THE BEAUTY OF FALL’S BOUNTY
Families who celebrated the cold snap by dressing in layers, picking out pumpkins and brewing hot cocoa can make plans for more fall festivities at the firstever Harvest Hoedown at Blackwood Educational Land Institute in Hempstead.
The 33-acre farm is a destination for classes on field trips and Scout troops earning badges — the Nov. 3 event is designed to welcome the entire family to tour the farm, meet farmers, help make straw bales and explore the land on a hayride. Goats, pigs and chickens will roam the property, and attendees can sample produce and food from area farmers or shop a farmstead market.
Blackwood owner Cath Conlon says that for urbanites, the event will feel like a radical departure from their everyday.
“A farm without people is a very sad place,” she said, explaining that Blackwood is bolstering its lineup of community events in an effort to deepen the connection Texans have with the origin of their food.
“We want to know our neighbors,” she said. “If people don’t know their food, there’s no way they’re going to love it and want to eat it.”
Families can borrow suits to visit Blackwood’s beehives and taste honey or meet some of the 100 chickens in the on-site coop.
Farmers will host informal presentations, including one about how grains from Barton Springs Mill were used to make loaves of bread guests can sample.
Another demo teaches the process of fermentation. Local brewers and vendors will sell beer and wine.
In the kids’ zone, children can practice vegetable stamping, take a yoga class and have their face painted. A scavenger hunt encourages them to identify various fruits on the property, but the biggest draw, Conlon predicts, will be the chance “to be creative and run in the wild and explore.”
Blackwood farmer Rebecca Verm said the experiences at the farm are tactile.
“Picking a tomato or pulling a carrot out of the garden bed can be such a surprising experience for a child who’s never had that opportunity before,” she said. “… It brings out this very inherent wonder and curiosity in both children and adults.”
The parents she meets at the farm tell her they want to teach their kids to make healthier food choices.
Kelly Barnhart, owner of cleanfood restaurant Vibrant, takes her daughter Lila, 6, to visit Blackwood for an experience she describes as idyllic.
“It’s such a good thing to expose kids to … so they can grown an appreciation for the Earth,” she said. “When you’re living in Houston, it’s nice to have a touch point with that. Slowing down and getting back to the basics.”
KIDS CAN ENGAGE WITH THE SURROUNDINGS AT BLACKWOOD EDUCATIONAL LAND INSTITUTE .