Crisp mornings, sunny afternoons, great music and delightful entertainment, along with farm fresh veggies, fresh-pressed apple cider and flowers made the 19th Key Peninsula Fall Farm Tour and Harvest Festival as new participants brought vibrant energy and familiar farms delivered.
One newcomer, Christie Tackett of Moon Mountain Farm, which borders Minter Creek, brightened the weekend with her flowers, her art and her vision. The inspirational gardens included fresh flowers, flowers for fabric dyeing and lots of garlic, all part of her Community Supported Agriculture program, where customers pay an annual fee to receive a weekly share of farm produce.
Tackett’s background in fashion design and fabric art and her 15 years of experience retailing with Eddie Bauer took a new turn when she and her potter partner, Scott Wynn, and their 9-year-old daughter Alexa moved to the Key Peninsula in 2021. Her creativity and focus shifted to include flowers, and her one-woman enterprise took off.
“I want to integrate what I grow with connections, communities and lives, to weave it all together,” she said. Tackett hopes to one day open the farm as a place for artistic retreats that augment her many workshops creating art from natural resources and weavings with nature.
Another breakaway newcomer was The Homestead Collective at the Longbranch Community Church. To the rollicking live Bluegrass and Gospel music of Ebenezer’s Geezers, the collective offered a science fair-like experience with experts present to answer questions on a wide variety of homesteading skills. Their group gardens, grows and gleans as much food as possible.
Composting and Hügelkultur, a centuries-old, traditional way of building a garden bed from rotting logs and plant debris, demonstrations of food preservation, soap and cheese making, animal husbandry and poultry farming were all on display, along with many kid-friendly activities.
With many people moving out to the Key Peninsula to get back to nature and some off-grid living, the collective’s goal was to share their specialties and experiences. Beth and Brian Knudson, part of the group’s board and organizers said, “Our goal is to combine the group’s individual and personal skills to show others how they can start small, one skill at a time. We are excited to bring people together and to share what we’ve learned.”
Old favorites on the Farm Tour included the Fiber Arts show at the Long Branch Improvement Club. Nineteen artists exhibited inside, including Judy and Danny Heath’s Common Goods. Doll Clothes by Donna represented the work of a gifted seamstress combining experience from her 52-year career as a childcare provider and her love of making little boys and girls happy, to make doll clothes for every budget.
PF Designs displayed unique crocheted jewelry, and The Coffee Bean had an array of miniature crocheted creatures, including narwhals, mermaids, frogs and ducks, none bigger than a berry. Love Auntie Lei offered crocheted creations with equally whimsical animals and unique baskets on a much larger scale.
Outside, free flu and COVID-19 vaccines were provided by Purdy Cost Less Pharmacy. Puget Sound Pizza fed guests as they wandered through a field of classic cars. Fourteen booths brought all manner of hats, soaps, photos, jewelry and crafts, community services and an innovative Inner-Outer Straw Washer, invented by Carol Putnam of Purdy.
Creviston Valley Farm showcased its progress in resurrecting an abandoned farm. On property once owned by his parents, the gentleman’s farm of Sid Skievaski’s youth proved not to be what he expected when he returned to the KP in 2022. Partnering with Food Backpacks 4 Kids and the Transitions Program and Navy Junior ROTC at Peninsula High School brought dramatic change. Skievaski likened it “to eating a dinosaur one bite at a time.” Looking out over the revitalized property, Zaida Woodworth of FB4K said “I am filled with gratitude and joy for the work we are able to do in this community.”
In its inaugural year, Creviston Valley Farm’s 1-acre kitchen garden produced 15 varieties of root and seed vegetables that provided over 1,000 pounds of fresh produce to the FB4K food program. On the farm tour, children were entertained with ladybug releases, birdhouse-making kits, mobile Books on the Bus and life-sized Jenga games. Fresh veggies sold out by noon.
Owners of Astrid’s Lavender Farm, Don and Astrid Graham and Derek and Marta Costa, have created a destination experience on Case Inlet. Their two acres planted in lavender march up the hill, perfuming the air and showcasing seven species and a total of 3,000 plants. Surrounding the lavender are lovely nature trails, an area with picnic tables, a play area for kids, a spot for entertainers, and a shop filled with products made from the fruit of their labors.
They offered demos of essential oil distillation, a Halloween costume contest, and a performance by Yoli Ruffo, clown and harpist extraordinaire, along with a surprise pop-up performance by Terrence Wallace, whose music had Astrid kicking up her heels with the clown in yellow shoes.
As Christie Tackett of Moon Mountain Farm said, “Flowers (and food) provide the seeds of community.” Many seeds were sown during the 2024 Key Peninsula Farm Tour and Harvest Festival.
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