2010 Faces of Ag Photo Contest
2nd Annual Harvesting Agriculture's Aesthetics Juried Photographic Exhibition

ANNUAL FARMING FOR LIFE! EXHIBIT

When:   August, during the Northwest Washington Fair, Lynden, WA
Where:  Mt. Baker Rotary Building

Awards received include: 
          State Fair Commissioners Black & White Award in 2002 and 2003
          2007 International Association of Fairs and Entertainment Agricultural Award

Admission is FREE with paid fair admission

Meet our Farming For Life! Sponsors

WHAT:

NEW for 2010:

• New high traffic location: FFL to be at center of the 2010 Fair!
• Wheelbarrow Gardens
• Harvesting Agriculture's Aesthetics, a Juried Photography Show
• Meet the Farmer & Discussion Series

The Farming For Life! Exhibit's emphasis is on the impact agriculture has on everyone in the community that includes providing beneficial products we all need, an important economic base, contributions to quality of life and environmental protection.  The 4,000 square foot exhibition showcases over 150 full-color photo enlargements in a very professionally designed display.  This exhibit shares the Beauty, Way of Life, Value and Diversity that Agriculture offers Whatcom County.  The fairgoing public gains a better understanding of the agricultural industry while learning about the major products and crops grown in Whatcom County.  What does the community gain from Whatcom County agriculture?  They find out what agricultrue does for the environment as stewards of the soil, water and air.  They also see how agriculture contributes to salmon habitat improvement and how farmers meet the callenging threats of economic vitality, urban sprawl, water restrictions, environmental pressures, and loss of farmland.  They learn that agriculture plays a very important part to the County and Washington State's economy.  Along with the photo essays displayed there are many text panels with detailed information interspersed as additional educational opportunities. 

Another part of the educational effort is a twenty minute video which presents the "Farming For Life!" story in a quiet theater-like setting.  It covers the same topics as the Exhibit.  Without the farmers, not only will wide open spaces and part of our heritage be lost, but also a big percentage of our county's economy through loss of locally produced agricultural products.

How do you engage people of all ages into such an exhibit?  You include the kids!  This exhibit's paramount focus is on getting the kids to understand the importance of agriculture.  It has several activities to help accomplish this goal.  FREE kids AGtivities are advertised outside the building and on the walkway.

• "Twister" the cow has to be the favorite.  Everyone wants to milk her!  Kids from just months old to over eighty sit down on the stool beside her and see how much "milk" they can squeeze into the pail.
• The Wheel of Farming game has you setting the spinner flying and hoping it will stop on the easiest way to answer an ag trivia question.  You either know it, get to choose a multiple-choice answer or state whether it's true or false.  How much water does an average cow drink each day?  (30-50 gallons or a bath tub full!)
• The Scavenger Hunt has everyone searching the exhibit for farm related items like an owl, a giant raspberry, a glass of milk, a crowing rooster or a series of ag facts.
• Maybe you just like to color - thousands of coloring sheets are colored on or taken home for later at the coloring center tables.  There are also FREE 16 page Farming For Life! Coloring Books full of pictures of Whatcom County's main agricultural products, facts and trivia to take home to extend the educational opportunities beyond the fair experience.
• Bean Bag toss games and digging for potatoes in the sandbox prove to be other activities the kids love to participate in.
• Photo opportunities abound.  "Twister" the cow is one of the favorites, but so are the bean bag toss cutouts and the potato digging sandbox.  Plus, the Gothic Farmer and his Wife and the giant Salmon just seem to beg kids of all ages to stick their heads through the cut-outs.
• A quiet Discovery Center Reading area is very popular for the parents needing a little quiet space.  It is stocked with thirty or so agriculturally related books that kids love to read and be read to.  Kids of all ages sit on the beanbag chairs and learn a bit more about agriculture and farming.

Most of these activities include some sort of little prize for the eager and awaiting hands.  Prizes include pencils, sitickers, tattoos and other ag promotional items.

There is another 2000 square foot area featuring agricultural commissions and organizational displays.  The only "rule" is that they have to be agriculturally related, educational and generic!  The twenty or so displays feature raspberries, dairy, compost, salmon & streams, conservation, water, potatoes, and so much more.  Much can be learned through these displays......and much informaitonal literature and little freebies are distributed throughout the week.

All in all, approximately 3,000 people view the Farming For Life! exhibit each day, meaning about 18,000 people meander through the displays learning about agriculture, and most specifically, about Whatcom County agriculture, over the course of the week.

