For more than two decades Pierce College has hosted the annual Farmwalk but this year the event will go beyond what has ever been offered.
Open House/Beyond Farmwalk will be held on April 17 from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is a free event. Not only will the popular and historic Farmwalk occur, the Open House gives the students, faculty and staff an opportunity to showcase what the school has to offer.
According to a document from Doreen Clay, public relations manager, in regards to the Open House/Beyond Farmwalk event, college President Kathleen Burke said how important the event is to the campus.
“If you aren’t already taking classes at Los Angeles Pierce College, you might not know what a wealth of programs and services we offer to our community – at an affordable cost,” Burke said. “For family members, neighbors or friends who are deciding where to begin their college education, our open house is the perfect opportunity to come onto campus and explore options.”
Although the event is free to the community, food vouchers will be sold in order to purchase food and drink. During the Pierce College Council meeting on March 25, Associate Vice President Larry Kraus mentioned how the event was proceeding.
“The idea of the passport is to have knowledge transfer. After visiting a stand like the Anthropology department you will get a stamp,” Kraus said. “After a certain amount of stamps you are eligible to win a prize. We will have around 60 to 70 tents.”
The school input a large sum of funds to help this event be more successful.
“We are using about $85,000 from the state mandated fund,” Vice President of Administrative Services Rolf Schleicher, said. “We can earn some of the money back through the sale of food at the Open House.”
KIIS FM’s street team will be at the event providing entertainment. There will also be dance performances, student demonstrations of their work and fun and games. Holly Hagan has been a volunteer at the Farmwalk for many years.
“This is the first time I’ll be doing something different by working the booth for the Bookstore,” Hagan said. “Usually I volunteer and help with selling tickets or something like that.”
With the addition of the Open House this year many campus departments and clubs are able to showcase themselves.
“We are encouraging every academic department, program and student service to participate in the Open House and show the community all the opportunities available to our students at Pierce College,” Clay said. “This is the best time for potential students to come to Pierce and find out all about us for free.”
Department Chair of Agriculture Elizabeth White, delegated the organization of the Farmwalk this year.
“We’re purposely not changing our side of Farmwalk because that is the core of this whole event, the farm,” White said. “We are keeping it exactly the same as it has been because it has always been wildly successful.”
Many of the popular activities will be available this year as well.
“We will have the sheep shearing and the petting zoo and all the units open with lots of demonstrations,” White said. “The Equine Science program puts on an amazing show. They’re doing barrel racing and jumping, all kinds of horse demonstrations, decorating old horseshoes for the kids and many other activities.”
