Getting fresh in Calistoga

By JOHN WATERS Jr., For the Register

It's a Saturday morning in Calistoga and you're here on vacation. Or not. Either way. Here you are.

Early mornings in Calistoga are cool and quiet, unless the neighbor's dog is barking, or a squirrel scolds the stray cat who nibbles from a pile of free food placed by local guardians of the feline species.

There's music in the air so you follow it to ... can this be right? The police station?

Yep.

Calistoga's certified Farmers Market has moved from the dusty, often hot environs of a vacant field off Lincoln Avenue from to a shaded parking lot shared equally between the Calistoga Community Center and the Calistoga Police Department. The new arrangement seems to be working out just fine.

"A lot of people have told us that they really appreciate the new location of the market," said Farmers Market Manager Karen Versoza. "We have several of the same vendors who've made the market popular over the last few years, and several new ones. When you put them all together, we have a great community market."

This year marks the 10th anniversary for Calistoga's Farmers Market.

About 25 vendors appear weekly, hawking everything from cut flowers and fruits from Winters and Napa to tie-died shirts and (soon) salmon, massages, baked Salvadorean delicacies known as pupusas and even expert handwriting analysis.

"I really love coming to the Calistoga market," said Big Ranch Farms vendor Carol Alqarah, who has been coming to the market for about three years. "The people have been so welcoming that, even though I live in Napa, I feel like I'm from Calistoga."

Her booth is right down the aisle from Chris Gertz, who drives a little farther than Alqarah -- coming from Winters, in Yolo County -- with what Calistoga locals like Curtis Winslow feel is the freshest fruit possible short of picking it yourself.

"I deeply appreciate the items you can find at this market on a regular basis," Winslow said. "It's local and more environmentally sound than buying fruits from markets."

Calistoga Elementary School students also supply some home-grown goodness, according to Calistoga school district nutrition specialist Joni Stellar, who staffed an information booth stocked with kale and other fresh greens.

"The students raise lots of veggies in the school's garden during the year," Stellar said. "During the summer, even with the summer food program, the school can't use all of the good food from the garden, so I bring it here. During the regular school year, however, the students eat the food they raise in a program that takes them from seed to soup."

The Calistoga certified Farmers Market opens at 9 a.m. every Saturday, and runs until noon. For information on becoming part of the market, contact Versoza at the market site. You'll recognize her as the lady running around, smiling, carrying a clip board.

Napa Valley Register Copyright © 2009