From 10:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4, the college green was transformed into a miniature farmers market. With local farms and student creatives selling their wares, the cloudy fall day became just a little brighter.
Decidedly smaller in scale than its neighbor at the Allentown Fairgrounds, Muhlenberg’s farmer’s market consisted of roughly four community and ten student vendors. Community vendors included Macungie Mountain Herb Farm, Crooked Row Farm, Love Grown Grains (featuring Red Cat Farm grains and flour) and a kettle corn truck.
Just beyond Parent’s Plaza, Macungie Mountain Herb Farm set up their mobile restaurant. Brilliantly yellow framed chalkboard signs boasted of herbal teas and lemonades, and stools beckoned visitors to come and sit for a moment. The farm also offered several homemade baked goods, salsa and local honey.
Often operating in tandem with Macungie Mountain Herb Farm, Love Grown Grains featured chemical free and non-GMO local grain perfect for baking. The grains sold are a product of Red Cat Farm, and included wheat, rye, oats, wheat and rye flour and rolled oats.
At the booth for Crooked Row Farm, an organic, woman-owned business located in the Lehigh Valley, students could be seen flocked around a pile of pumpkins and gourds, picking out fall decor. In addition to fresh produce, Crooked Row Farm also creates a plethora of shelf stable goods, and students could be seen investigating their hot sauces and herbal tea blends.
Student vendors included Fiddlehead and Fungi (Nora Klotz ‘25), Ellie Roberts ‘25, Amelia Corda ‘25, Bird Palermo ‘25, Kristen Tufaro ‘25, Anna Item ‘25, K&C Gifts and Thrifts (Carly Langschultz ‘25 and Kayla Bassoff ‘25), amongst several others. EnACT could also be seen tabling, advertising their Weigh the Waste program, as well as distributing apples and other goodies.
Jewelry was one of the biggest draws for the farmers market, with Fiddlehead and Fungi offering fairy-like mushroom earrings, Roberts selling beautiful reclaimed pottery necklaces and Tufaro offering a design-your-own charm necklace bar. However, other forms of art were also plentiful. Corda sold crochet banners with designs of pandas and Snoopy, while Palermo’s items included brightly colored paintings. Item’s table featured her graphic design works, including posters of fan favorite musicians like Ethel Cain, Chappell Roan and Taylor Swift. K&C Gifts and Thrifts also featured a variety of goods- such as embroidered hedgehogs, earrings and Sabrina Carpenter-inspired thrifts. Additionally, students could also be seen selling hand-painted Kashmiri paper mache boxes, customizable shirts and makeup bags.
Reflecting on the experience, Tufaro shared, “I really enjoyed being able to meet and talk to so many people on campus that I haven’t met before! It’s so nice to see so many students with all different interests and hobbies come together and support each other and our art! The atmosphere is so fun and I love how happy everyone gets when I hand them their new jewelry! It is truly an amazing experience to be able to meet so many new people!”
“The farmers market was such a great experience to see student creativity in a different way and environment than theater, dance, or music,” – Gabi Damens ’27
Item expanded on this, stating, “I’ve always loved the farmer’s market, but this was my first time selling my art. I had always made art prints for my favorite musicians in my free time, and my friend convinced me to try selling them. I had a great experience, and I was super grateful that the coordinators were accommodating when I wanted to be next to my friends who were also vendors! I ended up selling almost my entire stock, connecting with students I’ve never met before and, as always, spending money I did not intend to spend!”
Even veteran vendors had a great time at the market. Langschultz commented, “I have been selling handmade embroidery and jewelry on campus since my freshman year at Muhlenberg. It is one of the most rewarding things I’ve been able to be a part of. I always enjoy being able to share the things that I am so proud to create and it is very rewarding when people appreciate the amount of work that goes into my art. This campus is full of creatively intelligent people who love sharing and discussing their passions with one another, and selling art gives me an outlet to be able to talk with those people.”
While sharing joy in the creative community, many vendors expressed a desire for better advertisement. Roberts shared “I really enjoyed vending at the farmer’s market this semester. This was the second time I vended at the farmers’ market, I did for the first time during the spring semester last year. I think that last year they did a much better job advertising the market in advance, but I still had a really great time and was very successful in selling my art!” Item shared this sentiment, adding, “The only thing I think would improve the vendor experience is advertising it more. I wish it went out in mass emails as well as social media posts. I also think it would be amazing if even one of the community vendors took ‘Berg Bucks for the day.”
Despite this, the farmer’s market was widely enjoyed by the members of the community who found it. Gabi Damens ‘27 summed up the event, stating, “The farmers market was such a great experience to see student creativity in a different way and environment than theater, dance or music. I was so impressed with a lot of the work I saw, particularly the jewelry.”
Emma Northrop '27 is a History and English major at Muhlenberg. She loves writing for the Weekly, and is immensely excited to be the assistant editor of Arts & Culture! When not at the Weekly, she loves reading her favorite fantasy novels, visiting the Farmer's Market, and scrapbooking.
