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.
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