I’d like to personally invite you to our Customer Appreciation Day, coming up fast on Saturday, October 2nd! This event has known many names over the years, starting as our Anniversary Open House in 2009, when we celebrated the first anniversary of our on-farm market opening. When I think back, making it to one year was quite a feat, given that we were turkey farmers learning retail through on-the-job-training!
We’ve continued to celebrate the Anniversary Open House on milestone years, when we made it to 5 and then 10 years in business, but we began calling it our Fall Open House in the not-so-notable years between the goalposts. Somewhere along the way, we got smart enough to collaborate with other fall events happening around Cannon Falls, and this year will be no different! There’s the longstanding Sogn Valley Art Fair and fall harvest activities at both Cannon River Winery and Tilion Brewing.
I’m excited to resume the tradition of our fall event again this year, and I think we’ve finally found a name to suit the day: Customer Appreciation Day. It might be an old-fashioned sounding notion, but we never forget that we’re in business because of our customers. It seems especially appropriate to say “thank you” after all we weathered together in 2020, as we expanded our product mix, launched curbside pick-up, and adapted our Thanksgiving season to a drive-through. You supported and encouraged us through it all, and Ferndale Market is better for it.
One of the traditions at this event has been a complimentary turkey burger, so I’ve typically been behind the grill most of the day. This year, we’ve upped our game, by partnering with Smok’N Outdoors BBQ to give each guest a free pulled turkey sandwich as a small sign of our appreciation. We’ll also have an apple tasting and other local food samples, and a chance to see all the new items we’ve added to the market.
I really hope you’ll join us to celebrate local food, a festive day in Cannon Falls, and your support for Ferndale Market. Together, we’ve made it to 13 years!
Although we don’t live in MN, we have been enjoying your turkeys here in IA, thanks to the fine folks at Campbell’s Nutrition Center in Des Moines. We certainly appreciate YOU! Thank you for partnering with Campbell’s to allow us to enjoy your incredibly delicious turkeys. We are proud to be supporting “local” as best as we can. Our former local turkey farmer passed on several years ago, it took us awhile to find you, but sure glad we did! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your!