Ag celebration planned for Palmer

Good old-fashioned fun is on the menu for Ag Day.

Sack races are fun for kids of all ages.

Alaska Agriculture Appreciation Day, set for Aug. 9 at the Palmer Center for Sustainable Living, will highlight the wide variety of agricultural endeavors in the 49th state.

“It’s like a small county fair, open house, farmers’ market and educational opportunity rolled into one,” said farm manager Judson Scott.

The event will feature live animals, a goat-milking demonstration, old-fashioned games for children, prize giveaways, tours of research labs and fields, hay wagon rides, and music by the Air Force Band Alaska Brass and local band Back Acres. Special activities include a “sheep to shawl” demonstration by the Mat-Su Fiber Arts Guild. There will also be horseshoeing, wood carving, soap making and an exhibit of antique tractors provided by the Museum of Alaska Transportation and Industry. The event is free but attendees may wish to bring money to purchase food and crafts from vendors.

Special recognition will be given to the 150th anniversary of the Morrill Act, which opened up the higher education system to more Americans. The University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service will show how to cook with barley, give GPS and precision agriculture demonstrations and provide a tour of an alternate grains experiment.

Scott said the farm started hosting the family-friendly day a few years ago to show off the facility to friends and neighbors, promote agriculture and provide a fun outing for people in the Matanuska Valley.

The center, located at 1509 S. Georgeson Drive, is a research facility of the UAF School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences and the Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station. The event, which runs from noon to 6 p.m. Aug. 9, is hosted by SNRAS and the UAF Cooperative Extension Service.