By Christine Weiser

On Saturday, March 11, the sixth annual Farm Family Celebration was held at the Hamburg Field House. The event was another rousing success. Over 800 guests came from five counties to show their appreciation to farm families who devote themselves to this challenging life.

“This event is not a fundraiser,” says Pastor Mary Gade of Ziegels Lutheran Church, Breinigsville. “It’s simply an opportunity for farm families and supporters of farm families to come together and have fun. There are no politics, just good, old-fashioned family fun.”

Indeed, fun was had by all. Flowers decorated the room in a beautiful spring theme, and the Hoe-Down music of local band Lynn Eckert and The Outlaws got everyone dancing. As in previous years, the delicious food was catered by “Big John,” whose staff managed the amazing feat of serving over 800 people in less than forty-five minutes.

A giant map of the five counties was hung in the room, and guests were asked to mark their home locations on this map and the kind of farm they operated (e.g., dairy, Christmas tree, cattle, crops). This was a great way to help guests visualize the broad reach of the Farm Family Celebration. Families enjoyed getting to know their neighbors and sharing stories of the proud tradition of farming, where farm families have been supporting each other for generations.

“Farm families are such a tight community and rely on each other to help all the time,” says Pastor Gade. “When we went through the recent droughts, we asked how we could help the farmers, but they all said ‘we’re okay.’ We concluded that the best thing we can offer the families is to show them our appreciation.”

Sponsors of the Farm Family Celebration included Diakon, several area banks, many of the local granges, and both the Berks and Lehigh/Northampton Penn State Extension offices. Through the great efforts of these sponsors and dedicated volunteers, the Farm Family Celebration promises to become an area tradition. Next year’s event is already planned for March 24, 2007.

Celebrations like these remind us of the importance of local farming. The next time you stop at a farm stand for freshly picked asparagus, or ripe ear of corn, don’t forget to say, “Thank you.”