On Sunday evening, a group of about 65 people joined us for a Garden Soirée at the Tom Settlemire Community Garden.  We saw a number of new faces who were new to Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust and the Tom Settlemire Community Garden, which was especially exciting to us, and were thrilled to see so many dear, familiar faces, too! 

For those who are unfamiliar with the lovely space where we held this Garden Soiree, the Tom Settlemire Community Garden is made of 80 rentable plots, which we work to make accessible to people of all means. We also have a Common Good Garden in which we grow food for Mid Coast Hunger Prevention, a plot is set aside for Brunswick High where students are learning how to farm, and we bring hundreds of children to the garden from the Brunswick and Mt. Ararat school districts to learn about nature and gardening each year. 

Vessel and Vine crafted specialty cocktails for the event and set up a beautiful spread of snacks for attendees to enjoy. We were also lucky enough to have vendors from the BTLT Farmers’ Market at Crystal Spring Farm contributed to the delicious items enjoyed at the Soiree: Turtle Rock Farm, Winter Hill Farm, Keough Family Farm, Fresh Pickins, Gracie’s Garden, Smith’s Smokehouse and Copper Tail Farm.  While Crystal Spring Farm and Hardshore Gin can’t be found at our farmers’ market, they also contributed to the delicious beverages we enjoyed.

This all made for a golden, summer evening in Maine.  We are so happy to have been joined by many happy faces on Sunday, and feel lucky to have such wonderful neighbors and friends! 

The Garden Soiree was one of many events celebrating the 25th anniversary of the conservation of Crystal Spring Farm and the 20th anniversary of the BTLT Farmers’ Market at  Crystal Spring Farm.
To cap the celebrations off, BTLT will be celebrating with a family-friendly Crystal Spring Farm Festival on September 8th where we will have live music from local bands, oysters from Mere Point Oyster Co., a special release beer from Flight Deck Brewing, games and activities for the whole family, and local food vendors.
We hope to see you there!