North county filled with harvest fun
Published 12:31 pm Thursday, September 18, 2008
Locally grown produce and locally raised animals will be the stars Saturday in north Snohomish County, as a two-fold event marks the upcoming arrival of fall with outdoor family fun.
Harvest Jubilee, which takes its name and inspiration from Stanwood’s 1930s era annual fall festival, highlights agriculture past and present, with an eye to preserving farms and farmland for future generations, festival organizer Vivian Henderson explained.
“Harvest Jubilee is a community appreciation day where we bring the farm experience into town, showcasing our locally made food products, fiber arts and other crafts, fine art, great food, live music and more,” she said. Meanwhile, “The Stanwood/Camano Farm Tour invites visitors to get out and experience life on the farm right where our wonderful food is grown.”
On the tours, families can get close looks at 18 farms, with farmers on hand to give information on their products and to talk about the animals they raise, while downtown Stanwood serves up entertainment for all ages, along with food to enjoy and farming talks to hear.
Downtown sites include:
Stanwood Community and Senior Center, which will serve breakfast from 8 to 10 a.m.
The hub at The Country Store’s parking lot, where visitors can see animals and antique tractors, take locomotive rides, enjoy arts and crafts, check out specialty food vendors’ booths, and kids can play games to win prizes.
Floyd Norgaard Cultural Center, with its Nordic Heritage exhibit, the AAUW fine arts show and the D.O. Pearson turn-of-the-century farmhouse.
Stanwood-Camano Fairgrounds, which will stage an old-fashioned barn dance Saturday night — complete with line dance lessons — followed by a dance for adults only.
Activities at the hub, like storytelling, tractor locomotive rides and buggy-driving demonstrations, will go on throughout the day. Live entertainment will include a children’s theater performance from 10 to 11 a.m., kids’ karaoke from 11 a.m. to noon and the South End String Band performing from 3 to 5 p.m., among other acts.
For families who want to schedule as much hands-on fun as possible into one day, another option is Stillaguamish Valley Pioneer Museum’s sixth annual Pioneer Days, from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday in Arlington.
Most activities are set up at Pioneer Hall, a building that fronts the museum on 67th Avenue NE. There, young visitors can grind wheat, pump water and play with some old-fashioned toys, like a scooter made from an orange crate.
With most things being the same from year to year, the staff notes that chances to milk a wooden cow, to churn butter and then taste the results, and to try using a hand-cranking clothes washer seem to have emerged as favorites.
“They also get to split a shake shingle from a block of cedar, put their name on it and take it home,” museum volunteer Myrtle Rausch said.
Some of the indoor attractions include trying to use a treadle sewing machine, writing with pen and ink and watching a demonstration of a mangle iron.
“Children like to attend because of the hands-on (aspects) and adults have fun watching the younger generation doing what they used to do,” Rausch said.
Stanwood/Camano Farm Tour and second annual Harvest Jubilee
When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. festival activities and farm tours Saturday; 6 p.m. barn dance, 8 to 10 p.m. adult dance,
Where: Produce and animal farms, 18 total, in areas surrounding Stanwood (Web site has map and addresses); activities at several downtown sites with hub at The Country Store parking lot, 8815 272nd St. NW, Stanwood. Farm tour and in-town activities free; fee for dances. 360-629-0562, www.harvestjubilee.org.
Pioneer Days
1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Stillaguamish Valley Pioneer Museum, 20722 67th Ave. NE, Arlington. Pioneer Hall activities free; museum admission $5, $2 ages 12 and under; 360-435-7289, www.stillymuseum.org.
