On Sunday I gave a sawmill demonstration at the
Coventry Regional Farmers Market, which runs from 11:00 am until 2:00 pm every Sunday, spring, summer, and fall, and is reputed to be the most popular farmers market in the state. It's very well run. It started out as a small scale event, but has been growing steadily over the years, and now draws pretty big crowds. The atmosphere is like a small agricultural fair, without the cotton candy. A few years ago they arranged to move the market to the grounds of the
Nathan Hale Homestead here in town, which gives them room to handle the crowds, and to hold special events, like a sawmill demonstration.
We set up in the 'Holy Grove', a parcel near South Street that's away from the farmer's booths. My brother-in-law, Kevin helped as off-bearer, while my wife, Kim, and Ed, a friend visiting for the holiday weekend, helped by handing out pamphlets and answering questions.
I brought four 8' red oak logs to demonstrate with during the 3 hours that the market is open. These produced a nice stack of lumber by the end of the day.
Lots of people stopped to watch, many asked questions, and more than a few said they would be getting in touch to schedule the mill for a visit to their logs.
We had put down tarps to collect most of the sawdust. To clean up, we scooped it into 30 gallon paper 'lawn and leaf' bags. It took me three trips to get everything back home in my pickup truck.
All in all, time well spent from my perspective, and the market organizers have already asked me to come back next year
