Tucson Village Farm will celebrate its sixth annual Harvest Festival today.
The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the farm, 4210 N. Campbell Ave., just south of East River Road. It is free and open to the public.
“It’s just a really fun time to come together as a community and sort of our way of giving back to the community and saying ‘thanks for being there for us,’ ” said Leza Carter, co-founder of the farm.
Healthy food demonstrations, farm tours and educational activities will happen throughout the day. There also will be live music, a petting zoo and a food truck roundup.
Fresh produce from Sleeping Frog Farms, River Road Gardens and Marana’s Farmers Co-op will be on-sale.
Some 2,200 participated in the festival last year.
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A main attraction of the festival is the 95 rows of popcorn grown especially for the event. It’s a bit smaller and harder, and great for popping.
“Kids will be able to harvest popcorn, take it off the cob and get to try popcorn we have available here,” said Elizabeth Sparks, a UA employee who works at the farm.
“It’s just like more rich and just more golden in taste,” said Nico Powell, 10, Carter’s son. “Its like nothing compared to any store bought at all.”
People can also help harvest and mill wheat along with pitching-in with farm chores.
This year they will offer a free bike valet to encourage people to ride to the event rather than drive, Carter said. The farm is located along the Rillito River Park bicycle route.
Amanda Martinez is a University of Arizona journalism student who is an apprentice at the Star. Contact her at starapprentice@tucson.com
