A Day Out on the Farm

There will be fun for kids of all ages on Sunday at in Lawrence Township, which is hosting a festival complete with face painting, a petting farm, hay rides, cooking demonstrations, food vendors, ice cream, cheese sampling, treats and a burger cookout. Admission to the event is free.

The festival, which the farm has dubbed its “,” runs on Sunday, June 26, from noon until 5 p.m. on the farm at 3200 Lawrence Rd. (also known as Route 206 or Main Street).

 The farm, which has been owned by the Hamill family for several generations, consists of 400 acres that include 260 aces of certified organic land (for their cows to graze on), a dairy herd, cattle, pigs, goats and a mini horse. The farm produces several varieties of its own cheese, including raw milk cheeses, fresh goat milk chèvre and pasteurized brie cheese.

“It’s definitely a family friendly event and something you don’t get to see everyday,” says Stacey Gentile, the farm’s marketing manager.

Kids will enjoy the face painting, which will be provided by Christina from Perfect Party rentals in Freehold from 2 to 5 p.m. Hay rides will be available from 4 to 5 p.m. Children will also enjoy the live music by Karl Dentino of Ragtime Blues Guitar and the mini meet-and-greet petting farm. Also, Purple Cow Ice Cream and Charley's Organic Toffee will be available for purchase.

The hay rides will “show families the organic pastures where our cows graze and also where our pigs live in their natural habitat,” Gentile said.

There will be cooking demonstrations at 1 and 3 p.m., where a Culinary Institute of America-trained chef will demonstrate how to cook with the farm’s grass-fed ground beef, which goes on sale that day (and is available on sale the entire week) for 40 percent off.

“Sometimes, people aren’t used to working with grass-fed beef,” Gentile said.

For lunch starting at noon, visitors can purchase $8 platters of organic-beef burgers topped with locally made ketchup or mustard, and fresh salad. The rolls for the burgers will be provided by Lawrenceville’s own The Village Bakery.

The farm started producing its own cheese five years ago, and for interested patrons, there will be free samples of the farm’s raw milk cheese, goat milk cheese and pasteurized brie available for tasting on Sunday.