All for asparagus

Annual festival returns to Hadley Town Common on Saturday

By K eith O ’C onnor Special to The Republican

PEOPLE EITHER love it or hate it, but asparagus is a big deal for growers in western Massachusetts, often referred to as “the asparagus capital of the world.”

The tasty spring vegetable - low in calories and high in nutrients - will take center stage on Saturday at Hadley Town Common where the NEPM Asparagus Fest returns for another growing season from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

“Our goal has always been to celebrate the community and one of the big things to celebrate in western Massachusetts is our agricultural history and the continuation of that legacy. When the event began, we worked closely with the farmers in Hadley, and still do, to create a festival that would celebrate the top crop of the region and the NEPM Asparagus Fest was born,” said Vanessa Cerillo, senior director of Marketing, Communications and Events for New England Pubic Media.

You can find your fresh asparagus for sale in the Farmers & Makers Market from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. — featuring more than 100 local food, crafts, cultural, nonprofit and agricultural vendors — and at some of the many food trucks onsite.

Local food trucks and restaurants offering a varied menu include Holyoke Hummus Company, The Wing Man, Esselon Café, Vibesman’s Jerk Shack, Dean’s Beans, Crooked Stick Pops, Maple Valley Creamery, Jaju Pierogi, Sun Kim Bop, Cocina Lupita, Vegan Pizza Land, Thai Chili Food Truck and Ginger Love Café.

“We are encouraging all of the food truck vendors to somehow build asparagus into their menus like the popular fried asparagus that Esselon Café serves or the asparagus ice cream from

Flayvors of Cook Farm,” Cerillo said.

And to wash it all down, the Beers & Spears tent will sell local beers, cider and wines from New City Brewery, White Lion Brewing, Building 8 Brewing, Element Brewing & Distilling, Abandoned Building Brewery, Artisan Beverage Cooperative, Black Birch Vineyard, Loophole Brewing, Forestopia, and Four Fantoms Brewing Company.

Live music will celebrate the green spears on the Rooted in Valley Stage with Poor Monroe at 2:30 p.m., The Wolff Sisters at 4 p.m., and Soul Magnets at 5:30 p.m.

For the kids, Latin Grammy Award-winning Mister G and the Global Citizen Ensemble, along with Marcos Carreras, director of music at the Springfield Conservatory of the Arts Magnet School, will perform at 10:30 a.m. Also, popular PBS characters Curious George and Molly of Denali will roam the festival at various times from 10:15 a.m. to

2:30 p.m. and PBS Kids programming can be watched on the screen of the Stand Out Truck from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Fans of The Fabulous 413, a weekday daily radio show at 3 p.m., which celebrates life in western Mass., will be able to watch a live taping of the show at noon for later use.

If you are a bicyclist, the Hadley Town Common is on the Norwottuck Rail Trail and attendees are encouraged to ride bikes to the festival and take advantage of MassBike’s free bicycle valet service. While the festival is free to attend, there is a suggested donation of $5 per person