Our advice to weekend travelers: you should always stop by the local farmers’ market when you’re visiting a small town. Not only are you bound to meet some of the friendliest, hard-working folk of the county, you will be tickled silly by the crafts and goodies that you can find unique to each town. A farmers market is much more than buying fresh items, or meeting local farmers and artisans, it’s a social gathering place. Depending on the weather, The Mathews Farmers Market sometimes has live music and a variety of homemade or homegrown stands selling items that you just can’t price at a store.
The Mathews Farmers Market Takes the Cake – and Makes It, Too
… Maybe not cake, but we’ve got better!
To prove our point, the farmers market of Mathews, Virginia is rated one of the top farmers markets in the peninsula area. The Mathews Farmers Market has also been rated best Farmers Market on Virginia’s East Coast by Virginia Living Magazine in 2016. The motto goes: make it, bake it, or grow it – and boy do we! You can find fresh local vegetables, berries, honey, a variety of meats, sausages and breads, jams & jellies, pies, tarts and baked goods, bay-inspired knickknacks, artisan crafts and lotions, fresh flowers, succulents and house plants, coffee, and so much more!
This year is the Inn’s first year setting up our own stand at the market. The Inn at Tabbs Creek has partnered up with Aunty Em’s to sell a range of things for you to enjoy. Come start your morning with a strong cup of cold brew coffee made from our special Tabbs Creek blend of the organic and fair trade Mobjack Bay Coffee Roasters. This coffee is guaranteed to get you skippin’ as it has been brewed for 36 hours! The Inn at Tabbs Creek also provide pesticide-free, homegrown tomatoes and potatoes from our hay bail garden, vegan and gluten-free granola, our special blend of coffee beans (ground or whole) by the pound and half pound, and beautiful bouquets of zinnia’s from our very own garden. Aunty Em’s supplies fresh baked blueberry pies with organic and locally sourced blueberries, American apple pies, sweet ginger pop tarts, coffee cookies, apricot and cherry turnovers, and Mathews-themed crafts.
There are so many vendors that we enjoy! Bentwater Farms sells fresh grown blueberries, handwoven and hand-knit wool items, hand-carved wood crafts, and honey items. The Parker Family Farm sells an incredible assortment of organic meats produced non-GMO, pesticide and hormone-free, and a variety of breads, soaps and produce from their family-run farm in Gloucester County. Stan Cath going-on-16-years at the market sells plants and produce. Follow the sound of bagpipes to Mairi’s Scottish Shortbread booth to sample her genuine, traditional recipes for shortbread, and plum pudding – the best around!
There are so many wonderful vendors to enjoy at this special small town market on Saturday mornings from 9-1, and what a great way to start off your weekend. Each weekend is a little bit different as Mathews invites vendors to pop-up on their own schedule. Shop local and deliberately, and nourish your body with the many fruits of Mathews County, Virginia.
