We participated in the Fourth Annual Local Foods Celebration that was held at Dickinson College. This year's event was a fund-raiser for the Southcentral Pennsylvania Buy Fresh Buy Local campaign. The event kicked off with a three-hour mini farmers market with local producers offering a variety of locally grown and made products. While I was setting up, one of the students was on her mobile phone telling someone that she was at the Holland Union Building where some sort of a 'flea market' was going on. So I stopped her and said, "I am NOT A FLEA. I am a FARMER and this is a farmers market." Flea markets are analogous with second hand, low quality, counterfeit, bootleg and inexpensive non-food items. Under no circumstances do I ever want my food products, in which I take great care in producing, lumped into that category and sold next to outdated Avon or someone's used sporting equipment. 
If there has been anyone who has pounded this into my head, it has been Melanie Dietrich Cochran of Keswick Creamery. She and her husband, Mark, have been selling their farmstead and artisan cheeses at producers-only farmers markets for five years. Together, we share a stand at the Carlisle Central Farmers Market. We are also both active in the Pennsylvania Farmstead & Artisan Cheese Alliance and were able to sample some locally produced cheeses at the Local Foods Celebration.
Cheese was everywhere at this event. Other local cheesemakers and PA FACA members, Otterbein Acres also had their sheep and cow milk cheeses for sale along with Lena's awesome bread. They, too, are vendors at the Carlisle Central Farmers Market.
At the dinner, a variety of cheeses from local producers was served. 
Besides good food, there were also some finely hand-crafted items from local producers including brooms, fiber, quilted and woven items from Knelm & Carolyn Winslow. 
Diane Weist from Brushwood Farm was also there and I couldn't resist her Patchouli Lime with Hemp Oil soap. She is also an occasional vendor a the Carlisle Central Farmers Market. Doesn't her soap look wonderful? You should smell it...fantastic!
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