Billings Farm & Museum’s 34th Season Begins on April 30

Apr 26, 2016 12:18PM ● By Kirsten Gehlbach

After months of preparation, the start of the 34th season is just around the corner. Join Billings Farm & Museum on Saturday, April 30, for a fun-filled day of horse-drawn wagon rides, free ice cream, and the chance to meet the resident draft horses, the Southdown sheep, and the Jersey milking herd. Visit the operating dairy farm, restored farmhouse, and farm life exhibits.

The Farm & Museum welcomes visitors daily from April 30 through October 31 from 10am to 5pm. From November through February and during Christmas and Presidents’ Day vacation weeks, Billings will be open from 10am to 4pm on weekends.

Billings Farm & Museum is a premiere Jersey dairy farm that continues a 145-year tradition of agricultural excellence and offers farm programs and historical exhibits that explore Vermont’s rural heritage and values. Please call (802) 457-2355 for daily activities and programs and a list of seasonal events, or visit the museum’s website at www.billingsfarm.org.

Special Events

Foodways Fridays Saturday and Sunday, May 7 and 8 from 10:30am to 5pm, will feature the spring shearing of the farm’s Southdown ewes by Craig Marcotte at 10:30am and 12:30, 2:30, and 4:30pm, along with demonstrations of spinning and carding—the skills needed to turn fleece into yarn. Steve Wetmore’s team of Border Collies will herd sheep in the farm’s fields during narrated programs at 11:30am and at 1:30 and 3:30pm both days. There will also be wool-craft activities taking place in the activity barn.

Later in the month of May, celebrate Vermont’s rich dairy heritage at the 7th Annual Dairy Days on Saturday and Sunday, May 28 and 29 from 10am to 5pm. Visitors will have a chance to meet New England cheese makers and sample wonderful varieties of cheese as well as artisan products and other dairy products. You can also judge Jerseys with the farm manager to improve your bovine knowledge, participate in a dairy scavenger hunt, take part in a “name the calf” contest, and check out the Inside-Out Cow, and the Cow Make-Over. And especially for children (of all ages), you can crank fresh ice cream and make dairy headbands and moo masks.

This year, Billings Farm will debut Woodstock Reserve Cheddar, the latest addition to the farm’s award-winning collection of artisan cheeses, made exclusively with 100 percent Billings Farm raw milk.

The Billings Farm & Museum is owned and operated by The Woodstock Foundation Inc., a charitable nonprofit institution founded by Mary French and Laurance Spelman Rockefeller. Since 1983, the Farm & Museum has served as a gateway to Vermont’s rural heritage for over a million visitors and 100,000 school children. Admission: adults $14, 62 & over $13, children 5–15 $8, children 3–4 $4, 2 & under free.

The Billings Farm & Museum is located one-half mile north of the Woodstock Village Green on Vermont Route 12. For more information, call (802) 457-2355 or go to www.billingsfarm.org.

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