4 things you gotta do in Bucks for Memorial Day Weekend (May 22-25)

1. Friday Night UnWined Concert + Home Grown Kitchen Cooking Series

Fridays from 6 pm to 9 pm at Shady Brook Farm, 931 Stony Hill Road, Morrisville, PA (Home Grown Kitchen Series occurs during wine concert from 6 pm to 7 pm)

Oh, this is a great deal. Every Friday night for the warm months (from May through October), Shady Brook Farm in Morrisville hosts a free Wine Concert outside on their landscaped patio. For $5, you can taste a sampling of 6 select wines from Rose Bank Winery, and wine is also available to purchase by glass or by the bottle. Shady Brook Farm has tons of snacks like cheese, crackers, chips and dips from their market and a full service deli, Uncle Dave’s Homemade Ice Cream, and a grill serving up burgers and hot dogs. If the kiddos can’t sit still during the concert, there’s a playground where they can get it out of their system while you and your grown-up friends listen to music, drink wine, and enjoy the beautiful weather.

But to sweeten the deal even further, Mark Zalvino will be hosting a free cooking class series called Home Grown Kitchen, concurrent with the concert. He’ll be talking about how to select, grow, harvest and cook from your own garden. All this with wine in the hand and live music in the background!

2. Outdoor Farmers’ Markets

You could go to the grocery store, blinking in the harsh glow of fluorescent lighting, working hard to determine the difference between the “fancy” and plain ol’ regular version of rice, coming home with a cart full of flavorless vegetables shipped from all around the world…. or you could stroll around a farmers market, in the great outdoors, chatting with the friendly people who have grown your food, and use what you buy there to create a to-die-for meal that’s as fresh as it gets. We’re just saying.

There are farmers’ markets throughout the area during the week and on the weekend. Some have yet to open for the season, but there are plenty that have.

Here are a few you can enjoy over Memorial Day Weekend:

• Ottsville Farmers’ Market: Fridays 4 – 7 pm, 8230 Easton Rd. (Rt. 611, between Rt. 113 and 412) in Ottsville. Beginning April 24 until October 9.
• Washington Crossing Farm Market: Saturdays 9 am – 1 pm, River Road & Route 532, Washington Crossing. Beginning May 9 until October
• Yardley Farmers’ Market: Saturdays 8 am to 12 pm, Buttonwood Park, Yardley. Starting May 2 until October 24.
• Wrightstown Farmers’ Market: Saturdays 9 am – 1 pm, at 2203 2nd Street Pike (next to the Wrightstown Township Municipal Building), Wrightstown. Starting May 2 until November 21.
• Doylestown Farmers’ Market: Saturdays 7 am – noon, on Hamilton Ave. near West State St. in Doylestown. Starting April 18 until November 21.

The fresh produce you might find this weekend includes arugula, asparagus, bok choy, broccoli raab, carrots, chard, fennel, garlic scapes, green garlic, hakurei turnips, herbs, kale, leeks, lettuce, mushrooms, onions, potatoes (white and sweet varieties), radishes, ramps, red spring onion, rhubarb, scallions, spinach, and sweet pea shoots. Plus eggs from free-range chickens, grass-fed and pastured meats, preserves, specialty foods, baked goods like breads, cakes, cookies and pastries, cheese and yogurt, cider and juice, homemade sauces, locally roasted coffee, and interesting crafts from local artisans.

Pretty much everything you need, and no noisy carts, lousy vegetables and long lines required. For a full list of farmers markets in our area, see our post here.

3. Memorial Day Weekend Picnic

Sunday, May 24 from 12 pm to 7:30 pm at the Rising Sun Inn, 898 Allentown Road, Telford, PA

Not much says Memorial Day more than a picnic. Hot dogs, buffalo hamburgers, beer specials, and a Quoits tournament can all be found at the Rising Sun Inn’s Memorial Day Picnic this weekend.

4. National Wine Day (!) is Monday, May 25

Local celebration at Chaddsford Winery Tasting Room, Peddler’s Village, Lahaska, PA on Monday, May 25 from 12 pm to 4 pm

There’s a whole day for that?! Oh yeah. You heard right. National Wine Day is Monday, May 25, and Chaddsford Winery’s Tasting Room in Peddler’s Village is offering half-priced wine flights. Sweet.

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For more details on any of these events, please go to our full calendar, Food Events in Bucks County.