This Saturday, Feb. 18, ACRES Student Farm will be hosting a “Dance for Plants” fundraising event.
The event is scheduled to take place at the Laramie Railroad Depot and will feature live music from local bands The Libby Creek Original and 10¢ Stranger, alongside Wood Belly from Colorado.
There will also be bake sale goodies made by the student farmers and beer from local companies like Altitude Chophouse & Brewery, Cheyenne Beverage, Coal Creek Tap and Black Tooth Brewing Company.
A series of raffle items will also be featured at the event, such as a “Bath Time” package from the Herb House, a $30 gift certificate to NU2U and even a free tune-up at the Pedal House worth $50.
All funds will go directly towards ACRES Student Farm. The farm is a 1.8-acre vegetable plot and is in its 11th year on campus. ACRES will use the funds to support four internships that encourage first hand learning in agriculture business and farm management.
They will also be able to use the funds for regular maintenance of the farm, equipment and their irrigation system. ACRES is a primarily volunteer-run farm managed by students at the university and is open to anyone and everyone in the community who wishes to take part and learn about everyday sustainable agriculture.
They have been involved with selling produce at the Farmer’s Market here in Laramie, doing tours of the farm for schools from around Wyoming and also hosting labs at the farm that students can partake in.
“I love ACRES,” Hannah Dunn, manager ACRES, said. “It’s helped me decide where I’m going with my career and it’s a great experience for anyone interested in agriculture or just volunteering for the community.”
ACRES wants to host this event not only to continue their local work in Laramie and find more success but also to celebrate the community. Dunn said they are looking forward to hosting more events like this in the future and are very eager to get the community together for a night of fun and dancing.
The band line-up begins with Wood Belly at 7:00 p.m., The Libby Creek Original at 8:15 p.m. and 10¢ Stranger at 9:30 p.m. Wood Belly is from Fort Collins, Colorado and describes their music as Bluegrass/Newgrass.
“I’m excited to play an event for a college, especially with such a cool and unique group like ACRES,” Aaron McCloskey, banjo player and singer for Wood Belly, said.
Though the band is new to Laramie, they are looking forward to playing here often in the future.
ACRES plans on starting to plant seeds indoors in the month of April to kick-start this year’s produce. If anyone is interested in getting involved with the farm or learning more about them their webpage can be found on WyoWeb and they can also be contacted through Facebook.
The group also meets in the Agriculture Building on Thursdays at 5:30 p.m.
