Families and friends from around the region converged on the Montezuma County Fairgrounds Saturday for the final day of the Four States Agricultural Expo.
Saturday marked a day of more educational seminars, live music and shopping from local vendors. Attendance was undoubtedly larger than it was at last year’s expo. Parents looked on while children got their faces painted, petted animals and tried their hand at catching a chicken.
Vendors offered a variety of regional products, including local cheese, honey, beef, woodworks and metalworks.
Edit Aquarian, the owner of Breen Mesa Farm Creamery, was selling handcrafted, artisan goat cheese Saturday afternoon. Aquarian emphasized the importance of shopping at local farmers markets and events in the effort to provide healthier staples to families throughout the region.
“We need to change the paradigm,” Aquarian said. “Go to the farmers market. Get to know your farmers and where your food comes from.”
Local members of Veterans of Foreign Wars presented the colors in a patriotic ceremony at noon. Attendees applauded after the ceremony, the Pledge of Allegiance and “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Other events on Saturday included displays of archery on horseback, a seminar on how to help nervous horses perform under pressure and a presentation from U.S. Forest Service representatives on how to pack wild horses.
Sean Kelly, wild horse coordinator for the Jicarilla and Jarita Mesa territories of the Carson National Forest, showed a small audience how to calmly pack gear onto a 3-year-old wild horse named Arvak.
“It could be impossible if you don’t read their body language and know what to expect.” Kelly said. “It takes longer, and you have to be more careful and more calm.”
Musician Lynne Belle Lewis performed Saturday afternoon as attendees visited the various vendors at the main pavilion.
anicotera@the-journal.com
