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As well as our minstrels’ gallery we also have our very own artist-in-residence: through the months local artist and illustrator Penelope Grant has been sketching to capture the character and the characters, the stalls, the bands and the dogs that add up to the spirit of Kew Village Market. Here are her drawings for December – we love them and hope you do too.
We’re grateful to our marvellous medley of musicians not only for bringing the party spirit to the market each month but also for their support of our charity fund-raising. A couple of months ago Those In Favour passed round the hat after playing our song – a number they’d composed in praise of KVM – and at the last market The Dustbowl Sinners gave us a handsome donation from the sales of their CD.
Those In Favour and their Kew Market song.
And then the Orchard Jazz Quartet have their brilliant Kew Market Choo-Choo.
You’ve heard of charity singles? Well, here’s the charity CD, celebrating the great music by favourite local bands who’ve starred in our sunshine-yellow marquee. With 12 tracks in all, ranging from show tunes to ska, and jazz to rock, Kew Village Market – Taste the Music CD costs just £6 from the KVM stall on Sunday 3rd December. As all the profits are going to local good causes it’s the stocking-filler gift that’ll go on giving – so why not buy several and spread extra Christmas cheer?
Kew Village Market – Taste the Music can also be downloaded from iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Deezer and Sound Exchange.
The Little Indian Kitchen has long been prized by Kew curry lovers. Now KVM stallholder Lorna, her sister Bobby and sister-in-law Monika have been crowned the best family cooks in Great Britain as winners of BBC2s The Big Family Cooking Showdown. ‘Every dish surprised us with amazing flavours,’ said judges Rosemary Shrager and Giorgio Locatelli. ’Everything was cooked from the heart.’ Here’s Lorna with the winner’s chopping board – not the most glamorous of trophys but no less prized for that… Huge congratulations to Lorna and her family from all her friends and customers at Kew Village Market.
Kew Village Market requests the pleasure of your company at our sixth birthday party on Sunday 1st October. There’ll be balloons and bunting and birthday cake – birthday presents too, in the form of cheques to local charities. Looking back on our launch, as a three-month trial with a modest 20-odd stalls, it seems amazing that the market is now more than double the size and since 2011 we have given over £50,000 to local good causes. So do come and join the party – there’ll be a bumper raffle with prizes from our lovely stallholders and great music from The Orchard Jazz Quartet and Hanwell Ukulele Group all market long.
KVM Chair and then-Mayor and his Lady cutting last year’s birthday cake
2016 charity cheque presentation
Hanwell Ukulele Group (HUG for short) in full strum
At the September market three local authors took a stall to sign and sell their latest books. While she was there Johanna Gousset, illustrator of Mike Thexton’s The Magistrate’s Son, busied herself doing quick watercolour sketches of the market and they’re so charming we wanted to share them with you.
Welcome back…
…not least to summer – as this is being written, the sun has made a happy return and is forecast to shine on Sunday (fingers crossed).
Most of our regular stallholders are home from their holidays (see here for the full list) including Ildiko’s Chocolate who’ve nevertheless been busy in their short break from the market: congratulations to them on opening their own shop, an exclusive chocolaterie at Great Bookham in the heart of Surrey.
We’re also pleased to say hello to three new stalls: at Leafers you’ll find a mouthwatering selection of handmade table-linens in colourful cotton prints; OrlyArt offer delightful artworks for children, personalised prints for nurseries and bedrooms; and at our local authors stall three well-known Kew residents – Mike Thexton, J-F Burford and Jane Bailey Bain – will be signing and selling copies of their books. Also making their marks will be the police Safer Transport Team who’ll be there for bicycle marking so do wheel along yours (and all the children’s) to take advantage of this free anti-theft measure.
This month’s charity stall will be for St Luke’s Church and our sunshine-yellow music marquee will be home to first the sweet and soulful voice of young singer Luke Corbett, and then the Maria Ahearn Band with a repertoire ranging from well-known rock and pop songs to smooth jazz numbers.
Looking forward to seeing you on Sunday 3rd September
from 10am to 2pm
PS Exciting news! Fame has found Lorna Nanda of The Little Indian Kitchen (whose scrummy curries and samosas will be back with KVM next month) – she and her family will be seen on screen in BBC2’s The Big Family Cooking Showdown on Thursday 7th September at 8pm
Kew Village Market this weekend
Sunday 6th August
10am – 2pm
Home & away
Summer holidays may be well under way but Kew Village Market will be happily open for business with 40 stalls selling the best artisan food and hand-made crafts. And while it’s true that some of our regular stallholders will be away (check here for who’ll be with us), that’s given us a golden opportunity to invite no fewer than nine new-to-Kew traders.
