Families can step behind the barn doors this weekend for a rare, first-hand look at Skagit County agriculture during the 27th annual Skagit Valley Festival of Family Farms.
The free festival features 10 family-owned farms, including La Conner’s own Hedlin’s Family Farm. Participating farms will offer a wide variety of samples, products, and activities for all ages, ranging from educational exhibits and gardening demonstrations to pumpkin patches and hay mazes. Visitors can follow a self-guided tour with a map, stopping at farms offering samples, products, and activities for all ages — from educational exhibits and gardening demonstrations to pumpkin patches and hay mazes.
Click to view the map and learn more about each farm on the tour.
“You can have a hands-on-experience learning what it takes to run a farm, from growing crops to feeding animals,” the festival’s website reads. “It is an opportunity to talk to your farmers and follow your food from the fields to the table.”
The participating farms highlight a wide range of specialties, including produce, wines, cattle, shellfish, and dairy. Guests can learn about topics like what “certified organic” farming is, the uses of alpaca fiber, and how greenhouses can extend the growing season.
The festival is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 4 and 5. Parking is free and participants can look for flags at each participating farm. More information, including a map of the farms, is available at festivaloffamilyfarms.com.
Sydnee Chapman is a freelance and investigative reporter. Her work has appeared in various news outlets in the PNW and Intermountain West.
