Farmers Market offers touch-a-truck fun

HUNTLEY — Variety was a theme as this year’s Huntley Farmers Market continued on July 13, which was public works day.

Mike Riggins of Sleepy Hollow brings goodies from his garden each week.

“Right now, we have a lot of beets, carrots, and garlic. In August, it’s the tomatoes, then spinach, lettuces in the fall. I’m always thinking about the next crop, and I enjoy the people here,” Riggins said.

Meanwhile, Pingree Grove resident Bob Kapheim, owner of Bob’s Art Photography, showed off his talents of award winning art, photography, and glass fusion crafts. He explained the process unique to dichroic glass.

“The Greek meaning for dichroic is ‘two colored,” he explained. “If you hold the pendant in your hand, you will see it change color as the light strikes it at different angles. In the 1950’s, NASA revitalized dichroic glass as a way of protecting astronauts from the unfiltered light in space travel. NASA sprayed vaporized metal in ultra-thin layers, in a vacuum chamber on the glass. That process has been modified to produce in commercial application of dichroic glass in the production of these pendants.”

Another vendor was Steve Valenra of Sun City, who showed his four-year-old business, Papa Valachy, aka “The Sauce Boss.” These included BBQ sauces, seasonings, rubs and coatings.

“It’s just a lot of trial-by-error. It takes about six months to bring a product to market,” Valenta said.

Also participating Saturday was Kellie Gulbransen of Sun City, whose business is Kel Health and Krafts, essential oil products, which heal, soothe and soften. She said the business got started when she found a need to improve on store-bought products. “They all have natural ingredients,” she commented.