Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Valentines Day--my heart belongs to Kennett Square

On this Valentine Day’s, if I had to name the entity that most often fills my heart with a warm and fuzzy feeling of contentment and love, I would have to say it is the vibrant and eclectic Kennett Square. I am not sure if it is normal to have so much love for a borough, no matter, I could not be more thankful to call this community center my “home town.” For one thing, Kennett truly is a food lovers dream. From Talula’s Table cheese happy hours to the Mushroom Festival; the Brew Fest to the Farmers Market; the Fermentation Festival to La Michoacana Mexican Ice Cream-Kennett is full of experts, enthusiasts, sources and celebrations of good food and drink. It is after all the Mushroom capital of the world.Small towns often get a bad reputation for being closed minded, hostile to change, unwelcoming to outsiders, lacking diversity and ultimately boring. Kennett Square certainly does NOT fit this stereotype. It seems barely a month can pass by without some sort of festival, parade or arts event. Kennett is quite the cultural center with its own symphony, music venue, community theater company, book stores, galleries, an eco boutique, and more. From poetry readings to a town wide murder mystery theater, Kennett hosts it all. And what’s more, it does not shy away from integrating all these elements together. Good food, music, and merriment seem the hallmark for everything in my favorite small town. It is this creative community spirit that makes Kennett truly deserving of the fifth coolest town in the United States status.2011 marks a slightly bittersweet change for Inverbrook Farm. After ten marvelous years of participating in the Kennett Square Farmers Market, I no longer will be a vendor at this Friday afternoon institution. Instead I will be opening a member based Friday Farmstand at the Farm (see website for more information). Despite this change, my participation in Kennett Square activities will not lessen. Monday night Blues Jams at the Kennett Flash, the Wednesday evening free Summer Concert Series in Anson B. Nixon Park, and First Fridays with the diverse and always entertaining merchants-the town offers a reason for a visit almost every day of the week (not to mention my addiction to a Talula’s mocha and a scone-as shown in the first picture). So I encourage to check out the Historic Kennett Square’s website and browse the extensive listing of community events for yourself. I also wanted to share this Facebook album so you can see why my heart belongs to Kennett Square.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice article. But I find Kennett Square very resistant to change. And if the town and borough council don't wake up, the town is going to be right back where it was 10 years ago. The borough is putting all of it's hopes on two projects in town rather than opening their eyes and seeing what the small businesses in town have to offer and help them to succeed. The recent loss of the Great Harvest bakery is just one example of a business that fit into the fabric of the town but had to fight tooth and nail to try to remain open. In the end, they succumbed to the narrowmindedness of the town. Wake up Kennett Square!

SuzS said...

Claire you rock! I Love Kennett too! It's a great small town. So many fun things to do. Thanks for sharing!!!