Aug. 4 - Markets and Festivals

Allan H. Treman State Marine Park

"Material things lost can be found. But there is one thing that can never be found when it is lost – Life." -Steve Job

There's always a lot to do in this area on a weekend...farmers markets, festivals, music, sporting events, fishing tournaments, boating, hot air ballooning, you name it, there's something for everyone. This Saturday we decided to drive over to the Windmill Market near Penn Yan and then to the 26th Annual Glorious Garlic Festival (they have festivals for everything around here).

The Windmill Farm and Craft Market started in 1987 to serve as an outlet for local producers and craftsmen. There are over 175 vendors selling just about everything you can think of…from fresh produce, baked goods, cheese, wine, jewelry, home décor, collectibles, handcrafted items and clothing. Plus a ton of food booths serving all kinds of treats.

This area of upstate New York has a large Amish community and a lot of Amish farms sell produce and cheese items at this market at an amazingly low price. I wish this market was closer to Ithaca.

Our second stop of the day was the Glorious Garlic Festival at the Fox Run Winery. It was a beautiful day and the grounds were packed when we arrived. There were booth after booth selling all types of garlic and items made with garlic. Believe it or not you could taste the raw garlic...not something that Stan wanted to do, but I did!

Fox Run Winery is beautiful...from the moment you enter their awe-inspiring iron gate...the grounds and views will impress you.

...and their wine was very good too. They have a café on site that feature fresh ingredients from neighborhood farmers, New York State producers, and from their very own garden, but with the crowd we decided to grab a white garlic pizza outside. Not as impressive as their café, I'm sure, but we got to enjoy the music while we had lunch.

The winery has a great view of Seneca Lake.

Just a few of the garlic bulbs for sale.

Our third stop of the day was at the Tobora Farm & Winery. By this time we were joined by friends from the marina...so we had someone to share this bottle of wine with. This wonderful little place has a gourmet bakery, country store and Deli. They are located in a converted building built in the early 1900's. It’s distinctive Cape Dutch architecture reflects Tabora’s unique South African heritage.