Elgin's Harvest Market offers new products

The Downtown Neighborhood Association and its partners - Activate Elgin, Elgin Community Network and Elgin Climate Change Organization - encourage the public to shop local, eat healthy, and learn a thing or two while having fun and getting freebies at Downtown Elgin's ninth annual Harvest Market opening day Thursday, June 11.

The market will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays, June 11 to Oct. 8, in the downtown core at the Civic Center parking lot at the corner of East Highland and Douglas avenues.

This year's market's vendors will provide everything from fruits, vegetables, jams, healthy gourmet dog treats, bread, pies, cookies, muffins and scones, olives, pita bread and hummus, spices, Mirai corn, free-range meats and eggs, cheese, milk, and olive oil, all displayed in an open-air market like venue.

New this year will be milk, ice cream tubes, cookies, European coffees, and later in the season Asian pears, black walnuts, black currents, paw paws, homemade pasta, and more.

Area farmers and vendors who are still interested in joining can call the Downtown Neighborhood Association at (847) 488-1456, e-mail jbenson@elginil.org or visit www.downtownelgin.org.

New this year will be two educational booths that promote wellness and the environment via Activate Elgin and ECN & ECCO, complete with a food vendor booth and two sponsor tents that will highlight the Harvest Market's main sponsor - Alexian Brothers Hospital Network and supporting sponsors Chiro One Wellness Centers, Lifetime Health and Wellness Inc. and Rominski Active Healthcare.

The special activities on opening day include the Chicago Bandits "Veggie Pitch" from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Toss veggies and play games with your favorite players. There will be a free Harvest Market tote bags with proof of purchase.

At noon at the Activate Elgin Booth, there will be a cooking demo with Virginia Lopez and Veggie Kabobs. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., there will be a ECCO/ECN booth with free CFL's, solar ovens on display, and Elgin Public Museum's soil samples and ecosystems.

There will be an outdoor art exhibit with artist Erin Herner on printmaking/painting.

Have your blood pressure checked and body fat screenings, free pedometers and step tracking logs and other health related information.

For details about upcoming activities or vendors, contact Jennifer at (847) 488-1456 or jbenson@elginil.org, or visit www.downtownelgin.com.