More than a thousand vehicles had already flooded the parking lot of the Leesport Farmers Market on the morning of their new event Blues, Brews, and BBQs, held in conjunction with the Market’s well-known Mid-Summer Craft Fair.
Under sunny skies on July 11, young and old gathered to explore the latest addition to the Leesport Market’s calendar of activities.
The upper area of the Market property housed the tents and booths of the Pit Master BBQs, where attendees could sample and purchase treats including ribs, wings, and pulled pork, while the smoke of the Pitmasters rose as they prepared their meats on site. Local businesses were well-represented to introduce their specialties to both the community and tourists traveling to Leesport for the event.
Justin and Jessica Saul, graduates of Hamburg Area High School and owners of the new Hometown Restaurant on South 4th Street in Hamburg, were on hand with Nick Stubblebine, of Brooke’s Meats in Leesport, who supplies meat to their restaurant. Jessica Saul discussed Justin Saul’s 20 years of experience in the restaurant business and their eventual decision to go into business themselves.
Another new business represented their gourmet fare at the BBQ Fest with a wide variety of jerky flavors available for the crowd to enjoy. John Paul Withelder and Emily Gerhard, both of Shoemakersville, brought their Big Daddy’s Beef Jerky to the festival and plan to start marketing their jerky and beef sticks through their Facebook page.
The great-grandson of the locally well-known Betty’s Salads namesake, Mike Marcinko of Sinking Spring, brought his Pilsudski gourmet mustards as a likely addition to the barbequed meat selections at the market festival. Marcinko recently purchased the mustard portion of the business that was family-owned since 1977, and is currently updating flavors to include in his existing stock at Redner’s and Boyer’s Markets.
Crowds gathered around the wineries providing samples at the event, and had the opportunity to not only taste different wines, but also to learn from the tasting booth representatives about ways to use wines in cooking and entertaining. The Red Shale Winery out of Hegins, PA, was distributing tastes of their fruit wines in addition to their popular and more traditional grape wines. Red Shale announced to Leesport shoppers that their wines are locally available at the Renninger’s Market in Schuylkill Haven on weekends at their farmer’s market.
A beer tent was erected to compliment the fare at the BBQ Festival, sponsored by Hamburg’s Our Town Foundation, while music completed the mood of the day, provided by Chuck Cahoe, Friar’s Point, The Terrapin Trio, and Haley Sheeler.
The Leesport Market made sure the children were happy at the event with the addition of inflatable games and rides at the upper end of the lot. Kid-friendly foods were offered by vendors, including hamburgers, hot dogs, and mac and cheese.
The ongoing tradition of the Leesport Market craft shows was upheld by the filled aisles in the lower market as shoppers enjoyed the crafts of vendors who come from nearby communities as well as out of state. Gift, clothing, and home decor items were prevalent and business was booming at both the indoor and outdoor venues.
Crystal Wallich of Hamburg, sold Wounded Warrior Project clothing and promotional merchandise from one of the outdoor booths. Wallich’s son, Matthew Lempergel, HAHS Class of 2005, took his own life due to the post- traumatic stress he suffered after serving for seventeen months in Afghanistan. Wallich’s booth drew attention from shoppers who displayed emotion as they realized the purpose for Wallich’s presence at the high-traffic craft show. “This is what I do in memory of him”, she stated as she described how the proceeds from her merchandise sales are donated to the Wounded Warrior Project with 89% of the funds directly helping affected military personnel. For more information, contact Wallich at 484-400-4237, or on Facebook.
The flavors, sights, and smells of the new Blues, Brews, and BBQs addition to the Leesport Farmers Market calendar combined with the history and variety of the Leesport Market craft shows created yet another reason for a visit to the famous Leesport Farmers Market.
