Vanessa Martinez
Staff Writer
Fairplex presented “Spring in the Farm,” where families from local communities were invited to learn about the American agriculture from activities and workshops Sunday morning.
The Farm at Fairplex is an agriculture business and educational organization that is open to local communities.
Every year in the spring and fall, small businesses go to the Fairplex farm to sell products that support and build awareness towards agriculture.
The Spring in the Farm featured live music, and food trucks as well as a hay bale-ride tour around the five-acre farm. It also provided hands-on education like milk demonstrations and a hen exhibit where baby chickens were hatched and raised.
The event also provided activities like rope making, hay making, planting vegetables and face painting.
“I love that it’s such a family oriented event, and allows kids to get a chance to interact with some of the animals,” Tammy Roush, director of engagement, said. “Many of the kids have never even seen some of the animals before.”
She said a lot of kids do not even know where vegetables come from or how they are grown. She said she enjoys watching young kids engage and learn about the values of agriculture.
“I think it’s such a valuable thing for us to know where our food comes from,” Natalie Chaidez said, volunteer program director for the Fairplex Learning Center. “This is a way for the kids to engage and make them want to learn more about agriculture values.”
Kids wandered around the farm, touching the texture of the plants while other families learned how to make rag dolls, which are small dolls that are made of only fabric and string.
“We want to make a difference with our kids. It’s where our heart is,” owner of the Markham Farm, Michele Markham, said.
Markham produces homemade soaps that only contain natural ingredients and has many skin benefits.
For example, the charcoal spearmint soap has the quality to make the skin firmer and tighter. The ingredients only consist of five essential oils including coconut oil and castor oil.
“It’s amazing, looking at our kids and showing them how soap was made in the old days and where it comes from,” Markham said.
“I love it here, there’s activities and workshops for anybody,” Michelle Armstrong said.
She said this was her first time coming to Spring in the Farm. She said her husband enjoys gardening and learned a lot from the event and that she wants to live a healthier lifestyle, eating plants more often and avoiding fast food.
She said she will come back to the event this fall.
Vanessa Martinez can be reached at vanessa.martinez4@laverne.edu.
Vanessa Martinez
