Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1162395
88 PHOTOGRAPHS BY JARED CHARNEY THE PHRASE "BEST OF BOTH WORLDS" GETS TOSSED AROUND A lot, but we'd like to make the case for using it to describe Amesbury. On one end are the characteristic brick mill buildings in and around Market Square, Amesbury's bustling heart, where you can sit on the sidewalk with a coffee and scone outside Market Square Bakehouse and watch the town's comings and goings; grab a drink at Crave and a pizza at Flatbread; see a concert and marvel at the beautiful Po- wow River falls in the Amesbury Millyard; and take in the arts during the annual Open Studios & More festival in November. Right up the street, though, is another side of Amesbury that's just as fun and vibrant, but with a distinctly rural sensibility: Cider Hill Farm, located just over a mile from Market Square. "We consider ourselves very much a part of the downtown," says Jennifer Durocher, Cider Hill Farm's general manager. And over the years, they've done much to make Cider Hill a community destina- tion. On top of the traditional CSA, pick-your-own, and farm stand, store, and bakery, Cider Hill has added Cider Hill Cellars, with free hard cider tastings on Saturday and Sunday, plus a food truck called the PitchFork and monthly farm tours. It also has a packed event schedule that includes the Golden Apple Makers Market in the spring, regular farm yoga classes, and this fall, weekend autumn festivals, Spooky Halloween Family Yoga on October 27, and the Under the Stars: Cider & Cheese event on November 2. Farm Meets City AMESBURY North Shore Neighborhoods Jennifer Durocher and Valerie Rosenberg of Cider Hill Farm and downtown mill buildings. WHERE: Cider Hill Farm, Amesbury VISIT FOR: cider donuts, strawberries, hard cider WHERE: Cedar Rock Gardens, Gloucester VISIT FOR: tomatoes, flowers, seedlings WHERE: Meadowbrook Farms, Hamilton VISIT FOR: basil, squash, organically grown produce WHERE: Smolak Farms, North Andover VISIT FOR: heirloom apples, cherries, Whim Dinner series WHERE: Mehaffey Farm, Rowley VISIT FOR: wheat, rye, pop-up farm stands FARMLAND Farm-to-table takes on a whole new meaning when you get to know your local farms and farmers. HONORABLE MENTION The rooftop garden at Whole Foods Market, Lynnfield "e most important thing to do is to continue the vision of driving community," says Valerie Rosenberg, Cider Hill's events and marketing coordinator. "e mission of the farm is just that; it's about cultivating community."