Farmers’ Market Musings: Zucchini Fest

Mr. Healdsburg, Chris Herrod, and Supervisor Mike McGuire were with us at the Zucchini Festival, welcoming everyone and reminded us that, although the kids may be back in school, and summer may seem to be winding down, we still have Indian Summer to enjoy, and the market is at its peak now and for the next month. The farmers are busy harvesting, and the Wednesday Market continues through October, and the Saturday Market continues through November.
In the Giant Zucchini Contest, Scott Monroe’s squash weighed in at 14.25 lbs. Sara Kozel from Starry Skies Ranch entered her Giant Radish in the contest. Judges Patrick Sullivan and Shaun McCaffery weighed the zuchs belonging to Julie Wayne, Lisa Phipps, Renee Kiff, Ridgeview Farm, Janice Allen, Heidi Herrmann, Ian McGregor, Graham Sarasy, and Kate Henry.
In the Best of Show Competition, ages 7 and under, judges Joan Okumura, Meredith Webster, and Pam Swan awarded a Gift Certificate and Plant Growing Science Kit, donated by our local toy store, Toy B’Ville, to Dellan Longton. The judges wrote that the entry was “very elegant, great shape and use of materials, and strong wheel structure.” Other racers were Thea Meyer, Kiran Meyer, Team Green, Henry and Arlo Herrod, Griffin Longton, Lily Overstreet, Dominic Banda, Max Hansen, and Dana Meyer.
Christine Webster and Anna Murphy judged best of Show in the age group of 8 – 14. A gift certificate from the Jimtown Store went to Patrick Sullivan for his “creative, gut-wrenching shark.” On behalf of Community Foundation Sonoma County, Taya Levine awarded Patrick a certificate worth $100 which he could donate to a charitable organization of his choice. Patrick awarded his $100 grant to the Raven Theater/Raven Players and the Healdsburg Jazz Festival.
Other racers in this age division were Bruno Overstreet, Jesse Graves, Della Swan, and John Carlos Kinsella. Linda Go wrote to say that Mrs. Ribeiro, John Carlos’ teacher, assigned a beginning-of-school-year class project of designing a Zucchini Car. If you have ever built a Zucchini Car, then you know the planning that goes into fitting an axel into the zucchini, with wheels that roll. A great lesson in mechanics. We would love to support more of such great teamwork with our local schools in the future.
John Carlos, Della Swan, and Melia Llerena assisted race organizers Barbara Stewart and Ericka McGuire in delivering ribbons and prizes to all the racers. What a great team.
Judges Randy Collins, Barbara Epstein, and Shaun McCaffery awarded a Lunch at Dry Creek Kitchen to Ray Williams for his creative use of lots of vegetables. Other contestants were Lance Sloan, Steve Everett, and Barbara Stewart.
Barbara Wollner, Kip Miller, Vernon Simmons, and Shaun McCaffery coordinated with Barbara Stewart, Erika McGuire, Chris Herrod, and Supervisor Mike McGuire to run the races. Thank you to all those who worked so hard behind the scenes to set up the Zucchini Festival: Alan Foppiano with straw bales from Jon Wright Feed, Matt Murphy, Brendan Swift, Shaun McCaffery, and Russ Messing. And a special thanks to those who helped with the clean up at the end: Denny Murphy, Brendan Swift, Duncan Soldner, Susan Rose, and Matt and Chris O’Connor.
Mary Kelley is the manager of the Healdsburg Farmers’ Market. The Saturday morning market beings May 5 and continues through November. The Tuesday afternoon market begins in June and continues through October.