Sunday: Down on the farm

For the 24th annual Open Farm Day on Sunday, a dozen local farms will open their doors for a taste of life on the farm, without the chores, give or take a yak.

At BaahHummBuzz Farm in Dixfield, there will be roaming alpacas and short, educational tours.

At Friends’ Folly Farm in Monmouth, there will be angora rabbits and goats to pet as well as a spin around their fiber mill.

At Harvest Hill Farms in Mechanic Falls, it’s baby turkeys, sheep, bunnies and one baby yak with free admission to some of their kid-centric attractions.

“It’s a feel-good thing,” Harvest Hill owner Peter Bolduc said. “It makes us feel good to be able to open it up to the public; people who otherwise might not be able to afford some of those things in a tough economy.”

Harvest Hill drew between 400 and 500 people last Open Farm Day. Once again, it has a petting barn with sheep, goats and rabbits and a petting-optional pig. The farm’s Field of Dreams will open its pedal kart track and giant jumping pillow.

They also plan a “tasting tent” with $1 burgers and free samples.

BaahHummBuzz is participating in the event for the first time. Owner Karen Shumac said she and her husband, Larry Whittington, wanted to get word out about their new educational farm tours. The farm has goats, alpacas and a llama and sells farm-made soaps and crafts.

“(We) may have baby goats by Sunday,” Shumac said. “One is about to pop anytime.”

Amy LeBlanc of Whitehill Farm in East Wilton said she plans tours of the certified organic, raised vegetable beds and two short sessions on garlic diseases at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

“Bring your kids to meet our kids — we primarily have goats,” said Pogo, who goes by that name and owns Friends’ Folly with Marcia Marron. “Kids can play with the chickens, and they get to go in and play with the goats and have the goats all over them.”

The farm has its own fiber processing mill and a retail shop in a yurt. A fellow farmer will also be giving demonstrations on spinning angora rabbit wool and bring angora rabbits to pat.

“Lots of time we’ll have local people who have driven by here, and because it’s Open Farm Day, they feel like, ‘Oh, you’re open-open,'” Pogo said. “They’ll come and they’ll say we had no idea. You can’t see our animals from the road so people don’t know that we have 40 goats in the backyard.”

Thurston Family Farm in Peru plans tractor hayrides on the hour starting at 11 a.m. with self-guided tours of their large gardens, a scavenger hunt for kids and felted soap demos.

“We’re kind of hoping it’s a lot like Maine Maple Sunday,” Jim Thurston said. That event draws 500 people to the farm. “We’re tucked way out here in the middle of Peru and a lot of people don’t know what we do or what we’ve been doing, it’s good for them to see the sap house. We hope it’ll be good for them to see our big gardens.”

Nearly 80 farms will be open Sunday across the state. Harvest Hill and Nezinscot Farm in Turner are the only ones open in Androscoggin County. Whitehill and Black Acres Farm in Wilton and Morrison Hill Orchard in Farmington are participating in Franklin County. In Oxford County, it’s BaahHummBuzz, Thurston, Pleasant Valley Farm in West Paris and Pooh Corner Farm in Mason Township.

Most of the farms will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with Whitehill and Harvest Hill staying open until 4 p.m. and Nezinscot open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

kskelton@sunjournal.com

: Tracey Krawchuck watches her son Alex, 9, nuzzle up to a newborn goat at Harvest Hill Farms on Route 26 in Mechanic Falls on Wednesday afternoon. Tracey, who grew up in Norway but now lives in Michigan, was visiting family and friends and wanted to check out the petting barn. She said she likely would be back for this Sunday’s Open Farm Day.

: Tracey Krawchuck watches her son Alex, 9, nuzzle up to a newborn goat at Harvest Hill Farms on Route 26 in Mechanic Falls on Wednesday. Tracey, who grew up in Norway but now lives in Michigan, was visiting family and friends and wanted to check out the petting barn. She said she likely would be back for this Sunday’s Open Farm Day.

: Avery March, 8, of Otisfield, checks out a baby bird that fell out of its nest in the petting barn at Harvest Hill Farms on Route 26 in Mechanic Falls on Wednesday. The farm, along with others throughout the state, will take part in this Sunday’s annual Open Farm Day.