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ClydeFEST is Coming! ClydeFEST is Coming!

Mar31

Celebrating Creativity and Play

Photo by Barbara Hengstenberg

The Chatham Arts Council is once again sponsoring a day of joy, creativity, play and happiness…and it’s all FREE! Taking place on the grounds of the Chatham Agricultural and Conference Center in Pittsboro, NC, this event fills the air with music, laughter, chatter, delicious aromas and sunshine. I highly recommend you come into town for this family-friendly event.

Here’s a snippet from the Chatham Arts Council’s website:

    “Remember how great it felt to play outside when you were a kid? Running for running’s sake? Hula-hooping, playing games, blowing bubbles, creating new worlds? ClydeFEST, our beloved kids’ folk arts festival, has been bringing that feeling back for families in Chatham for more than 2 decades.

    From face painting, bubbles, and hula hoops to arts projects and good old-fashioned carnival games, ClydeFEST has an activity for all ages. Offering a full-day of screen-free fun, the festival is a place for kids to get messy in Critterville, painting their very own Clyde critter cut-out, then visiting all the community booths on the field to create a multitude of masterpieces. And we clean up all the mess!”

      If you’d like to read more about this year’s ClydeFEST and view more photos from previous years, visit the Chatham Arts Council.

      Photo by Barbara Hengstenberg

      Details for joining in the fun:

      • Sunday, April 13, 2025 (RAIN or SHINE!)
      • 12:00 – 4:00 PM
      • Chatham County Agricultural and Conference Center, Pittsboro, NC
      • Admission: FREE!!!
      • Easy/ample parking
      • Sponsored by Chatham Arts Council

      Beekeeper and Permaculture Practitioner: Tara Lynne Groth

      Mar14

      Celebrating the Environment

      Photo courtesy of Tara Lynne Groth

      Almost ten years ago, I met Tara Lynne Groth when she was co-facilitating a workshop on using our sense of smell to inspire writing poetry and prose. We became quick friends, and went on to co-host a workshop that used art and writing to tap into creativity. At the time, Tara Lynne and her husband, Mike Gordeev, were beginning to figure out ways to use their five-acre homestead in Pittsboro, NC, to make a positive impact on the environment.

      Zoom out to the present, and their Five Acres Honey Farm is a place where wonderful gardens are grown, bee hives flourish, golden honey runs into jars, fruit trees are dotted with fruit, hens cluck the arrival of farm-fresh eggs, quail chirp the arrival of their own miniature farm-fresh eggs, and the landscape is a permaculturalist’s dream…supporting a natural wooded and open habitat for pollinators, wildflowers, and amphibians to flourish! The environment of Five Acres Honey Farm is one that is sustainable, self-sufficient and resilient…the main principles of permaculture.

      Tara Lynne shares her homesteading practices through her blog, Tara Lynne Today, in which she writes with transparency about her activities on the farm and provides links to other relevant sites. I highly recommend this blog, as it’s chockfull of information about living a homesteading life. Tara Lynne Today is free to subscribe, and paid subscribers get perks like access to events, discounts on various offerings, and a few paid-subscriber-only posts annually. You can access the blog here.

      Did I mention that Tara Lynne is also an amazing writer (both poetry and prose) and a talented photographer?

      Honey bee collecting nectar, photo by Tara Lynne Groth

      If beekeeping is your thing, or if you just have an interest in these so-very-important animals (yes, they are categorized as animals), I suggest you subscribe to both Tara Lynne’s blog (mentioned above) and visit her website, www.FiveAcresHoneyFarm.com . Through her website, you will learn about her upcoming events, both on-line and in-person, as well as her Beekeeping Mentorship Program. I’ve heard that she is running a brief mentorship spring sale March 20-23, 2025 — and some mentees will get free bees!

      On top of that, Tara Lynne is hosting a Natural Beekeeping Webinar on March 19, 2025. Paid subscribers to her blog will get free access to the webinar! A win-win, in my book! You can sign up for the webinar here.

      I am always so impressed and inspired by how my friend, Tara Lynne, truly walks the walk of homesteading. And I’m equally impressed by how forthcoming she is in sharing the work of creating and maintaining her special slice of paradise!

      To learn more about Tara Lynne and her work on Five Acres Honey Farm, visit:

      Blog: Tara Lynne Today

      Website: Five Acres Honey Farm

      Instagram: @taralynne0

      Photo courtesy of Tara Lynne Groth