This year's Homecoming Harvest Festival, Oct. 3, drew more visitors than ever; thanks to its new prime real estate on Bailey Howe Library's front lawn.

Tents filled with tasters, onlookers, listeners and chatters, as folks converged on free apples, cider and Cabot cheese. Brewmeister Todd Pritchard told scientific tales of beer making. Knots of people gathered close to watch the hand-cranked cider press. Fall gardeners handed over greenbacks in trade for gold mums and purple pansies from Colleen Armstrong, director of UVM Greenhouses. A student from CALS CREAM program drew "awwwww's" when she fed a Holstein calf from an oversized baby bottle. Where else can you get spider plants for only a buck?

The event, part of UVM Homecoming and Family Weekend, celebrated all things agricultural and the offerings of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, its founder and sponsor.

Students from several of the College's organizations set up tables, greeted families, alumni and the UVM community and talked about their projects. Volunteers from CALS Reps, Plant and Soil Science, Common Ground student-run farm, UVM Horticultural Club, Food and Nutrition Club, Dairy Club, Vermont Chapter of Alpha Zeta agricultural fraternity and others lent considerable energy, while the event's originator, Associate Professor Mark Starrett took photos from the background. Dressage, jumping, cart pulls and other equestrian demonstrations took place simultaneously at the Hardacre Equine Center at UVM's Spear Street farms.

This year CALS was joined by UVM co-sponsor the department of student life.

~ Photos by Mark Starrett. Collage by Cheryl Dorschner.