J40 Farm Crawl Saturday in Van Buren County

The Villages of Van Buren County's J40 Farm Crawl returns for its 11th year of farms, food, history, art and fun Saturday, Aug. 10.

The event will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. along Highway J40.

Visitors can start the day with a homemade breakfast, 'with all the fixin's,” from 8 a.m. to noon at the Amish School in Lebanon. Free will donations will be accepted for the biscuits and gravy or pancakes and sausage breakfast and fresh baked treats.

After breakfast, meander down the road to explore the art, tour farms, ride a horse-drawn wagon, and taste wine, cheese, honey, homemade ice cream and clay-oven baked bread.

At the Bloom and Bark Farm and Glass Blowing Studio in Keosauqua, explore gardens and greenhouses, see how artisan breads are baked in a clay oven, tour the glass blowing studio and watch demonstrations, feed the chickens, and sample jams. An artisan market, Crane Winery, Hershey's Honey and Villages Folk School and live music also will be at Bloom and Bark Farm.

At Lengacher's Geenhouse in Keosauqua, the greenhouses and fields are filled with flowers and produce. A horse-drawn wagon will take visitors on a tour of produce patches. Shallow Creek Variety Store also is at Lengacher's Greenhouse.

Yoder's Indian Creek Furniture in Milton will highlight its hardwood furnishings and poly lawn furniture. Free ice cream will be served and a petting zoo will be open.

The Troy Academy in Bloomfield will be open. Construction on the academy began in 1853. The first class was held Nov. 2, 1954. Troy Academy was the first institution of higher education west of the Mississippi River, and was open for 33 years before closing in 1888.

The Milton Creamery in Milton uses milk from local Amish farms to make its world-recognized cheeses. Samples will be available.

For more information, visit www.villages ofvanburen.com or call 641-233-8210.