When the Friends of the Farm holds its annual membership meeting next Saturday, May 20, at the McPolin Farm, the quilt show will doubtlessly be the most colorful part of the afternoon, but the textiles won’t be the only things to take center stage for the afternoon.
The event will also feature a lecture about the history of the McPolin Farm from Park City Historical Society researcher Hal Compton, along with an opportunity to see some of the improvements made at the farm in the past year.
“There are three buildings that have had extensive interior work,” Friends of the Farm board of trustees president Lola Beatlebrox said.
Last spring, the Friends of the Farm refurbished the tool shed with vintage tools, including many from the McPolin family. Since then, the group has also redone two other buildings on the property. The bunk house now has cots and a wood-burning stove, mirroring the simple manner in which the farmhands would have lived, and the main house, which is a recently built replica of one that burned down in the 1950s, has been partially redecorated to match how it might have looked in the 1940s. The house should be fully redecorated by the end of the summer.
The exhibits are currently on display at the farm and will remain available for viewing throughout the year.
“If I want to emphasize anything, it’s these ongoing exhibits,” Beatlebrox said, “because I don’t think everyone knows they’re there.”
In addition to the building exhibits, the lecture and the quilts, the Friends of the Farm will have volunteers with information about the nonprofit, along with opportunities to become a member of the organization.
In the coming months, Beatlebrox said the friends hope to host more events at the farm.
But, she assured, like the quilt show, everything the Friends host or present will adhere to the City Hall permit regulating events at the venue. So after the quilts accompany the friends’ meeting this weekend, Parkites should expect more activities in the farm’s future.
“This is a new partnership and a new chapter,” said Beatlebrox about the quilt show. “We’re going to be looking at more things to do.”
Friends of the Farm membership dues are $15 for individuals and $25 for families. Proceeds help defray costs of farm improvements and events. To join, send a check to the Friends of the Farm, Attn: Denise, P.O. Box 1480, Park City, UT 84060.