Peach Parties and Barn Contest

Those who think that peaches come in only two varieties – white and yellow – a stop by the Chatham Borough Farmers Market on Saturday may change your mind.

Vendors will present some of the 23 varieties of peaches grown in the Garden State. Features of this week's peach-themed market include free samples of baked goods made with peaches, free peach recipe books (while they last) and peach tea, among others.

As a special treat, shoppers can see the crowning (complete with a red carpet) of New Jersey Peach Princess Catherine Melick Bryant at 11 a.m. The Peach Princess is chosen each year by the New Jersey Peach Council.

The Melicks Farm, a mainstay at the weekly Farmers Market, has grown peaches for over 100 years in Hunterdon County.

Want a Longer Farmers Market?

In the hopes of extending the Chatham Borough Farmers Market season, the Farmers Market Committee recently entered a contest to win a 24 ft. by 36 ft. open-air barn. 

“We want to expand our market offerings past the summer months, and by having this barn we’ll be able to sell Jersey greenhouse produce all year,” said Janice Piccolo, the market manager. "Several New Jersey farms could potentially sell their greenhouse produce at the barn during the winter months."

Chatham is now one of the three finalists in the contest, and members of the public can vote on which market should get the barn. Should Chatham Borough win, the barn will be stored on the grass between the Chatham New Jersey Transit Station parking lot and the lower Lum Avenue Fields, and used for the market on Saturdays.

W.H. Silverstein Homes, one of the sponsor of the contest, recently purchased Yankee Barn Homes, which manufactures sheds and barns for residential and commercial use.

The town which garners the most votes on the website by Aug. 15 wins the barn. Only one vote per IP address allowed, and Chatham is far behind the other two contestants. 

The current tally as of August 4 is 2459 for Coventry, Conn.; 2094 for Hemlock, Mich.; and 638 for Chatham, according to W.H. Silverstein.

The Farmers Market committee urges residents to vote for Chatham Borough by visiting The Great Barn Giveaway website. "Please, please, please vote using both your home computer as well as your hand-held mobile device," said Piccolo. "We could really use this barn!"

A link to vote in the contest appears on the right side of the page. Piccolo said if you print the confirmation form after voting and bring it to her office on the third floor of the Chatham Borough Municipal Building, she will enter you in a raffle to win dinner for two at restaurant in Chatham.

Here are other events happening this weekend in Chatham:

Friday, Aug 5

• Newly reduced membership rates ($150) now available at Colony Pool for remainder of season; free for seniors.
• Chatham Community Players host Jersey Voices, a one-act festival, 8 to 10 p.m. at the Chatham Playhouse, 23 N. Passaic Avenue. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for kids 18 and under.

Saturday, Aug 6

• Chatham Borough Farmers Market from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the Chatham train station.

Sunday, Aug 7 

• Family Float Days at Colony Pool from 2 to 4 p.m. and Memorial Park Pool from 4 to 5:30 p.m.
• Food Pantry Drive at St. Patrick's Church until 12 p.m., drop off non-perishable items in the priest's garage, 85 Washington Ave.