HADLEY, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - This year’s Asparagus Festival may have been cancelled, but one Hadley Market is looking to continue the tradition. We’ll share how and what you can expect coming up.

The bad news is the Asparagus Festival in Hadley has been cancelled for the second straight year. However, the good news is one local market in that town, along with community members, are continuing the tradition with a mini version of that event this weekend. Western Mass News spoke to that business this morning to explain how this came together and what you can expect.

“The soil is wonderful. A lot of farmers grow it, and you really can’t get the flavor anywhere else that this asparagus has,” said co-owner of the North Hadley Sugar Shack Shelly Boisvert.

The Asparagus Festival is gone — but the celebration is not. For more than a decade, the town has put on this annual event, drawing thousands for food, entertainment, and fun. The North Hadley Sugar Shack had been part of that festival for years. However, last year’s event was cancelled because of bad weather and this year’s festival is not happening because of the lack of federal funding for its host, New England Public Media.

“It was a pretty big, planned festival. Everybody looked forward to it,” but Sugar Shack Co-Owner Shelly Boisvert and others in the community are not letting the cancellation stop them.

This weekend, the market will host a brand-new, two-day version of the festival: the first ever Asparagus Days. Boisvert told Western Mass News that excitement has been building, “They’re just excited. They’re excited that it’s happening here. They’re excited that it’s going on. It was kind of one of those things that you wanted to see it happen. It comes at a good time of year.”

On Friday morning, our crew witnessed volunteers putting “no parking” signs along Route 47, as well as games and tables being set up at and around the Sugar Shack. Aside from both days featuring live music, there will be plenty of beer and wine, as well as almost 60 craft and farm vendors.

The Sugar Shack will also be selling asparagus products of their own, including asparagus bunches and scented candles. The food lineup is just as impressive, “asparagus ice cream from (Flavors of) Cook Farm, absolutely. And, we’re going to have a lot of other asparagus foods. Asparagus pierogies, we’re going to have asparagus sauce on seafood, a lot of things,” Boisvert said.

After a few months of planning, everything is coming together. What makes Boisvert smile most: giving the community an event they cherish back, “I’m glad we’re doing this. It’s a great community. We’re getting community people involved. So, I’m glad we’re doing it. I’m glad it’s here.”

Even if the Asparagus Festival returns in the future, Boisvert vows to hold Asparagus Days in the years ahead so people in the area can continue celebrating this crop in the asparagus capital of the world.

Asparagus Days will take place Saturday, May 30th, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, May 31st, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Parking will be at 300 Venture Way in Hadley, where you can take a shuttle to and from the event. All proceeds from sponsors and donations will go to the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts and the Edward Hopkins Educational Foundation.

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