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Business Briefs
Dahlia festival
set for August
Wollam Gardens, an 11-acre cut-flower farm in Virginia's beautiful horse country, is hosting a dahlia extravaganza in late August. In order to share its 10,000 dahlia plants, the farm is inviting its market customers and neighbors to a family-friendly festival during the last two weekends of August. They will be open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 21, 22, 28 and 29. Admission is free.
The festival will offer activities for the whole family. Kids can go on hayrides around the farm, feed the chickens, and create beautiful crafts. Guests can cut their own flowers, buy handmade bouquets, and get tours of the property and gardening advice from owner Bob Wollam. Enjoy floral arranging tips from neighboring floral design company and festival co-host Like Water for Tulips.
Delicious food from local baker Karen Wollam will be available for picnics on the beautiful grounds. The festival will also feature an artisan's market with area talents selling jewelry, cards, baby gifts, blown glass, and Wollam Gardens tees. They will even have glass-blowing demonstrations from an area artist.
Wollam Gardens is at 5167 Jeffersonton Road, Jeffersonton, Va. For additional information, contact Events Manager Sarah Bayne at (540) 937-3222, or sarah@wollamgardens.com.
Martin's offers
local products
Giant Food Stores and Martin's Food Markets are encouraging customers to look for "Local Route" signs in stores this summer to point the way to fresh, locally grown products. When consumers and retailers purchase products from within their own communities, local farmers and vendors benefit, as money and resources stay within that community.
Customers can find local products in Giant and Martin's stores year round. During the summer months, customers will see an increase in locally grown produce as the local growing season nears its peak. Fruits and vegetables such as strawberries, corn, melon, peaches, and peppers from nearby farms are some of the items featured.
Beginning July 11, the "Local Route" campaign will highlight the great tastes of summer and the multitude of produce grown and harvested from local farms. Throughout the campaign, local farmers and their products will also be featured in weekly circulars and on Giant and Martin's websites.
Martin's has stores at 15371 Montanus, Culpeper, Va., and 409 South St., Front Royal, Va.
For more information, go to www.GiantFoodStores.com and www.MartinsFoods.com.
Wool pools
planned
Local producers interested in marketing their wool through local wool pools will have the opportunity to do so through the Mid-States Wool Growers Cooperative Association.
Producers are encouraged to package, handle and store their wool in an appropriate manner in order to maximize the value of their wool clip.
Wool should be packaged by type and grade in plastic bags, and be clean, dry, and have foreign material removed prior to packaging.
Following are the local pool delivery date and location where wool will be picked up:
• Thursday, July 22, 8-11:30 a.m., Clark County Fairgrounds, Berryville, Va.
Contact the Fauquier County Extension office for more information: 341-7950.
Giant, Martin's
support troops
Customers at Giant Food Stores and Martin's Food Markets once again showed their support of the men and women who are serving in the Armed Forces by raising $211,719 through the annual Support Our Troops in-store campaign.
During the period May 2-8, customers were invited to donate $1 at the checkout toward their regional USO, an organization dedicated to programs that build morale and keep soldiers connected to their families. Since the inception of Support Our Troops, Giant and Martin's customers have donated over $945,000.
In addition to supporting regional USOs, Giant and Martin's also reach out several times a year to the family members of associates who are serving overseas by sending care packages of toiletries, sweets, beverage mixes, soups and microwaveable meals.
For more information, visit www.GiantFoodStores.com and www.MartinsFoods.com.
Winemaker
taught in Boston
The Massachusetts Wine and Grape Growers Association featured local winemaking consultant Tom Payette as a guest lecturer at The Boston Wine School in mid-May. He taught a course entitled "Blending." The course instructs current and prospective winemakers on how to blend wine components and maximize their wines in the cellar.
Payette is a winemaking consultant based in Rapidan, Va. With over 25 years of winemaking experience, he assists clients with winery design and setup, still and sparkling winemaking, and general winery issues. He serves clients throughout the United States, Canada and Spain. Payette can be contacted at (540) 672-0387.
Farm Credit
sends checks
The Culpeper branch of Farm Credit has announced the distribution in cash of a portion of its 2009 profit. Checks totaling $530,000 were mailed to customers in early April.
Farm Credit is a customer-owned financial cooperative with an organizational structure that allows the company to share its profits with the people who use its services. The total amount distributed, in cash, to all Farm Credit of the Virginias customers for 2009 was nearly $10 million dollars. This dividend represents 45 percent of the association's 2009 income.
The Culpeper branch is located at 409 James Madison Highway.
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