Bushes Bunches adds winter market

PALMER— The Bushes Bunches produce stand normally lays dormant during the winter. Now, people can grab their local produce and other locally made food, crafts, decorations, preserves and other items from various vendors at the all new Bushes Bunches Winter Market.

“This is the latest the store has been open,” farm manager Kristi Short said.

Short said that the produce stand normally closes mid to late October but the extended growing season and warm fall encouraged her and her colleagues to try out an idea they’ve been mulling over.

“We were able to get more out of the ground,” Short said.

There are mounds of beets, carrots, dried dill, potatoes, radishes, and turnips still in stock at the stand and it will remain open Thursday through Saturday from 12 to 6 p.m. until December 22, the last Winter Market.

“Everybody is starving for something green in the winter,” Short said.

An assortment of locally sourced products will be available on the shelves each of those days and during the market, a handful of vendors will man their booths, offering the fruits of their labors. From Christmas decorations made by the local artesian Angie Lofgreen to colorful jars filled with Mellie’s Jams and Jellies, patrons will have an array of options at their disposal, according to Short.

“We try to do things that are handmade and locally made stuff,” Short said. “We like supporting our locals artists and vendors.”

Bushes Bunches is also joining Kenda Huling’s Monday Market at the Palmer Depot, each Monday from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with classes and workshops afterwards from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Short said that she enjoys collaborating with local vendors and thinks that will be a good way to spread the word about her new winter market. There are several open signs at the front of the stand with the frozen Lazy Mountain in the background.

“If this all goes well, I’d like to keep it going. We just gotta’ get the word out. People are so used to us being closed. We’ve gotta’ let them know we’re still open because It’s weird that we still are” Short said.

The winter market started up earlier this month and Short said that she is confident that it will finish strong. She said that her daughter, Jetta, made some hefty sales the first and second weekend, pulling in $172 on the first and $235 on the second.

Jetta is currently raising funds for her International Club’s upcoming trip to Europe by selling baked goods likes chocolate zucchini bread and chocolate pumpkin cookies as well as several hand-crafted items like the flower-pressed bookmarks and coasters she made over the summer using a spectrum of local blossoms.

Short said that she is thinking about adding some free, community events at the stand before the last day of the winter market, perhaps movie nights or ice skating in the back.

“It’s be fun for the Butte community out here too,” Short said.

With Thanksgiving coming up this Thursday, Short pondered out loud about possible scalloped turnip recipes, wondering if there were any.

“People will be gathering things for their Thanksgiving feasts and we’ve still got plenty of stuff,” Short said.

Anyone interested in vending at the next Bushes Bunches Winter Market can call 907-745-3958 or email BushesBunchesStand@gmail.com.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com