Feed body, mind, spirit with Saturday market offerings

Submitted photos BEAUTY AND HEALTH: Saturday's offerings at the Hot Springs Farmers & Artisans Market will include Kelley Naylor Wise's booth of handmade jewelry and natural healing from Wendy Fargo of Crooked House Herbals. Shopping hours will be from 7 a.m. to noon.
Submitted photos BEAUTY AND HEALTH: Saturday's offerings at the Hot Springs Farmers & Artisans Market will include Kelley Naylor Wise's booth of handmade jewelry and natural healing from Wendy Fargo of Crooked House Herbals. Shopping hours will be from 7 a.m. to noon.

Things just keep getting better and better at the Hot Springs Farmers & Artisans Market, located at 121 Orange St.

A rule was recently adopted that requires local farmers to grow their own produce. What does this mean for shoppers? It means purchases are not picked up in Mississippi or Louisiana and brought all the way back to Hot Springs. When patrons talk to a market farmer, they are speaking with the grower, too, and can ask about farming practices, favorite preparation techniques or home gardening tips.

The many artisans and value-added vendors also offer much to the shopping experience, which can be enjoyed from 7 a.m. to noon Saturday.

Kelley Naylor Wise is a recent transplant from Little Rock, and couldn't be happier here. She has never made the same piece twice and her jewelry shows a true artist's sensibility with a staggering array of fabulous choices. She was taught jewelry making by her father and has been practicing her skills for 25 years. Since his passing, Wise often uses turquoise and silver to remind her of their trips to New Mexico. Her jewelry can also be found in Little Rock, Dallas and Japan.

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Submitted photo - Fargo

Wendy Fargo of Crooked House Herbals believes nature heals best. She processes and presses her own oils and tinctures at her 20-acre ranch in Royal. She is a certified natural herbalist who is inspired by her life experience of beating cancer through natural healing. Some of her products include an elderberry tonic immune booster, which takes three months to make. She also has several lotions and balms, including her Seven Year Young beauty lotion, natural insect repellent, and her treatments for muscle aches, burns and cuts. There are many organic, homeopathic choices for health and beauty available at her charming stand.

Ryan Sauders will entertain the crowd from 9-11:30 a.m. on the market stage. He incorporates a blend of percussion, cajon, guitar and loop pedal to put his own signature on a blend of current music genres, in addition to sharing original compositions. Joining him will be local entertainers Justin Chastant and Adam Merriott.

For a limited time, the SNAP at the Market Double Bucks program will continue. Market SNAP purchases can be doubled for up to $20 each Saturday. Many vendors accept SNAP and WIC at the weekend market, providing the local community a wonderful opportunity to "get fresh" for their families.

Next week will see the market's first offering of Food Truck Fridays: A Farm to Fender Event. A kick-off will be held from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. June 26 and hours will repeat the last Friday of each month through October, allowing culinary adventures to include lunch, dinner or both.

FTF encourages food vendors, value-added vendors and farmers to connect the locally grown dots in an effort to showcase small businesses in the community. The market pavilion provides plenty of covered and shaded seating for both the lunch and dinner crowds, but lovers of the outdoors can grab a blanket and Frisbee to hang out with friends on the market grounds. For entertainment, Mike Fraz, a New Orleans original artist, is set to perform from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and local rock and roll dance band Two Lane Black Top will takes the stage from 5-7:30 p.m.

The Tuesday evening market will continue this week from 4-7 p.m. at the pavilion. Parking for either day is available north of the market on Orange Street or south on Broadway Street.

Visit http://www.hotspringsfarmersmarket.com for updates or to become a Friend of the Farmers Market.

Entertainment on 06/19/2015

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