NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The Grand Market returns to downtown New Rochelle on Saturday, June 3, with farm-fresh foods, artisans’ crafts, live entertainment and activities for kids and families. With a bounty including organic produce and grass-fed beef, plus new items such as sugared pecans and a fig-based Moroccan spirit, the market will serve up a weekly event where foodies, gift-hunters and other browsers can find favorite staples and something new in every visit.
The Market runs every Saturday June through October from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., rain or shine, in Ruby Dee Park at Library Green in the heart of downtown.
“The Grand Market will have the entertainment, activities and of course the incredible food that drew visitors last year, with new vendors and attractions this year,” said Jennifer Furioli, Market Director with the New Rochelle Downtown Business Improvement District, organizers of the market. “As always, you can find the find the freshest ingredients of the highest quality to create meals that impress, or just for tastier, healthier eating every day. And with the entertainers, activities and almost 30 vendors, you can find something new and delightful every Saturday.”
Special events will include a sweet potato pie-eating contest (No hands!) courtesy of the Luscious Little Dessert Company, on Americana Day, July 1; and French food, crafts and music on July 15 for Bastille Day.
In recurring activities, kids can learn the secrets to growing their own food at the Family Gardening Experience and can make crafts on the frequent Family Market Craft days presented by the BID.
Some favorite attractions from last year will return, including a lawn chess set, cornhole boards and the oversized Connect Four set. Entertainment will include a clown, balloon magic and live music and storytelling.
Lead sponsor, Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital, and local chefs will present cooking demonstrations. And if you’re ready to cook but your chef-grade cutlery isn’t at its best, Jack Knife Sharpening will be on hand on many Saturdays to hone a precise edge on a knife or other cutting implement while maintaining the blade’s integrity.
The vendors will include returning gems, including A Place 2 Go, the nearby Caribbean restaurant with a soul food twist, bringing the mouthwatering brisket, jerk pork and jerk chicken that drew lines in the past. This year, the restaurant staff will serve their meals from a food truck that the restaurant debuted at last year’s New Rochelle Street Fair.
“They can get food that makes them happy,” said Chyrisse Crisp, owner of the restaurant.
New attractions will include Nahmias et Fils from Yonkers, the only distillery in the United States that produces Mahia, a versatile Moroccan fig-based spirit. Geaux Nuts of Westchester will offer sugar-coated pecans from a family recipe, while FarmEats from outside Albany will bring grass-fed beef and pasture-raised pork and chicken.
Melanie Reichler, co-owner of the recently opened shop Little Beehive at the New Rochelle train station, will return this year to sell her handmade candles and honey-based soaps as well as other wares from the store.
“The Grand Market is everything a local community should have,” Reichler said. “The food and craft vendors sell quality products. With live music, plus lawn games and other attractions for children, this market makes for a great family outing. I am happy to be a participant.”
With its new line-up of vendors and weekly fun, the Grand Market continues to evolve, offering one more sign that downtown New Rochelle is growing into an ever more vibrant place to live, work and play.
“Newcomers to the Grand Market will find that regulars know – that the weekly event is just one of the reasons to come find out all that downtown New Rochelle has to offer,” said Ralph DiBart, Executive Director of the New Rochelle BID. “One visit, and a quick stroll up just about any street is enough to see that it’s all happening downtown.”
In addition to Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital other sponsors of the New Rochelle Downtown Grand Market include: A. Bulfamante Landscaping; Halstead New Rochelle and MacQuesten Development. Additional support comes from New Rochelle (Mayor’s Office, City Manager’s Office, City Council, Parks and Recreation, Development, Police, Fire Departments); the New Rochelle City School District; the New Rochelle Public Library; the New Rochelle Council on the Arts; ArtisanNR; and the League of Women Voters.
For more information, visit: http://newrochellegrandmarket.com.
