CITRA, FL (352today.com) – It’s an eagerly awaited event every spring, and this year the 18th edition of the Farmland Preservation Festival will have something for everyone in the family. The event this year is April 11, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
A number of nonprofits will have booths at the festival, to share why protecting and conserving green space is important. There will be activities for children. Many of the booths will be underneath a covered arena, with the festival itself being held at Stirrups and Strides Therapeutic Riding Center, Inc., 4246 W. Hwy. 318, Citra.
There will be live music as Rodney Guynn and his brother Dave, who are Tom Petty’s first cousins, will be performing. Rodney is the festival’s entertainment director, and there will be several musical performers who will be part of the billing at the festival, said Jerome Feaster, Farmland Festival co-chairman, and a founding member of Save Our Rural Areas. There will also be a variety of food vendors at the festival.
The musical lineup for the festival:
- Mark and Ann: 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
- Rod Guynn: 11:10 a.m. to 11:50 a.m.
- Brion Kenyon Band: 12: p.m. to 1 p.m.
- Jessi Basset: 1:10 p.m. to 2 p.m.
- Pete Peterman
There will be some farm animals and a good selection of plant vendors, said Feaster.
There’s free admission to the festival itself, but there is a $5 fee to park, with attendees getting a raffle ticket, with an opportunity to win a prize, said Feaster.
“[The raffle ticket] gets people to come to our booth,” said Feaster. “We have an opportunity to interact with them. We get to talk about our rural area and trying to keep the country, country. [The Farmland Preservation Festival has] been active going on 18 years, and that’s a long time. It consists of all volunteers who are locally based. It seems like every time we turn around; there’s something in the way of development that’s threatening our rural communities.”
For more information regarding the Farmland Preservation Festival, you can visit the website farmlandfestival.org.