Buy Local Food In Kitsap

Buy Local Food In Kingston

The Kingston Farmers Market will be held on Saturdays in 2009 beginning April 11th. Visit Kingston Farmers’ Market

Clint and Cindi Dudley – Farmers and Community Leaders

Last modified on 2009-07-27 19:09:06 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Kingston Farmer’s Market 12-year manager, Clint Dudley, grew up around farm country in Iowa but said he says he had no intention of ever becoming a farmer.

Clint dudley

“I saw what a tough life they had and I decided I didn’t want to work that hard,” said Dudley.

But when Dudley retired in 2002 after a few years as a Metro bus manager in Seattle, he started thinking about some of the things he remembered and enjoyed about small towns and small farms.  He was particularly intrigued with the idea of growing and eating his own food.

So he and his wife, Cindi,  eventually found and bought a lovely, secluded five acre parcel off of Parcell Road in Kingston.  The property had formerly been used for cattle, a few milk cows and an abundant crop of flowers. Many of the flowers are still thriving on the property today.

While the couple maintained a small garden in Seattle, their real farming debut occurred when they began farming in earnest on their Kingston property.

Today, they raise a number of crops on their farm, including corn, squash, tomatoes, raspberries, currants, greens, and other crops but they specialize in apples and kiwis.  Turkeys, geese, ducks and pigs, broiler and laying hens are also raised on the property.

But back when they started farming, the Dudleys decided to become part of the Kingston farming community.  When they first attended the Kingston Farmers Market meetings, there were several positions open on the board of directors, one of them being the presidency.  After being assured that the president didn’t have many duties besides presiding over meetings, the Dudleys agreed to become co-presidents.

“We’ve always had a great board but there were a number of people doing a lot of little jobs, so I consolidated them, created the market manager position and we both quit as president and I became the manager in 1997,” says Dudley with a grin.

When he first joined the Market, Dudley says it had more crafts than produce but that has reversed over the years. Produce vendors increased by about 20 per cent a year and the combined craft and produce vendors grossed $220,000 last year.

“I think we’ve benefited by still being pretty rural with small farms around here in Kingston, along with the interest in organic farming principles, and a renewed interest in people wanting to buy locally produced food,” Dudley said.

He also credits the traffic to and from the Kingston ferry with helping the Market since its location is right next to the terminal.  He feels that small local farms directly serving a local  population is the way to get the best, freshest, and  safest food and that food arriving from elsewhere has sometimes gone through many hands and may have been mingled with many sources, locations, and unknown bacteria.

“This way you know who grew or raised it and where your food came from,” says Dudley.

This weekend, there are two great reasons to head to Kingston. The Kingston Farmers Market is sharing the spotlight with one of the best summer shows in Kitsap. The Kitsap Arts and Crafts Festival ( www.kitsapartsandcrafts.com ) will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in two locations there this Friday and Saturday (10 a.m. – 6 p.m.), and Sunday (10 a.m. – 5 p.m.).

For this Saturday only, the Farmers Market ( 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.) will move a short walking distance south along the waterfront from its usual location at the Mike Wallace Park, which will be used for the arts and crafts show.  Weather forecasts are indicating exceptionally hot weather for this weekend so spending some time at a good farmers market and arts and crafts show right next to the water should be a terrific way to help beat the heat.

Local Food Fun In Port Orchard and Kingston This Weekend

Last modified on 2009-05-01 17:26:25 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Zoom down south to Port Orchard or zip up north to Kingston this Saturday and check these towns out – they’re THE places to be in Kitsap County this Saturday.  Buy and eat local food, enjoy local entertainment, learn about our local environment and or just have a fun, inexpensive family outing.

Calling The Seagulls

Celebrating its 31st season, the Port Orchard Farmers Market on the downtown waterfront is once again outdoing itself with a wonderful selection of the best in local produce, plants, flowers and shrubs, fresh ready-to-eat food, and a great selection of arts and crafts vendors. Some of the interesting locally produced food items include honey, beef jerky, fresh oysters and a terrific variety of jams, jellies, and home-made pastries. Hours are: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Saturdays through Oct. 10.   For more information on joining the market or finding specific vendors and products go to:  www.pofarmersmarket.org

But one of the biggest draws this Saturday will be the quirky, fun-filled Sea Gull Calling Contest. Located near the market by the gazebo in the marina park, callers will be clad in crazy seagull costumes, as they vie to see who can screech, holler and shout out the best gull call.  And there’s more – another contest will be held among local caterers, bars and restaurants for the best “Seagull Wings” (chicken) recipe. After the judging, wings will be sold to benefit local Port Orchard Chamber of Commerce programs and services. A third contest (new this year) challenges all would-be mixologists and bartenders to compete in concocting a “Seagull Squirt” non-alcoholic beverage.   Wings and beverage judging will be at 1 p.m. and seagull calling at 3 p.m. A pancake breakfast will also be held up McLendons Hardware. For participation in one of the contests or more information go to www.portorchard.com or call (360) 292-2679.

“Everyone loves this event and we hope to have lots of participation from all over the county,” says Corene Johnson of the Port Orchard Chamber of Commerce.

Meanwhile, up in Kingston, there will be more fun-filled festivities afoot.  Many of these will have an emphasis on environmental awareness and education and using locally grown and made items – all are planned with the entire family in mind.

Are You Going To Kingston Market?

Saturday will commemorate the opening and 20th anniversary of the Kingston Farmers Market and 18-year market manager Clint Dudley promises a great time for everyone with mountain blues and country music provided by Cort Armstrong and lots of early season produce.

“We’ll have salad greens, chard, kale, over-wintered carrots potatoes, broccoli and leeks and the Kingston Kiwi Company has saved a select batch of fuzzy kiwis especially for opening day,” says Dudley. The Kingston Farmers Market will be open Saturdays 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. through Oct. 10 and is located at the Mike Wallace Park next to the Kingston ferry terminal.  Web site is www.kingstonfarmersmarket.com

But there’s an added bonus in Kingston this weekend too.   A shuttle will go back and forth between the Market and EcoFest 2009 at the Stillwaters Environmental Center at 26059 Barber Cut-Off Road in Kingston so people can easily go back and forth between the two events.

Drumming Looks Like Fun

Stillwaters is an environmental education center in the Carpenter Creek watershed area of Kingston with eight acres of wetlands and one of its goals is to teach sustainability in the use of the earth’s resources.  EcoFest 2009 will provide lots of fun along with education at  more than 50 environmental information booths  Locally made  food, classes in cooking from your garden, a native plant sale, live farm animals, and a variety of kids’ crafts and nature fun will be going non-stop from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Stillwaters can be reached  at www.stillwatersenvironmentalcenter.org , e-mail info@stillwatersenvironmentalcenter.org or at (360) 297-2876

Ecofest At Stillwater

“EcoFest is a community celebration with all kinds of enviro-education and eco-friendly products from electric bikes to bamboo floors – it’s growing every year in size and quality,” says Stillwaters co-founder Naomi Maasberg.