The Raleigh Downtown Farmers Market will host GrazeFest, a celebration of grass-fed and pasture-raised farm foods, on Wednesday June 23 from 10am – 2pm. The market, located each week at City Plaza on the 400 block of Fayetteville Street, invites food lovers of all ages to enjoy festivities that showcase North Carolina’s harvest of beef, lamb, pork, poultry, cheeses, eggs, milk, and other dairy products. The event features a chef demonstration by Sarig Agasi (of Zely & Ritz), an ice-cream eating contest with Lumpy’s Ice Cream, and bluegrass music by Old Habits. Portia McKnight of Chapel Hill Creamery will show aspiring cheese-makers how to stretch mozzarella using milk from her Jersey cows raised down the road in Orange County. Festival-goers can purchase a grass-fed lunch prepared by market farmer Coon Rock Farm. They will be serving grilled bratwurst from pasture raised heritage breeds for $5 per sandwich. At 11:30 am, kids are invited to a special EGGstravaganza with egg relays, veggie trivia, veggie charades, and a market scavenger hunt.  

While at the market, customers can visit the information booth and sign up for a free raffle where they can win a copy of The Grassfed Gourmet Cookbook, or 4 flex tickets including a parking pass to a North Carolina Symphony’s Summerfest concert of choice ($90). All meat lovers are invited to pick up a free copy of “The Great News about Grass,” an informative publication offering tips for making the most of pasture-raised foods and showcasing great recipes.

Event Schedule

Coon Rock Farm sausage sandwiches will be for sale during the market.