available from the State Street deck to the Lock 3 level, and parking on Saturday at city decks and lots is free.

Vendors List

Gourmet Indulgences
Rittman Orchards
Steiner Cheese
Crooked River Herb Farm
Homemade Delites
Lazy Bee
Skinny Pickles ( Diedre Bevan)
Kathy Manghillis (chocolatier)
Judi Strauss (herb mixes)
MRDD kitchen ceramics and linens
Totally Cooked
Susan’s Coffee

Wineries:

Viking Vineyards
Myrddin Winery
Winery at Wolf Creek
Candlelight Winery

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