On the food side we’ll be welcoming: Flavours of Sicily with the finest produce from that foodie paradise – extra virgin olive oils , salsas, honey, almonds and conserves; Taste of Japan with authentic Japanese street food, Takoyaki (Octopus Balls) and Kaki-Gori (Japanese Snow Cones; and The Liberty Creamery’s cart packed with chef-driven ices and sorbets in such flavours as dreams are made of…
With even more quality craft stalls than usual it’s hello to: Charlotte Berridge Studio with lovely limited-edition local prints and cards; Dogsnug with all the latest for Kew’s prime pooches; Gabrielle Sellors’ exquisite contemporary jewellery; rare and unusual perennials, shrubs and grasses from Heron Plants; superb hand-made accessories from Sam Brown Leather; and ingenious, iconic chairs and side tables in oak, larch and spruce from Timshel Design.
This month also sees two free charity stalls: one for TAG Youth Club which offers sociability, self-expression and fun to disabled young people; the other for The Rotary Club of Kew Gardens who support a wide variety of international and local projects. Most recently, with the help of KVM funding, they gave a dictionary to every Year 5 pupil in all seven Kew primary schools and sent us pictures (below of Kew Green and The Queen’s) of this brilliant project.
At Sunday’s market The Rotary Club will be fund-raising with a Pimm’s bar – surely the taste of summer. And for the sounds of summer we’ll have two local bands in our sunshine-yellow music marquee. Getting the party started at 10.30 (am!) Banda Bomba will be treating us to their salsa-style latin jazz; and from 12.30 to market’s close at 2 the six-strong TW Band will be playing covers down the decades, from the 1950s to cult classics to today’s hits. Just the thing for a summer Sunday…
Looking forward to seeing you on Sunday 6th August
from 10am to 2pm
Kew Village Market this weekend
Sunday 4th June
10am – 2pm
Good causes, good food, good friendship
It’s time for our summer giveaway! As the market is run by volunteers and all our operating profits (from stall fees and sales from the KVM stall) are given to local good causes, every quarter we hand out cheques to neighbourhood charities. This time St Luke’s Church gets £1000 for improvements to the church hall; Addiction Support and Care Agency £1350 for extra support for carers; and SPEAR £650 towards an event to further their work for homeless people in the borough. (Also lst Richmond Girl Guides will be taking over our free charity stall in June.)
Of course, as the market gets ever more popular with stallholders and visitors, every year we have more money to give away. Our June market is busting out all over with 45 stalls in all (click here for the complete list). Joining regular favourites are two interesting newcomers: Parsonage Farm Charcuterie will be selling their award-winning deliciously different salamis and This Little Indian Kitchen offer authentic oven-ready Indian curries and hot samosas. And Nut Knowle Farm, ever popular for their terrific range of hard and soft goat cheeses, will also be selling fresh goat and kid meat (great news for lovers of Jamaican goat curry).
We’ve a wider choice than ever of street food: soups and salads from Carolyn Dawson, free-range bacon, sausage and roast pork rolls from Hunt’s Hill Farm, venison burgers and wild bacon baps from Winterbourne Game and Colombian dishes from Mulata Cuisine; for vegans and vegetarians Abycina have their Ethiopian/Eritrean hot food and Fresh Falafel their wraps; and La Crepe de Delices and South Street Ice Cream will be there with the puds… All so you can enjoy your lunch along with the live music.
And have we got a band – or rather bands – for you! To celebrate the twinning of Richmond and Fontainebleau in France, our own Elastic Band will be joined by members of Union Musicale de Fontainebleau for entente cordiale over popular classics, show tunes, jazz standards – and surely also some chansons d’amour…
Looking forward to seeing you on Sunday 4h June
from 10am to 2pm
PS Don’t miss this year’s Kew Midsummer Fete on Saturday 17th June, 11am to 6pm, voted one of London’s best family days out. The Victorian fairground, 100-plus stalls, all-day live entertainment from the stage, the craft marquee, the food court, beer tent and Pimm’s bar, the famous dog show (with a famous judge) and the infamous tug of war, all in the lovely setting of Kew Green… Who could ask for more?
At the next Kew Village Market (Sunday 7th May, 10am to 2pm) there’ll be some tempting new stalls as well as all your regular favourites. We’ll have around 45 stalls in all – to find out more visit our stalls page and perhaps sign up to the KVM newsletter to keep up to speed with the latest… Also our sunshine-yellow music marquee will see the very welcome return of the Keith Waithe Quartet with an original fusion of multicultural music styles, led by award-winning flautist Keith whose presence promises quite a show…
