By Thomas Gase, Times-Herald, Vallejo, Calif. The Tribune Content Agency
Loma Vista Farm is celebrating its 50th anniversary - and with it another Harvest Festival.
The annual event, a longtime favorite, features families showing up as much as a half-hour early to experience train rides, a pumpkin patch, face painting, crafts, snow cones, and of course animals like chickens, horses, cows and alpacas.
"My favorite part about this event every year is seeing the kids," Loma Vista Farm Events Chair Jennifer Shiner said. "I love seeing them getting the chance to experience and enjoy the farm in the middle of this community. The kids love the horses and the chickens are always a big hit with them. And I'm a big fan of the Apple Cider Press that we have. I love that the kids get a chance to see how stuff gets made or how stuff gets done."
Although Shiner said there is a lot to love at the event, she was overwhelmed by the amount of volunteers - nearing about 60 this year.
"We can't do any of these events without the volunteers so I'm very appreciative of them," Shiner said.
Founded in 1974, Loma Vista Farm is a public and private venture between the Vallejo City Unified School District and the Friends of Loma Vista Farm, a community-based nonprofit organization established in 2003. The Friends provide fiscal, administrative, and organizational oversight and leadership. The Board is comprised of teachers, parents, community members, and representatives from local businesses.
Shiner said first-time attendees tell her they had no idea the venue existed. That wasn't the case with Flora Csontos, who was at the event with her family including her son, Andra Csontos, for the second straight year.
"Last year he was just figuring out how to sit up, but this year he's been lifting pumpkins with his own hands and he's saying, 'Baah!' to all the sheep," Flora said, with a laugh. "We had a fun time last year and when we saw they were having another harvest we jumped at the chance to come. This is one of the very best parts of Vallejo. I didn't know about it until (Andra) was born, but we come here a lot now."
Ashley Harrell was at the venue with her family, including Charlie, who is 15 months old.
"This is a really cool place and it's nice that it's only about a 15-minute drive for us," Ashley said. "We heard about this place from our Nanny and we had been wanting to do a pumpkin patch so this made sense. We got to learn a lot about Loma Vista Farm and Charlie really likes the pigs. We also got to go home with a free book from the Solano Library so that was very nice."
Loma Vista Farm President of the Board Julia Allen said her favorite part was seeing the kids and the families interact with the animals, but also showing off new parts of the farm.
"We have a new goat bar, an alpaca farm and soon we'll have a new cow barn across the street," Allen said. "So you can see the footprint's of this farm expanding. I love seeing the families come here year after year and all the memories that are being made."