MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. — Join Cornell Cooperative Extension Orange County (CCEOC) on Friday, October 1st from 5:00 to 9:00 P.M., for the sixth annual Bountiful Harvest Celebration. The celebration will feature an evening of good old-fashioned fun at CCEOC’s Education Center and 4-H Park in Otisville. Festivities will include hay wagon rides, a sumptuous farm-to-table dinner from locally sourced favorites prepared by Country Courtesy Catering of Warwick, and the highlight event – a celebrity cow milking contest. All proceeds from the event will support the continued development of the Education Center & 4-H Park located at 300 Finchville Turnpike, Otisville, New York. When completed, the site will be a regional state-of-the-art education, exhibition and outreach facility, geared toward human development opportunities and cutting edge agricultural programs.
As part of the autumn evening celebration, local celebrity cow milkers representing Orange County’s real estate industry will compete against one another in a friendly cow milking challenge. The celebrities will have two minutes to show off their talent in hand milking a cow. All three celebrities are also collecting donations for CCEOC in a friendly “wagering” of pledges that accompany the contest. Celebrity milkers include Robert Sassi of Remax Benchmark Realty Group, Robin White of Keller Williams Realty, and a to-be-determined representative of Jeff Bank. As we get closer to the event, the competition for whom will bring in the most pledges increases tremendously as well as hype for whom will have the most milk in their milk bucket. Chris Van Aken, of Van Aken Dairy, in New Hampton, N.Y., will provide the celebrity cows for milking, as well as milking lessons to the contestants prior to the event. This year, the cow milking contest will also be recorded so that those who are unable to attend or who would like to cheer the contestants on from the comfort of their own home can watch!
“The goal of our unique fundraising event is to get the Orange County community involved with local agriculture and to educate residents about the numerous types of farming; all of which are taking place in their own back yards. We are delighted to have Country Courtesy prepare this year’s farm-to-table dinner with local products as well as to partner with local real estate agencies for our cow milking contest!” said Lucy Joyce, Executive Director of Cornell Cooperative Extension Orange County.
CCEOC would also like to thank the 2021 sponsors for the Bountiful Harvest Celebration, with a special thanks to the Acorn Level sponsors including First Federal Savings of Middletown, Jeff Bank, Keller Williams Realty, Orange Bank & Trust Company, and Remax Benchmark Realty Group.
Please note that tickets are required to attend this event. In addition, all attendees will be required to show proof of vaccination or negative Covid-19 test results taken within 72 hours of the event to enter. Tickets are $125/person and to-go meal options are also available for those who would feel more comfortable participating at home. All to-go orders will be available for pickup on Friday, October 1st at the Education Center & 4-H Park between 5:00 – 7:00 P.M. To learn more about the event, purchase your tickets or to pledge financial support for one of the celebrity cow milkers, visit www.cceorangecounty.org/events, or contact Jill Van Aken at 845-344-1234 or jd863@cornell.edu.
Cornell Cooperative Extension and its partnerships provide programs for Orange County residents on youth and family development; nutrition, health, and food safety; community and economic vitality; and agricultural sustainability through Cornell based research. Committed to Orange County, we design programs to meet local needs to enable people to improve their lives and communities. For more information call Cornell Cooperative Extension Orange County at 845-344-1234 or visit our website at www.cceorangecounty.org.
–Cornell Cooperative Extension Orange County
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