It can be easy to overlook the fact that our school has a highly respected natural resources program when most of us students come here to get our general education out of the way. But it is true. The Santa Rosa Junior College is a wonderful place to become educated in the skills and knowledge needed to gain employment in the livestock and agricultural fields.
The center of production and education for the program is Shone Farm. Located off of river road at 6225 Eastside Road, Forestville, CA. Shone is a 365 acre facility that includes vineyards for the viticulture program, pastures for the beef cattle and horses for the bovine and equine sciences, as well as orchards, berry patches, pumpkin patches, and acres of fertile beds for Sustainable Agriculture students to grow what ever they please.
It is now October. The arrival of fall has the farm at the peak of its harvest, and as a way to spread the word of the schools programs to a wider audience last year the farm had its first annual harvest festival. What better way to show the success of the program then to offer the public an eye into the farms inner workings and a taste of its delicious bounty. The Festival will be on Saturday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free.
There will be a number of attractions. For the adults there will be wine tasting, courtesy of the viticulture program, and bottles of your favorites will be available to purchase. There will be apple pressing demonstrations for fresh apple cider. For lunch there will be burgers of our Shone farm grass fed beef, with all the produce grown on site. There will be a pick your own pumpkin patch, and all the fresh seasonal produce available at the farm stand or grab a basket and pick your own.
To keep the rugrats entertained there will be a petting zoo, arts and crafts, or hop on the tractor for a hay bale farm tour. There are also artists enrolled throughout the program who will have a face painting stand if anyone wants to be a tiger or a turtle for the day.
This is only the second year for the festival and its only in its infancy. Shone farms is still off the radar. Yet the programs administered and yield from that work is far beyond what may be expected. So come check it out, because the only way for Shone to expand its name is through word of mouth and with more attendance every year our school’s annual Fall Harvest Festival can grow to become a staple of the county’s agricultural identity.