It’s time for a little bit of the green at the Maple Valley Farmers Market on Saturday, June 26, as the market celebrates Green Living Day with special events and visitors. In addition to the weekly forty-plus booths featuring local produce and products, prepared foods, plants, flowers, cheese, bread, artisans’ crafts and meats, the market will be ripe on Saturday with reminders of green living.

This second Saturday of the 2010 season will open with rewards for those who arrive in a green mode of transportation, as the first 25 bicyclists will earn market bucks to spend at the market, provided by Green Living Day sponsor Ross Olive of State Farm Insurance.

Special green events at the Market, in addition to the bicyclists, include booths hosted by Shadow Habitat (Save Habitat and Diversity of Wetlands); Envirospect; King Conservation District; Diana Pistoll and Jessica Deer of Master Recycler Composter and Tracy Brown, owner of Wooltastic, who will be selling accessories made from recycled sweaters. In addition, the Parkinson’s Disease group will host a booth, as will Kelin Doner, a youth entrepreneur selling jewelry. And, Alpacas at Morning Star Ranch will provide a first-hand, close-up look at a couple of their alpacas.

Even the music will be a bit green, as in bluegrass. The scheduled entertainment is Ryegrass, a local bluegrass band playing traditional and contemporary bluegrass, featuring musicians Jim Hanna, Lynn Oliver, John Burke, Paul Michel, and Chip Diemond.  Their website, www.ryegrass.com, has a link to one of their songs—an small appetizer for their show on June 26.

Green Living Day’s sponsor, State Farm Insurance, decided to sponsor the day’s events because they feel that living green is “something that affects each and every one of us.” Jennifer Olive said that State Farm Insurance’s office in Maple Valley recycles their inkjet cartridges, paper, aluminum and plastic products and encourages the use of reusable bags, rather than paper or plastic. 

Olive added, “On a personal note, it is important to teach our children how simple it is to make a change in order to protect the planet.”  Throughout the market day, Ross and Jennifer Olive will be sponsoring hourly drawings for eco-friendly prizes.

Other events happening at Saturday’s Market include the continuation of the “Name the Cow Contest.” The Market’s new wooden icon patiently awaits a name, while it sits at the market near the information booth. Naming suggestions should be submitted to the “Name the Cow Contest,” as a prize of $25 in market bucks will be awarded for the best suggestion on Outdoor Quilt Day on July 10.

Also at Saturday’s market, sign-ups will begin for the first-ever Maple Valley watermelon eating contest, and will continue until the contest begins on July 3 at noon. First prize will be a market bag, second prize will be $5 in market bucks and third prize will be a pie.

The Maple Valley Farmers Market, known locally as, the Saturday morning place to be, is open at Rock Creek Elementary School from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. each Saturday through October 9.