Aroostook farmers, crafters gather for Farmers Festival Market at Micmac Farms

4 years ago

CARIBOU, Maine — Hundreds of people came out to Micmac Farms in Caribou on Saturday to kick off the second Farmers Festival Market series and celebrate locally grown food.

Eighteen farmers from across Aroostook County took part in the Farmers Festival Market, taking the opportunity to meet community members and explain more about how they grow their produce, vegetables, fruits and other food items. 

Jacob Pelkey, marketing manager for Micmac Farms, said that this fall marks the beginning of the second season of the Farmers Festival Market series. While the farm hosted six indoor markets last winter, they plan to hold eight this coming winter. The markets are a collaboration between the Aroostook Band of Micmacs, Presque Isle Farmers Market and the city of Caribou.

“I think we’ve seen growth in the local produce movement,” Pelkey said. “People like being able to talk with farmers about how they’re growing their products or raising their cattle. At an event like this they can seek those answers themselves.”

Saturday’s market was the first time that farmers began accepting credit cards, SNAP/EBT cards or Maine Harvest Bucks, a program of the Maine Federation of Farmers Markets, as payment. Pelkey credits that change as one that will give people more access to fresh agricultural food.

Farmers came from as far south as Houlton and Smyrna Mills to as far north as the St. John Valley. Tessa Flannery, of Gallifreyan Farm in Linneus, sold handmade crafts such as alpaca wool, felted soap and dryer balls as well as pumpkins and alpaca “tea” to use for plants.

Flannery returned to the Farmers Festival Market after taking part in two similar indoor markets at Micmac Farms last year.

“I enjoy talking about what we do at the farm,” Flannery said.

Misfit Farms, based in Westmanland, is another frequent vendor at the Micmac Farms markets. Owner Sigrid Houlette used Saturday’s festival to sell apples, pure honey and cinnamon. At Misfit Farms she also sells fresh milk and eggs, pork, beef, pears and plums. “This is our second year coming here and we’ve also been involved with the Presque Isle Farmers Market a long time,” Houlette said. “It’s great to see people who enjoy supporting their local farms.”

In 2019 Micmac Farms is celebrating its 10th year in operation. The farm produces four acres of vegetables and has a full-service 34,000-gallon hatchery of 53,000 Maine brook trout.

The next Micmac Farms community event will be the Harvest Festival Market on Saturday, Nov. 23. Pelkey encourages people to come out and see what their local farmers have to offer.

“We don’t think of these farmers as our competition; we see them as our peers,” Pelkey said. “It’s great that we can bring all these small businesses together so that the community can support them.”

Micmac Farms is located at 1353 Presque Isle Road in Caribou and is open year-round. Their fall hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Fridays and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays.