Around 2016-2017, the city of San Ramon initiated the Fun on the Farm Saturday events at the Forest Home Farms property in San Ramon. These free events were created with the goal of fostering engagement between the public and the history of the San Ramon Valley. The activities primarily consist of simple crafts that appeal to all ages.
“Families can come—parents, grandparents, and friends— and watch their children work on crafts. Their children are learning new skills and it’s on a very peaceful, tranquil property all at the cost of nothing.” said Carol Rowley, the president of the San Ramon Historic Foundation (SRHF).
In the beginning, these events only occurred on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month. As families began attending and participation soared, activities began happening every Saturday from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.. The events aim to engage the community and get people interested in the farm.
These events help to increase visibility of the property. “We do have a little hidden gem. [Despite all the] publication and publicity we do about our event, there’s still somehow always people that don’t know it’s here.” said Jessica Reaber, the Recreation Supervisor for the San Ramon Parks & Community Services Department.
The events at Forest Home Farms are usually directed towards families with young children. Activities are either based on life in the early 1900s or based on the farm or nature in some capacity. The goal is for these activities to be either historically relevant or related to the farm to connect the activity back to the property and the history of the area.
These events are funded through tax payer dollars and go through the city’s budget process. Additionally, a non-profit organization also provides financial support for these events.
Materials are funded by the SRHF, a non-profit dedicated to preserving the history of the San Ramon Valley. In order to raise funds, the organization hosts large events such as Oktoberfest in October and Sheep Shearing in April at Forest Home Farms.
However, due to recent shortcomings in San Ramon’s budget, these events will no longer be happening in December, January, and half of February.
“Even though we’re just about five years out of COVID, it just requires a lot more money from every city’s general fund to keep the cities afloat. Due to the budget shortfall, we had to look for creative ways to save on our expenses—the biggest expense being staff time,” Reaber said.
Reaber noted that the department was strategic about deciding what months to cut. In the winter, participation rates tend to plummet because of the rain. Furthermore, in the last few seasons of rain, the weather had forced the farm to close for periods of time due to the unsafe conditions of the parking lot.
“I think this year we’ve cut about nine weeks of Saturday events. This will save about 4,000 to 5,000 dollars.” Reaber noted.
The termination of these events appear to be temporary to this year though. With the passing of Measure N, voters approved an additional 1% property tax. Because of this, the city of San Ramon will have a larger budget— the 1% will only be allocated for local government resources. So, the community can expect holiday events on the farm next year.
“While it can be difficult to fund things that don’t necessarily bring in a lot of money like historic properties, the city of San Ramon still does allocate a great amount of effort towards preserving our history here.” Reaber said.
