PITTSBURG, Kan. — Shead Farm is inviting the community to connect and learn at its sixth annual Shead Farm Homestead Festival scheduled to take place this weekend.
Taking place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, the event is held just north of the Bourbon County and Crawford County border in Garland at 2468 Cavalry Rd.
“An educational fun family day for all ages,” the event is set to feature a petting zoo, demonstrations, live music, games, activities, vendors, and food trucks.
Tickets cost $5 individually or $25 for a family of five or more.
The event began during the Covid pandemic, according to event organizer Vickie Shead.
Vickie and her husband, Larry, moved to their family homestead in 1978, a farm that has been in the family since 1892, with the goal of creating a sustainable, healthy farm.
Beginning in 1994, the couple allowed colleges such as Oral Roberts, Pittsburg State University, and Kansas State University to use the farm for weekend retreats, where students and faculty could fully experience the outdoors and the life of work outside of work and school. Through the retreats, Shead Farm hosted thousands of students from across the country.
“We did not advertise, we did not charge, it was just bringing their own food and toilet paper,” said Shead. “We finally had so many groups come from K-State, Hays, Fort Scott Community College, Pittsburg State University … They began to come on weekends, and we weren’t getting things done so that’s what developed into it being a working farm.
“When people come, they work. The colleges would give us two hours of work. Our biggest group was 72 … In the fall, we would get calls from the students saying, ‘Please give us this date, this is what we have open.’ … Our phone would ring and ring and ring in the fall.”
Not only did the Shead Farm assist college kids, but the family helped introduce the homesteading life to a young child addicted to video games.
“He came out begrudgingly and we got up in the morning at 6 a.m., walked down the road … Got busy on the day and worked till 9 at night,” said Shead. “That boy loved it. He was the sweetest kid, not rebellious at all, but he worked side by side with Larry or side by side with both of us and he talked and talked and talked and he wanted to bring all his friends out.”
Then, in 2021, Shead Farm decided to shift from its retreats and offer an event open to the public, which has continued to grow year by year. Shead added that vendors expected to attend each bring something different to the table, literally. No two tables will offer the same item, ranging from woodwork to blacksmithing to food creation.
“It was then that Larry and I decided that maybe we ought to do something where it’s open to the public to come and see,” said Shead. “You can learn a lot by just taking a tour. Then it grew and grew. It almost doubled every year, and we had 1,000 people last year with 150 volunteers and 64 vendors … It is a different festival because it pertains to homesteading but every age can find something to enjoy and learn from.”
For more information, call 620-224-4149 or visit sheadfarm.com.
This reporting is made possible, in part, by the Support Local Journalism Project Fund. Learn more at: southeastkansas.org/Localnews.
