It was another excursion to Connecticut for my monthly farmers’ market on the Madison Green, in my former home town fifteen years ago. The money barely covers my gas and tolls and the drive is often torturous on a Friday afternoon. But, as always, it’s worth the trip. I get to play for three hours, unplugged, and a variety of familiar faces, moms, grandparents and kids stop by. I get to work on my people skills and practice guitar at the same time.
Today started slowly but three kids and their mom stopped by early and I had some people to work with. Eventually, some of their friends came out, sat on a blanket, ate pizza, chatted as the kids ran around the beautiful lawn. Later on, a group of preschool parents and kids gathered as well so there turned out to be a lively group of people enjoying the September sunshine.
I played well, mixing some kids stuff with other tunes I’ve been working on. With my bag of instruments, I’m able to pound on my adult material and let the kids play instruments, dance with the scarves and dive into the puppets. It works out well.
Tips are few and CD sales non-existent. I even end up giving away some Peanut Butter CDs away to the young families and kids that I know will appreciate the music. The market managers really appreciate what I do, as well.
I left at 10 am and faced normal traffic. I left at 6:15 and got back three hours later, a surprisingly quick jaunt back home. I’m glad I did it. Rose Garden Farmers’ Market on Saturday, a mere 5 minutes away.