TRENTON, N.J. — The Mercer County Park Commission is celebrating Juneteenth by highlighting the contributions of African Americans, past and present, in agriculture and food advocacy at Capital City Farm on Saturday.
The family-friendly event at this urban farm in the City of Trenton, will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., June 18.
There will be activities engaging youngsters and supporting the Trenton Literacy Movement by distributing free children’s books to a Literacy Corner where children can sit on hay bales and read with their parents and local volunteers. There will also be a scavenger hunt during which participants will find answers all around the farm to the clues in their “passports.” The first 50 hunters who complete their passports will receive $10 bookstore gift cards.
Hands-on activities including corn milling, lettuce seedling planting, and bee abode building will keep the young people busy as they listen to live music and taste African-inspired recipes. Fresh produce grown on the farm will also be available, free of charge, while supplies last.
Farm visitors will be invited to take a tour of the farm, which is deceptively larger than it looks. Crops include all sorts of vegetables, such as carrots, kale and collards, flowers and fruits. While touring, guests will also learn a little about Booker T. Whatley, Tuskegee University agricultural professor; Dr. James Still, New Jersey’s “Black Doctor of the Pines” and self-taught botanist; Meredith Taylor, a Rutgers University professor whose research focuses on urban agriculture; and many other familiar and unfamiliar people and organizations.
Community partners who have contributed to this event include the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, the Garden State Agrihood Project, the Conservatory of Music and Performing Arts Society, and the Conservatory Mansion. The Center for Child and Family Achievement, The Watershed Institute, and the African American Cultural Collaborative contributed the children’s books.
Capital City Farm is located at 301 North Clinton Ave. in Trenton. For more information about the farm, visit the Mercer County Park Commission website.