Mark your calendars for the first ever Farmstead Duck Races and Arts Festival at the Farmstead on June 8. Ducks are now for sale for $5 each or make a team of 6 for $25. Despite the rain ( or maybe because ducks love it!) we sold hundreds of ducks at our booth at Charter Day. Ducks are selling fast and may be sold out before the day of the event. Don’t be disappointed, purchase your ducks now. You do not need to be present to win! Grand prize is a $500 gift card courtesy of the Rotary Club, a second place prize of a $250 gift card from Dean’s Natural Food Market, and other prizes from Get In Shape for Women, the Somerset Hills Y and Mallory’s Muffins. We’ll also have fabulous art in our silent auction in the barn and plenty of art-y vendors and food. We’ve already posted some of the art for sale at Buy It Now prices at the Art Sale page. Check out the Duck Race page for more info.
Please come by on Sunday June 2 from 2 – 4 for the opening reception of a very special gallery show and sale by the incredible artists from the Matheny School, featuring Basking Ridge artists Ellen Kaine and Faith Stoltz.While you are here, visit the English Barn, Farm House and Well House, which are all looking wonderful thanks to Historic Preservation Grants from Somerset County and the NJ Historic Trust.
A new Farmstead Arts Play Reading Group is off to a great start. The group is open to the public. Come by the Farm House the first Monday of each month at 7 PM to watch – it’s free and fun. If you’d like to play a part, contact Artistic Director Bill Ward.
We had a visit this month from a very special guest – John Martin, a direct descendant of Col. Ephraim Martin who lived in the Farmstead during the Revolutionary War. John will be sharing some of his family’s history with us, which we will post on this site. Skylands Magazine has a wonderful article on the Farmstead’s transformation from a working farm to Farmstead Arts. Check out the story in the current issue of Skylands Magazine.
