Business Briefs

12th Annual Castleton Concert on the Green – Ready to go!

The Castleton Concert on the Green summer concert series is all set and has once again lined up an outstanding group of performers, ready to present another great summer of "live music" fun and entertainment. The Castleton Recreation Department and the Castleton Concert on the Green organization will present a concert every Tuesday, rain or shine, throughout the summer. The opening concert will be held on Tuesday, June 3rd, and the series continues thru Tuesday, August 19th.

The green in Castleton, next to the Castleton Federated Church, will be the site for the Tuesday night concerts, except for Tuesday, August 5th. The site for the August 5th concert will be at the Castleton State College Old Medical Chapel green. Starting time for all concerts will be 7:00 p.m., Sharp! The rain site for each concert will vary. Please check the schedule.

A full schedule of 13 concerts has been planned, with one being a special holiday concert on Friday, July 4th, taking place, at Crystal Beach on Lake Bomoseen. The rain date for this concert will be, Saturday, July 5th, same time and place. The following series line-up promises to have a wide variety of entertainment, with music to match any taste -- from bluegrass to big band, to swing and latin, jazz and gypsy, folk, soul and blues, country, rock-a-billy, and honky-tonk, Dixieland and ragtime, pop and gospel, brass bands, barbershop, 50's and 60's -- oldies and goodies -- and, everything in between. You name it – they’ve got it!! Listed below are the dates and performers.

2008 Concert on the Green Summer Concert Series Line-up:

June 3 - Robert Wuagneux - *(FAC)
June 10 - Gross Domestic Products - *(FAC)
June 17 - Stone Cold Roosters - *(FAC)
June 24 - Bobby Dick and the Sundowners - *(FC)
July 1 - Bluegrass Gospel Project - *(FC)
July 4 - Onion River Jazz Band (at Crystal Beach) - *(July 5)
July 8 - Satin and Steel - *(FAC)
July 15 - Bore'al Tordu - *(FAC)
July 22 - Pine Street Jazz w/ Blue Gardenias - *(FAC)
July 29 - Starline Rhythm Boys - *(FC)
Aug. 5 - Maiden Vermont and Rutland Curbstone Chorus (at Old Medical Chapel green) - *(FAC)
Aug. 12 - Doc Scanlon Trio - *(FAC)
Aug. 19 - Gypsy Reel - *(FAC)
*Rain sites: FC - Federated Church; FAC - CSC Casella Fine Arts Center; (Rain sites subject to change)

Make Mother’s day with a floral tribute tucked into a charming kitchen crock vase.

Celebrate Mom At Mother’s Day

(NAPS)—Mother’s Day will soon be here. Ever since President Woodrow Wilson’s official proclamation of Mother’s Day in 1914, nervous husbands and eager children have struggled to find the perfect gift for Mom. One of the most traditional and appreciated ways to celebrate Mom is to shower her with gorgeous flowers.

So what are Mom’s favorite flowers? According to a recent survey, some of Mom’s favorites include lilies, gerbera daisies and roses. When buying a beautiful bouquet for Mom, show off your smarts and tell her these handy tips from the floral experts at 1-800-FLOWERS.COM:

• Arrange the flowers in a deep vase filled with cool water and then mix in the floral preservative provided by the florist.

• Remove all leaves from the stem that fall below the waterline in the vase as they will promote bacterial growth.

• Each stem will need to be re-cut, preferably underwater at a 45-degree angle. This allows the stem to draw in water instead of air.

• Keep cut flowers and the arrangement looking fresh by adding warm water to the vase every day. Always keep the vase full and change the water every three to four days.

• Recut the stems whenever you change the water and keep the vase in a cool spot.

Go to 1-800-flowers.com on the Web for beautiful Mother’s Day arrangements, such as Mom’s Favorite Recipe by Julie Mulligan, featuring gorgeous flowers paired with an earthenware-style kitchen crock vase that Mom is sure to love.

Visit the Expanded New Downtown Farmers’ Market

The Downtown Farmers Market kicks off its 2008 season at Depot Park in Rutland on Saturday, May 10 from 9:00 a.m. till 2:00 p.m. and every Saturday thereafter. This should be a very exciting year for both consumers and vendors alike. The Market is expanding this year by about 20 percent in size to accommodate many new products. It may well be the largest and most diverse farmers market in Vermont.

With the advent of the new Winter Market this past season, the market has acquired many new vendors with exciting new products for you to enjoy. There is a big expansion of natural range-fed meats: beef, pork, rabbit, and chicken. How about a native Vermont grown wine? There will be an expanded selection of farmstead artisan cheese, many of them currently being sold in the best restaurants in New York and Boston. There will be Vermont hydroponic tomatoes, shiitake mushrooms and eggs from free-range chickens.

There will be new growers with an expanded selection of early produce such as just-picked lettuce, spinach, greens and radishes. There will still be the usual root crops and potatoes as well as asparagus and rhubarb. Fiddleheads will be coming soon.

Don’t forget the plants! Your favorite vendors will be back with larger selections than ever: bedding plants, packs of veggies and flowers, potted plants, handing baskets and super tomato plants in pots. How about perennials and herbs?

The specialty food folks will be back with larger selections of maple syrup and sugar, natural honey, jams, jellies, toppings, salsas, hot sauces, ketchup, and pickles. The country bakers will offer brick oven baked breads, pies, cookies, muffins, and Vermont crackers. Try some of the ethnic foods. Have you ever had a Pakistani treat?

Crafters will have special creations just for Mother’s Day. There will be jewelry, wool, yarns, knits, wooden bowls, pottery, and even fishing lures (for Dad).

New This Year

The Midweek Tuesday Market, which starts on May 20th, will be at a new time this year – 3:00 p.m. till 6:00 p.m. Also new this year for USDA Food Stamp Program users, the Market is instigating a “Market Token” program doe purchases made at the Market. For details, visit Don and Dianne Heleba’s Potato Booth (south end of market). The Farm to Family Food Coupon Program will also be basck in late June. In 2007 the Downtown Farmers Market took in an all time record of $17,000 in stamps.

The success of the Winter Farmers Market was due in no small way to the cooperation and support of the City of Rutland from Mayor Louras to various City entities including the Downtown Development Group. This good will and support is now transcended to a new larger more diverse Summer Downtown Farmers Market. All members and participants in the market sincerely appreciate all the help, which will make for an even better Downtown Market much to the benefit of all.

Stop in and chat with old friends, get an ear full of live country pickin’ music. The Downtown Farmers Market is presented to you by the Vermont Farmers Market and the Rutland County Farmers Market. For information on the market call 802-273-2735 or 802-773-4813.