Christmastime at Smolak Farms
The Christmas Season is now upon us, with all the happiness and joy that it brings. Our holiday season, although shorter than last year, started off with a bang and has yet to slow down. We were fortunate enough to welcome Channel 5 WCVB to the farm in early December to do a story about the Christmas tree shortage, and they were able to include some footage from the St. Bernard Club of New England visit – one of our most popular holiday events! (You can see the Channel 5 video piece here.) It is just about my favorite event of the year to see, and they are a fine group of people to work with. The best part of it all is to see the delight in the children’s eyes, and even the adults, as they interact with these gentle giant dogs.
Recently I had the great privilege of meeting with our new Town Manager Melissa Murphy-Rodrigues on the farm, where she joined me for a tour and I told her all about what we do here. There is a wind blowing in North Andover of optimism and progression, and how great that is.
Upgrades, Improvements, and What’s Ahead in 2020
We finally completed some renovations to our 140-year-old barn to make it safer for the public. We are also working to update our greenhouse to make it more compatible with the kinds of events and activities we offer on the farm. We have big plans ahead for the animal area, where we hope to add some additional animals and create a more interactive educational experience. We’re also hoping to incorporate animals into some of our existing programs and party plans. We continue to try and improve what we do here, and as always, welcome ideas from you, our customers, if there are ways you can think of to help improve your farm experience.
As we head towards the New Year, we’re already in the planning mode for the coming year. The next few months will hold numerous conferences, seminars, and meetings for our team to attend, with the goal of improving our operations and offerings at Smolak Farms.
Finally, my very loyal staff deserves a lot of credit this time of year, because without them, there would be no farm as we know it. For many of us this is a labor of love and we approach this with a full heart and gratitude for all that we have and all that we are able to share with the community.
Sending many well wishes to you and your family this holiday season!
Farmer Smolak