Celebrating Everything In CT That Is Agricultural

Story And Photos By Shannon Hicks

HARTFORD — When Patricia Rowland, the wife of Governor John G. Rowland, and CT Department of Agriculture Commissioner Shirley Ferris took scissors in hand on Saturday, October 21, the ladies cut a ribbon and officially opened the 5th Annual Ag Expo.

The weekend-long event at the State Armory featured over 100 booths with educational exhibits, interactive displays, animals, food, and live entertainment, all to celebrate and educate on the abundance and diversity of Connecticut agriculture.

Visitors of all ages seemed to enjoy the event, which is traditionally held the third weekend of October. For the adults, there were agricultural exhibits, a special collection of tractors loaned from owners across the state, food tastings galore, free soil testings, and even entertainment that while aimed at the younger audiences seemed to generate a lot of laughter from the grown-ups as well.

Children were entertained by “Farming Fever” (lower right), magic shows, balloon-sculpting clowns, and areas were they were allowed to pet animals from goats and ponies to llamas and alpacas. Games and pumpkin painting completed the experience.

Stop & Shop, A&P/Waldbaums, Adams, Big Y, and Shaws Supermarkets were all represented at the fair. Mary Basile, Shirley Tavernier, and Stefanie Hartman manned the Big Y booth (lower center photo) during the opening hours of the event.

During a breakfast event Saturday morning, Connecticut’s First Lady was presented with a vase of gorgeous magenta flowers (see the photo opposite Mrs Rowland, above) that had been created and named in her honor. Professor Mark P. Bridgen, a researcher of plant science at the University of Connecticut, had developed the flower at the request of Commissioner Ferris and the Department of Agriculture. (Mrs Ferris, a resident of Newtown, can be seen in the upper left photo during her welcoming remarks Saturday morning.)

A park-like Food Court designed especially for Ag Expo by Imperial Nursery of Granby was surrounded by food and beverage booths with tables and chairs available to sit and relax. Among the plantings surrounding the Food Court area were a few buckets of the “Patricia Lynn,” giving the public the opportunity to enjoy the new flowers as well.