HELENA – About 2,000 people came to the WestMont Farm and Gardens Saturday, to celebrate the organization’s annual Family Fun Day.
The event has been held for about 25 years.
“It keeps getting bigger and better every year,” said Lisa Gadaire, the farm’s program manager.
Family Fun Day provided plenty for kids and families to do – from games and activities to wagon rides and a petting zoo. One of the most popular attractions was the pumpkin patch, with hundreds of pumpkins for kids to pick out.
The event is part of Harvest Days, WestMont’s largest annual fundraiser. It raises money to support the nonprofit’s services for people with disabilities.
“It’s about the clients: making sure that they’re taken care of, that their needs are met, that they feel like they’re an important part of society,” Gadaire said.
WestMont staff – and many of their clients – worked for weeks to get the farm ready for Saturday’s events, setting up decorations around the property.
“We actually start planning almost the day after the last Harvest Days,” said Gadaire.
Organizers said it’s a great feeling to see the families having fun at their event.
“It’s very fulfilling,” said Jeremiah Porter, the assistant program manager.
“It’s very rewarding to see everybody come out and enjoy themselves and have a good time – all the compliments from the community, people thanking you for putting this event on,” Gadaire said. “We’re just very fortunate that we can do it, and we’ve got a great team out here that puts it all together.”
Harvest Days will continue later this year, with the annual Black Tie Blue Jean benefit dinner Sept. 21 at the Great Northern Hotel.
