Adam Prudhomme
Editor
Farmers across Lennox and Addington will open their doors to the public as part of 4-H Farm Fest, which runs Sept. 28 and 29 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The self-guided tour will let residents get an up close look of the inner workings of 10 farms throughout the county. Individual sites will feature their own farm related activities, vendors, farm machine displays, local products and animals.
“The L&A 4-H Club will be hosting the event and using it to provide a positive impact for rural youth in Lennox and Addington,” said one of the event organizers Edward Embury, who explained the event to Greater Napanee council during their regular meeting on Aug. 13. “This event will allow them to attract more young people and further their efforts in our community.”
Embury said similar events in surrounding farming communities have drawn over 3,000 visitors.
“Growing up, 4-H was more of a thing than it is now,” added Nadia Goodfellow, a 4-H Beef Club leader. “A lot of people generally don’t know what it is and what it does for you as a person or your community and what it could offer. I think this is a really good opportunity to express that and make it more known to the community so we have a better chance to change people’s lives and hopefully the agricultural community in the future.”
Participating farms are Bergeron Estate Winery and Cider Co., Hart Acre Grains, Hill View Farms, Hogans’ Honey and Maple Products Inc., Liv Simple Farms, MacKinnon Brothers Brewing Company, MacLaughlin Farms, Ripplebrook Dairy Farms, TCO Agromart and Topsy Farms.
A Facebook page, titled 4-H Farm Fest has been created for the event. Embury says they are also developing an app to provide directions for each of the stops on the self-guided tour.
Greater Napanee council agreed to donate $500 to the event, matching the donations from Stone Mills and Loyalist Townships.