Melinda Donaldson’s painting of the farmers and artisans market is among several of those she has for sale.
Hannah Styles
hstyles@thesmokymountaintimes.com
Each weekend, the Smoky Mountain Farmers and Artisans Market is the place to be for art, local food and mingling in Swain County. Whether you’re a local or visitor, there’s something for everyone.
Walking through last Friday, crunching into a flaky, gooey bear claw from Maple Springs Confectionery, as the summer breeze rustled through the air, and the smell of rain coming; I could hear the chatter of voices as well as the soothing music by singer/songwriter Wyatt Espalin. As I moseyed around the diverse booths, I found local woodworking, handmade jewelry, paintings, fresh fruits and veggies, herbal supplements, delicious baked goods and more.
Local artist Melinda Donaldson’s booth was a popular hit with beautiful canvas mountains, river, sunflower scenes, Christmas ornaments and wood signs.
“I even have a painting of this market,” Donaldson said, as she showed me a canvas of the farmers and artisans’ market. She is planning to open a small studio near her house on Highway 74 to showcase her art but is waiting on the building being hooked to power.
“I’m currently waiting on the power company but want to eventually get my paintings in there,” she said.
Kathy’s Garden Herbals of Whittier offers homemade herbal supplements and essential oils and frequently has a booth set up at the market. She has natural lip balms, salves, herbal tinctures like Lung Tonic, CBD oil, echinacea, elderberry, poke root, and Reishi. Kathy Calabrese is very familiar with what each herb is good for and can tell you what’s best for specific home remedies.
Unfortunately, during the 4th of July holiday weekend, Calabrese suffered a devastating fire, where she lost lots of her stock.
“I just suffered a fire on July 4th and lost most of my products,” she said. “What I have here is all the merchandise I currently have. I’m hoping to be able to build back up soon.”
We wish Calabrese all the best in restoring her productions.
The farmers and artisans market operates every Friday and Saturday 9 a.m.-2 p.m. May 1-Oct. 31 and will be back this Friday with live music and vendors.
The market is located right beside Appalachian Rivers Aquarium, which is open Wednesday-Saturday 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and has free admission, so come and make a day out of your visit exploring downtown Bryson City.