Eight west-side counties (Clark, Clallam, King, Kitsap, Mason, Pierce, Snohomish and Skagit) held “Harvest Celebrations” on Oct. 2, 1999. Tours and open houses of area farms, festivals, dinners featuring locally produced food, prepared by local chefs, music, dances, etc., helped celebrate agriculture, farmers and food.
“The main objective is to try to reconnect urban populations with their source of food and other products that come from the farm,” explains Doug Stienbarger, WSU Cooperative Extension King County chair.
All events were locally planned and locally conducted, but they were held on the same date to capitalize on media publicity by creating a critical mass that was impossible to ignore. And the media loved it! From the urban-oriented Seattle Times to the agricultural weekly, The Capital Press, newspapers ran stories about Harvest Celebration Day.
Extension faculty Dyvon Havens said several thousand people visited 10 host farms in Skagit County. An estimated 2600 people visited 21 King County host farms. About 500 visitors turned out in Pierce County.
In Skagit County, Mary Feehan attended with her seven-year-old daughter. Later, she enthused, “It’s a wonderful community function. They should do this every year. It opens up people’s eyes to agriculture. I’ve seen older people enjoying this as much as the kids are.”
Eighty-eight-year-old Carmen Sofie Laine, who grew up near Sequim, was one of those “older people” who enjoyed the celebration. Her grandfather came to Clallam County from Italy to be a dairy farmer. Farmers, their families, employees, or volunteers conducted short guided tours of farms, explaining operations and answering questions. Many farms offered food—chili, roasted potatoes, corn on the cob, hamburgers, apple pie, apple cider, etc. Some arranged for local musicians to play music. Fun things for kids were popular attractions—hay bale mazes, petting pens, pumpkin decorating, and other activities were common. And, of course, Extension set up educational displays and helped farmers create their own educational materials. Darigold donated ice cream bars and yogurt.
WSU Cooperative Extension Clallam County developed a partnership with their local weekly paper which did a major “spread” on agriculture the Wednesday before the event, complete with a map showing where the farms are and with a brief description of each.
In King County, a community dinner was held at the Pike Place Market. People representing all aspects of our food system, from farmers to chefs to consumers, shared a meal prepared from locally grown food. King County also tied the celebration to observance of the 20th anniversary of its Farmland Preservation Program.
The Harvest Celebration program was organized by the WSU Cooperative Extension Food and Farm Connections Team, which promotes agriculture in western Washington. About 25 county faculty and other extension leaders comprise the team.
