Farmers’ Markets are Back in Boston!

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Today I made my annual pilgrimage to the Copley Square Farmers’ Market on its opening day.  Not that much of a pilgrimage, actually,  as it’s right outside my KW office on Boylston Street!  Crop offerings were of course very limited but I managed to snag some fabulous greens.  Had it not been such a gray and rainy day, I’m sure the lines would have been snaking all around the plaza.

Starting June 2nd,  our very own farmers’ market opens for business at Adams Park in Roslindale Village. Not only will you experience live music and first seasonal sightings of friends and neighbors — you’ll also get to purchase locally-grown goods from an average of 25 vendors each week. Each Saturday  from 9-1:30 you can choose from the finest produce, including fruits and vegetables, meat, honey, baked goods as well as handcrafted items by local artisans. You can also browse the book stall sponsored by Friends of the Roslindale Library and buy tickets for the upcoming Roslindale Garden Tour happening on June 23.   I probably don’t need to tell you:  if you don’t have AT LEAST an hour to spend at the Rozzie Farmers’ Market (that’s half an hour socializing and half an hour shopping) it’s hardly worth going at all.  I love it for catching up with my Roslindale real estate clients — and plenty of folks from Jamaica Plain, too!

While the Rozzie market is opening next weekend, the Jamaica Plain Farmers’ Market has been open for a couple weeks in its longtime home behind the Bank of America on Centre Street. A most welcome feature of this small but well-stocked market is that it’s open two days a week, giving you more opportunity to peruse the local produce. Each Tuesday from 12-5 and Saturday from 12 -3, fill your recyclable shopping bag with anything from local honey to fresh flowers. Later on this summer, you can choose between this locale and the one at the historic Loring-Greenough House just down the street, open Thursdays from 12 -6.

Boston may be a small city, but we’re big on shopping locally and supporting Massachusetts farmers.   I’ll be at the market in Rozzie, just shopping, or hawking tickets at the booth for the upcoming Garden Tour or selling books as a Friend of the Roslindale Library, so I’m sure to see you there and please don’t hesitate to come and say hello — it’s been a mild but long winter and I can’t wait to see my fellow Roslindalians!

Linda Burnett

Jamaica Plain/Roslindale Real Estate Maven
Keller-Williams Boston-Metro Real Estate
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Seeing RED is a good thing at Keller Williams!

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My father was an entrepreneur his entire working life. He didn’t ever actually tell me that one of the cornerstones of a successful business is giving back to the community, but I learned by watching his consistent involvement in the Lions Club, the local board of trade and later, groups committed to racial and economic equality.  So, six years ago when I was ready for a more effective way to blend my business and non-profit lives and began researching real estate franchises, Keller Williams really stood out from the pack.

One of our most visible community projects,  RED Day, happens annually on the second Thursday in May.  The day is dedicated to Mo Anderson, one of KW’s founders whose unstinting generosity inspired this company-wide event.  By spending time “Renewing, Energizing and Donating”, KW agents across the country give back to their local communities. On RED Day 2012, my colleagues and I spent several hours sprucing up the Abraham Lincoln Veterans Center in Charlestown — a community center serving local residents from toddlers to most-revered seniors.  It’s located a stone’s throw from our Charlestown Market Center at 18 Main Street.

From cleaning the bathroom and kitchen to putting on a fresh coat of paint in the central activities room, we worked off our collective butt.  When the indoor projects were done,  I personally tackled a disgustingly overgrown and trash-filled alley beside the building, and quickly attracted the help of two young men who’ve recently joined our team.  In under an hour and a half we could actually walk through that creepy passageway without stepping on broken glass and discarded building materials that had been there so long Mother Nature had almost totally reclaimed them.

A job well done, relationships strengthened among us brokers and between our company and the community, and a great deal of fun and laughter — RED Day this year was a blast, and a testimony to Keller Williams’s success the other 364 days of the year!

That's me in the middle, working my fingers to the bone!

KW Boston Metro-RED Day Troops

Linda Burnett

Jamaica Plain/Roslindale Real Estate Maven
Keller-Williams Boston-Metro Real Estate
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Lilac Sunday — Harbinger of Spring — this Sunday!

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Lilac Linda

Arnold Arboretum, the oldest public arboretum in America, has been owned and maintained since 1872 by one of the country’s most well-known institutions: Harvard University.  Every year on Mother’s Day for the past 100 years,  one of the 2,200 species of  woody plants that populate this urban paradise is chosen for a day-long homage that has come to be known as Lilac Sunday.

Due to the early spring this year (and remember, it’s “climate change”, not global warming!),  many of the 180 varieties growing there have already bloomed, but there still will be many budding bloomers to admire come Sunday morning on Bussey Hill, the heart of the Arboretum’s lilac collection.  From 10:00 ‘til 4:00, come and be part of the community-wide celebration that includes tours of the lilacs and other special plant collections, family fun, food vendors and live music. Highlights include traditional English folk dance performances, swing jazz, Taiko drumming and puppet storytelling.  You can also enjoy the special pleasure of picnicking on the grass, not usually offered at any other time of the year out of respect for plants and wildlife. As always, the Arboretum will be open from dawn to dusk if you want to stay on either side of the super-busy time.

Many visitors (with or without their Moms)  actually discover the Roslindale and Jamaica Plain neighborhoods for the first time by attending this event. Bussey Hill, the larger, more elaborate part of the park is in JP, and Peters Hill, its humbler but beautiful cousin, is just across South Street in Roslindale.  An estimated 43,000 people attend Lilac Sunday every year and except for perhaps some parking frustration, the size of the Arboretum — 265 acres — allows us to never feel crowded.

For more upcoming programs, download this handy guide and make the Arboretum part of your family tradition!

Were I not working this Sunday, I would see you among the greenery.  And if you happen to fall in love with Peters Hill, keep in touch as I will be putting two beautiful single-family homes on the market between now and mid-June — both just a stone’s throw to “The Arbs”!

Linda Burnett

Jamaica Plain/Roslindale Real Estate Maven
Keller-Williams Boston-Metro Real Estate
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Wake Up the Earth in Jamaica Plain this Weekend!

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Spontaneous Celebrations is an organization in Jamaica Plain that  promotes positive change in the community through the arts. This weekend, they’re bringing their 34th annual celebration to  the Southwest Corridor Park across from the Stonybrook T station.

Among the most important missions of Spontaneous Celebrations is to unite and empower local communities through maintaining a strong cultural arts center. “Wake Up the Earth” is designed to bring that mission to life. Walk (or dance or stilt-walk or unicycle) in the event’s parade, catch multi-cultural music and dance performances and browse the many local food, craft and non-profit vendors. No matter what your interest, you’ll find folks with whom to celebrate this Saturday, from 12:00-5:00pm. If I can take a break from showing houses and getting ready for my Sunday open house, I’ll see you there!

P.S.  In case of really crummy weather, the same gala will happen on Sunday the 6th of May.

Linda Burnett

Jamaica Plain/Roslindale Real Estate Maven
Keller-Williams Boston-Metro Real Estate
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