Every year since 2014, tens of thousands of Albertans spend one August weekend visiting farms across the province. Alberta Open Farms Days is a nonprofit organization that aims to get people out visiting their local farms, distilleries and other agricultural businesses. The initiative is part of the growing movement of “agritourism” — meant to educate people about where their food comes from, see how harvesting and other agricultural practices work and act as a break from city life.
This year, there are over 100 participating host farms across the province that will open up their doors to visitors August 16 and 17, including over two dozen in Sturgeon, Strathcona and Leduc Counties — just a stone’s throw (metaphorically speaking) from Edmonton’s city limits.
Once on the farms, visitors can expect a variety of themed activities, including a donkey meet-and-greet session at Medieval Manor Gardens and whiskey and gin tastings at Anohka Distillery to name a few. The range of activities reflects the diversity of farms included in Open Farm Days. From apiaries to alpaca farms, there is something for everyone.
Now in their fourth year of being a host farm, BarOA Farms, a flower farm located 15 minutes east of Fort Saskatchewan, has become a mainstay of the event. Throughout the warmer seasons, the farm offers floral and bouquet services, u-pick experiences and dining events like brunch and farm-to-table dinners. But during Open Farm Days, they amp up their offerings, adding experiences that allow visitors to work with their hands. This year visitors will be able to enjoy hands-on garden tours, bookmark making — from pressed flowers from the farm — and a look at the Aquatic Biosphere Project’s minnow trailer, a mobile exhibition that explores Alberta’s aquatic biosphere.
BarOA co-founder Bryanna Kumpula-Yung says they have learned a lot since their first year participating in Open Farm Days. Inviting people onto your farm means considering things you wouldn’t normally think about, she says, like proper signage, letting people be hands-on at the farm, and having activities for all ages. But most importantly is making sure people have a good time while they are on the farm, Kumpula-Yung says.
“We don’t have cute, fuzzy chickens, cows, or horses for people to see. So we realized that we have to create other things for people to do that aren’t just looking at plants.”
Though BarOA is open throughout the season for ticketed events, Farm Days is one weekend where visitors can come for free to get an in-depth look at how the flowers are grown — and at the work that goes into running a flower farm.
BarOA is one of the hundreds of farms that open its doors on August 16 and 17 for city-goers to get a taste of country life and learn about how their local products and food are made. It’s all part of the larger agritourism movement, which Alberta Open Farm Days, and host farms, hope will continue to grow.
