Santa Experience overcomes cold, wind

About 350 people braved the wind and cold to attend Farmamerica’s “Santa Experience” event the evenings of Friday and Saturday, Dec. 12 and 13.

 

Santa awaited visitors in the big red barn located on the 1930s farmsite; children shared their Christmas gift wishes and assured Santa they had been well behaved. A photographer arranged by Katie Gonzalez Insurance Agency took pictures which were then available electronically via email. Also greeting people as they arrived were Waseca County dairy princesses Katy Eldeen and McKenna Eichhorn. Members of the Waseca Future Farmers of America organization also helped with various tasks.

 

The barn was decorated with brightly lit trees, and warmed somewhat with some portable heaters. Under heat lamps in a row of pens were a young calf, a pair of young pigs–a young visitor suggested one of them should be named “Snuffles,”--and a collection of chickens in the company of celebrity turkeys Peach and Blossom.

 

Inside the 1930s house, volunteers shared information about the woodburning cookstove and kitchen practices in general before electricity. The house was also decorated with lit trees and hanging garlands; an array of colorful cookies was offered on trays above red and white table coverings. Volunteers inside the house over the weekend included Jackie Peters, Kathy Roycroft, Linda Youngerberg, and Penny Zenniel.

 

Numerous outdoor decorations included a long line of lights along the facility’s wooden fence and lights hanging from the roofs of the two trams which circulated between the visitor center and the farmsite. Along the route, the lit clock in the Farmamerica country church reminded one of a full moon. Driving tractors in the cold on Friday evening were Gary Johnson and Roger Walker. Because of the extreme cold on Saturday evening, visitors were invited to drive their own vehicles to the 1930s farmstead, so the trams were not used.

 

Also volunteering during the Santa Experience were Jerry Janish, Vicky Singlestad, and Ben, Angie and Jack Youngerberg. 

 

Back at the visitor center, warm apple cider, hot chocolate and coffee were offered. Also available were coloring sheets for the Santa Experience coloring contest. Entries were accepted through the weekend with judging scheduled for early in the following week. The coloring sheet featured a classic hip-roofed barn, reminding visitors of the fundraising campaign underway to put new siding on the 1930s barn.

 

Farmamerica staff members mentioned their regret the weather had turned so cold–with temperatures just above 0 and strong winds, then went on to credit the hearty constitutions of Minnesota residents that not only were there very few no-shows, but people were continuing to create new online registrations even while the winds were blowing and the temperatures were dropping.

 

“What can I say?” asked program coordinator Kari Wadd cheerfully. “Here in Minnesota, we learn how to cope with the weather.”