7th Annual HENRY COUNTY HARVEST SHOWCASE & LUNCH AT THE FARMERS MARKET

This annual event falls on the last weekend in July--that is, just before August 1st.  That's historically appropriate, in case you didn't know.  You see, August 1 (or second) falls right in between the Summer Solstice and the Autumnal Equinox.  For centuries (or longer) this has been celebrated as an import harvest event.  Called by various names, my favorite one is "Loaf Day", because it's easy to pronounce and it is a clue about the focus of the celebration; wheat.  Farmers have always planted by the seasons, and it was the case that the first wheat harvest fell around August 1st; bread's made from wheat, hence "Loaf Day."

No matter how much machinery or technology we add to our repertoire--combines, thrashers, balers, diesel engines--even GPS, farming is still dependent on "Mother Nature" and regulated by the seasons.

At the Harvest Showcase we not only celebrate the bounty of the fields, we honor each other and our community.  We can take pride in each other for our achievements, share some fellowship, entertain the kiddies with the simple pleasures; we laugh, we sing, and we eat!  We "break bread" with one another and that seems to be a PERFECT fit with the olden "Loaf Day."

Happy Loaf Day everyone, maybe I'll see you at the Showcase!