The Hightstown Farmers Market is a happening place to be Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. this summer.
By Jennifer Kohlhepp, Managing Editor
HIGHTSTOWN — The Hightstown Farmers Market is a happening place to be Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. this summer.
This year’s market kicked off the first day of summer, June 21, with vegetable vendors, wine tasting, children’s activities, baked goods, freshly squeezed lemonade, hand-dipped ice cream, baked goods, handcrafted collage jewelry, psychic readings, massages and so much more.
The market, located by the lake in downtown Hightstown, is just sprouting, according to organizers, who expect more vendors as area farmers start to harvest their summer bounties.
”It’s great,” Millstone farmer Shirley Pinhas said. “It’s close to home. The people are friendly, and we have good clientele that come back every year.”
Patrons can purchase local produce and organic goodies at the market all summer long. With crops just starting to yield, farmers now are vending romaine lettuce, scallions, herbs, peaches, nectarines and apricots. Ms. Pinhas also sells Trapper’s Honey, which comes from hives in Millstone.
Stands soon will fill up with blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, peppers, various varieties of eggplant, radishes and red and blue potatoes, Ms. Pinhas said. She said seniors, low-income families and participants in the Women, Infants and Children program can apply forfarm market vouchers to use at her stand.
For those seeking organic farm products, farmer Marion Zukas, of Rocky Brook Farm in Millstone, offers organic eggs, goat’s milk soaps, jams, tea breads and fudge.
Christie’s Teas and Delights, of Cranbury, is selling gourmet loose teas, herbs and spices as well as sweet treats like chocolates and cupcakes. Estelle Orr, of the Happy Wanderer Bakery in Trenton, also has desserts for sale. Besides two types of brownies, she bakes oatmeal raisin, molasses ginger and Cranberry Hoot cookies.
As the summer nights get hotter, folks at the market surely will be stopping by “Little Bertie” to cool down with some hand-dipped ice cream. Rachel Irving and Geneva Stiglik will be serving “old-fashioned goodness” from Gil and Bert’s ice cream cart all season long.
Just down the path, adults can savor the fruit of the vine with Unionville Vineyards, of Ringoes. There are 15 wines available for sampling.
”We have everything from our pinot grigio to our blush ‘Fields of Fire,’ which is a little spicy, to our reds, which go from our pinot noir to our ‘Cam Jam,’ which is named after our winemaker, to ‘The Big O,’” Laura Kawecki, of Stockton said.
To further relax, Elements Therapeutic Massage, of West Windsor, is offering complimentary chair massages.
Adults aren’t the only ones who will find fun at the market. The First United Methodist Church of Hightstown is providing lots of children’s activities, including face painting and crafts. On the first night, kids made windsocks and bracelets with church volunteers, then learned how to hula hoop dance with Agnes Carbone, who owns Glitter Hoops in Hightstown.
Children and adults alike danced to the music of The Hot Taters, a Princeton-based band that played hot jazz, Dixieland, swing from the 20s, 30s and 40s and the funky sounds of New Orleans Mardi Gras.
”I always love the farmers market,” said volunteer Samantha Sheenan, of Hightstown, said. “I’m very excited to be a part of it and to have been able to pull it off with the strong leadership of individuals like Tracy (Carroll) and Heidi (Bak), who made it all happen.”
Ms. Carroll, of Hightstown, said it took many volunteers to make the farmers market happen this year.
”It was quite the project, and we each took a part of it so it wasn’t so overwhelming,” Ms. Carroll said.
She credited the volunteer efforts of Ms. Sheenan and her husband, Mike, and Mike Sheenan, Dennis Healy, Dee Dee DeLorenzo, Pastor Heidi Bak, community youth and others in Hightstown with helping get the event off the ground this year.
”The people who started this four years ago . . . built the base of it,” Ms. Carroll added. “If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be here.”
The volunteers were thrilled with the great turnout for the first farmers market of the summer.
”If the trend holds true that it gets bigger each week, we’re set,” Ms. Carroll said.

