Forget the corn mazes and the kissing alpaca - just getting out to the country is the best thing about this weekend's Skagit Valley Festival of Family Farms, says Trica Plyme, the event's executive director.
The farm tour, now in its 13th year, features 14 free stops that highlight a range of Skagit Valley agriculture, from wineries and dairies to fruits and vegetables, and even alpacas and shellfish. Among the sights and activities are high-tech and antique farm equipment, an ultrasound exam of a live steer, and a demonstration of alpaca fibers being processed.
Participating farms offer tours of their operations, and many have free family-oriented activities and samples, although there is a charge for some activities. The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1, and Sunday, Oct. 2, at various locations around Skagit County. See farmtour.com for farm listings, activities and directions.
"It's a good hands-on educational experience," Plyme said. "You can see and hear and touch it all."
Plyme said visitors will enjoy the "inside look" the tour offers of farm life in a variety of forms.
"It's not just a market stand," she said. "You can talk to the farmers about their passion."
Among Plyme's favorite stops on the tour are Eagle Haven Winery and Perkins Apple Orchard, off Highway 20 near Sedro-Woolley.
"They end up doing a dual tour so you can see the apple processing and the winery," she said.
She said family favorites include the kissing alpacas at County Time Alpacas in Sedro-Woolley and Gordon Skagit Farms in Mount Vernon.
"They have a kissing alpaca that was a big hit last year," she said.
The corn mazes at Gordon Skagit Farms and Schuh Farms are popular, too, she said.
"I had a lot of fun last year at Hedlins," Plyme said, describing a Mount Vernon family farm that features conventional and organic production of fruits and vegetables, flowers and herbs. She recommends the tour of the greenhouse and nursery at the farm, which offers CSA produce subscriptions and supplies local restaurants.
Our family had fun last year at Golden Glen Creamery in Bow, where they have an artificial milking cow called Squirty Gertie, and where we sampled cheeses. Their chocolate milk was a hit with our 12-year-old, Emma, worth waiting in line to buy.
At Taylor Shellfish, 2182 Chuckanut Drive in Bow, they offer oyster-shucking demonstrations and samples of barbecued oysters and clams. Children will enjoy the crab races and an activity that lets them build a "fairy house" on the beach.
On Saturday only, representatives of Western Washington University's Shannon Point Marine Center will have a tidepool touch tank.
