Saturdays
10 am – 2 pm
May 28 – October 22, 2011
Bryn Maur Rd.
Langford, BC

I welcomed the return of the Goldstream Station Market and not even the rain could dampen my spirits. Many familiar faces from the local farming community, as well as talented crafters, were on hand to hail the start of another great market year.

The Shriners’ Clown Unit were out in full force sans makeup for the sake of collecting for charities. And with their old train on site (actually it’s just a vehicle with a steam engine facade), one couldn’t help but marvel at this Victoria Day parade veteran. With a pitched tent out the back of the caboose, the Shriners were ready to deliver some barbecued goodies.One couldn’t help but wonder if it was wise for clowns to be playing with fire … but all the worries soon melted away like the cheese on the Caboose burger ($5.00) I was served with. For those who’ve missed out on the Shriners’ famous hospitality, their clown unit will be found on Canada Day this year, at Sidney-By-The-Sea’s coming celebration.

For the market itself, friendly faces like Nao Peterson of Bilston Creek Organics and Rob Justice of Highland Honey Farm dotted the Brynn Maur landscape. They were only too glad to sell me their wares–I bagged Bilston’s last 2 bunches of Japanese radishes ($2.00 each) and a small jar of honey ($5.00). Highland’s jars of unpasteurized honey now come with nutrition labels.

Littler Farm’s brown coloured chicken eggs ($4.00 a dozen) are larger than the extra large sized eggs I buy at the supermarket. I can imagine the poor chickens laying these monstrosities. Are they given a choice of nest or water birth? Something special for tea time was called for and with Highland Bread & Jams (formerly Highland Jams) I found their Honey Oat Bread staring back at me.

And it’s nice to see Little Qualicum Cheesework’s name becoming more prominent. I don’t need to change into the Tre Stella mouse to know their name means quality and good taste. I purchased their Bleu Claire (blue veined cheese) and Rathtrevor, an aged cheese ($15.00 for 2). The Claire had a nice strong smell to it and it gave me a kick for the buck, and the Rathtrevor really went well with crackers. This was a hard cheese that had a nice solidness in its flavour.

If you’re a local Langfordian, you can buy their delicious cheeses at the Market on Millstream.

Now I know it’s out of the ordinary but in amongst all those healthy choices I couldn’t deny my sweet tooth. MMMPOPS provides Cake Pops. These treats are essentially a mini cake on a stick, with a soft shell that can be customized in flavour and appearance. I walked away with a peanut butter chocolate cake and vanilla with sprinkles for $1.25 each.

But where oh where was Glanford Greenhouses? I needed my beefsteak tomato fix. Perhaps business is doing so well that they need not appear? But I do hope that I’m wrong. In this day and age where companies of all sorts use less of the human touch, it’s still wonderful to see shops and markets such as Goldstream show us that nothing’s better than a one on one with someone who can smile.