Quarry Hill Orchards, 8403 Mason Road No. 1 in Berlin Heights, was founded in 1931 and is a family-owned apple orchard. It hosted the Merry Merry Market Barn on Dec. 9.
Brooke Gammie, a third-generation farmer at Quarry Hill, said the family is in its third generation of farming.
“We’re fruit growers,” she said. “We grow cherries, peaches, pears, apples — we press apple cider,” she said.
Customers can find fresh fruit for purchase in the market barn, Gammie said. Customers include members of the community, as well as various produce markets and grocery stores through wholesale.
This year marks the second of the Merry Merry Market Barn event full of activities and themes inspired by the winter solstice and the Scandinavian tradition of Santa Lucia, according to Gammie.
“Our family celebrates a Swedish tradition called Santa Lucia,” Gammie said. “We’ll be sharing the traditions and the crafts and the food used in Sweden to help share and spread the news about this fun holiday.”
To spread this tradition, the event was launched in 2021 as an annual event accompanied by visits from Santa. But took a break in 2022, Gammie said.
“We had so much disappointment the year that we did skip it that we made it a priority to bring it back,” she said.
The ticketed portion of the event included pictures with Santa, crafts inspired by Santa Lucia and a scavenger hunt, according to Gammie.
On site were holiday refreshments and a cash bar, for eventgoers of age to enjoy a glass of wine made at Quarry Hill Winery.
In addition to events, the market barn stays open for fruit season and will close when apples sell out, according to Gammie.
Because of her own family traditions, Gammie said inspiration for the event stemmed from the Santa Lucia traditions celebrated in her home, including the crafts she makes with her children.
“Having a family business, we try to merge what’s already happening in our family at the farm because we’re kind of one in the same,” she said. “I just wanted to share it and people were interested in it, so it was a win-win.”
Information and market barn hours can be found at quarryhillorchards.com.