Harvesting Agriculture’s Aesthetics
2010 Theme: Faces of Ag

A Juried Exhibition of Fine Art Photography
2010 submissions deadline has been extended to July 30, 2010
Press Release

2010 Winners

2009 Winners

Download the 2010 Call for Artists' Prospectus & Submission Guidelines

Capturing distinctive and original farm, family and rural landscapes found in Whatcom County.

Debuting at Farming For Life Exhibit
August 16-21, 2010

Continuing at Lynden Pioneer Museum for the Lynden Harvest Festival
August 25th through Octobber 18th, 2010

Introduction and Background

In honor of our Whatcom County agricultural land base, Whatcom Farm Friends is pleased to announce
a call for artists for the second annual photographic exhibition highlighting farming’s beauty. The exhibit,
Harvesting Agriculture’s Aesthetics, will celebrate both the creativity of our county’s amateur and
professional artists, and uniquely capture our rural people, crops and product diversity, livestock,
equipment and machinery, and rural vistas. It’s well known that “a picture is worth a thousand words”
and we want help telling Whatcom County agriculture’s story.

From the entries submitted, up to 150 images will be selected by a panel and placed on public exhibition
during the Northwest Washington Fair as a part of the Farming For Life! exhibit in the Mt. Baker Rotary
Building. Following the fair, the Harvesting Agriculture’s Aesthetics "Faces of Ag" exhibit will move to the Lynden
Pioneer Museum for display through October 18th, 2010. Selected works will also be featured on
Whatcom Farm Friends website, www.wcfarmfriends.com.

The initial Farming For Life! exhibit began in August 2002, as collective works were gathered from local
professional photographers who voluntarily captured the beauty, way of life, and products of Whatcom
County’s rural landscapes. This exhibit has won numerous awards. It received the coveted and
prestigious Black & White Award from the State Fair Commissioner both in 2002 and 2003. In 2007, it
won the International Association of Fairs and Expositions sweepstakes award for the Best Agricultural
Educational Exhibit. Some 12,000 to 20,000 visitors peruse this exhibit annually.

Exhibition Dates

The exhibit will be on view in the Mt. Baker Rotary Building within the Farming For Life! exhibit August
16-21, 2010. Entry is free with fair admission and will be open 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily. From
August 25th through October 18th, 2010, the Harvesting Agriculture’s Aesthetics "Faces of Ag"  will move to the
Lynden Pioneer Museum. Admission to the Museum is $7 for Adults, $4 for Seniors and Students, Kids 6
and under are Free.  Hours are Monday through Saturday,
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Members get in free every day.
(www.lyndenpioneermuseum.com).

Subject

Harvesting Agriculture’s Aesthetics is that farmer, son, daughter, farm worker, crop, product, farm
equipment/machinery, livestock, wildlife, field, and/or vista that is unique and special to you as an artist
and as a resident of Whatcom County. It may be tilling, growing, harvesting, daily chores, or relaxing –
something special, somewhere special, someone special - capturing rural farm life.

Whatcom Farm Friends is grateful to our 2010 Farming For Life exhibit sponsors.

Meet our Members

Become a Member

A Nostalgic Look Back on Fair Week 2009

Farming for Life Exhibit, sponsored by Whatcom Farm Friends 

"Building county-wide communities of support (farm friends) for agriculture to create harmony as the County continues to grow" is one of Farm Friends five focus areas.  One way to accomplish this goal is to "table" events, display organizational material at meetings, workshops and conventions and educate consumers about Whatcom County's agricultural industry.  Another way is by presenting this information to service clubs and other organizational meetings and activities through speakers, powerpoint presentations and general networking opportunities.  Following is just a partial listing of places around Whatcom County where Farm Friends has had the opportunity for Agricultural Advocacy, Education & Awareness messages:

• Northwest Washington Fair  - Annual Farming For Life! Exhibit held in the Mt. Baker Rotary Building each August
• On-farm tours to berry, dairy, methane digester farms
• Lynden Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting
• Salmon Summit
• Local Rotary meetings including Bellingham Rotary, North Bellingham Rotary, Mt. Baker Rotary,   Bellingham Bay Rotary,
• Whatcom Realtors Association
• Northwest Ag Business Center events (NABC)
• Whatcom Dairy Federation
• Focus on Farming
• County Council meetings
• Haggen's Barkley Village
• Community Food Co-op (Community Shopping Day)

Media coverage of events and activities plus numerous articles have been another way to share agriculure with consumers.  Listed here are a few places you may have read about Farm Friends and/or agriculture in our county:

• Lynden Tribune
• Bellingham Herald
• Whatcom Business Magazine
• Community Food Co-op
• Lynden Chamber of Commerce website (featured organization)