Once a year, the Green Box Farm & Art Market signals the beginning of autumn as Colorado vendors bring their produce, baked goods, candles, olive oils and other specialty items to the picturesque town of Green Mountain Falls. Hosted by Green Box, an arts community with year-round education programming and activities, the market is an experience meant to be savored and explored.
"People compare it to a European market," says Karin Ellis, curator of the farm portion of the market for the past four years. "You almost feel like you're in the center of a city in Italy or France or Spain. I work with what's best seasonally, what is actually at its peak flavor."
Ellis, a food consultant and sustainability advocate, treasure hunts across Colorado in search of the state’s most premium goods. She collects juicy Palisade peaches and sweet Olathe corn. She meets with bakers who are passionate about the rye resurgence in the San Luis Valley. She walks alongside foragers hunting for Porcini mushrooms on the Western Slope. She samples sun-warmed Pueblo peppers—perfect examples of how Colorado's short growing season can produce some of the tastiest vegetables in the country.
Ellis first connected with Green Box when executive director Scott Levy asked to meet, eager to discuss how her love of cooking and intentional sourcing might complement what Green Box was trying to achieve with its farmer’s market.
"I brought some local Rocky Ford cantaloupe with feta cheese and basil," Ellis recalls. "It was one of those meetings where you're working with other artists, even though I don’t think I ever thought of myself as an artist. Culinary art is my creative love. It's where I center myself, where I calm myself, where I dream."
The market looks different each year, Ellis says, because nature dictates so much of what farmers can grow in Colorado. Summer hailstorms and May freezes mean that people must get creative. "You're working with nature, so you have to allow nature to dictate. This is a market that's highlighting the hardship of weather patterns, of our world."
Many of the growers Ellis works with don't have the bandwidth to run a market booth themselves, so she brings their produce to the Green Box market for them. She’s continually drawn to the resilience of the farmers, artisans and makers with whom she builds relationships. "I look for people who are doing the right things, who believe in the right things," Ellis says.
In addition to the farmer’s market, visitors can expect an array of local and regional paintings, sculpture, jewelry and ceramics curated by Colorado Springs showroom Auric Gallery. Many of the artists work live on-site—creating an immersive experience where you can pause to watch someone paint while sipping a cup of hot coffee and sampling a freshly baked pastry.
Green Box Farm & Art Market
Saturday, September 26
6990 Lake St., Green Mountain Falls
greenboxarts.org
"I work with what's best seasonally, what is actually at its peak flavor," Ellis says.