What's Happened
During the first three weekends of July, Johnson’s Strawberry Farm had their annual, kid-friendly festival known as Blueberry Fest. Although the name may suggest it's all strawberries, Johnson’s Strawberry Farm also focuses on blueberries, watermelons, sunflowers, and a ton of other plants and fruit. The founder of Johnson’s had found that many people wanted more produce then just strawberries, so he had decided to plant blueberries and thus began Blueberry Fest.
This event has become more and more popular throughout the years and kids especially loved all of the fun activities available. From a train ride around the farm to bouncy houses to just picking blueberries with friends, there is a ton to do at this festival.
When asked just how fun this Festival is Lyndsay Johnson stated, "Compared to a lot of places around here, I think there is so much to do for your kids, you can come out and be busy the whole day."
Don’t worry if you missed blueberry fest, there is still a ton of new festivals coming up, such as Watermelon Fest, Rasberry Fest, and SunflowerFest. These start toward the end of August and continue until the season is over. Their newest festival, Fall Fest, will be going on this year as well!
What’s Happening
Hobart is most famously known for their football, but recently theatre has been in the spotlight with their musical “The Wizard of Oz.” When the show became such a success the town was eager to see their newer plays, but the kids wanted more stage opportunities.
On July 25th, 26th, and 27th Hobart’s Got Talent will happen for those youngsters that are eager to get back on the stage.
During this event kids ages six to twelve are welcome to come and find their hidden talent and discover what theatre is truly about! The event invites all out, even those with no theatre experience.
This is the first year of this hopefully annual event and the directors, Lindsay Foerg, Theresa Dietrich, and Cathy Nelson, are very excited for what is to come. Some of the kids favorite helpers from The Wizard of Oz will even be there to great their munchkins again. On Friday the 27th, the community is invited to watch their friends and family perform what they have learned in the Community Talent Show. Those interested can stop by the High School for a flyer and registration form Monday through Thursday, or check them out on Facebook under “Hobart High School Performing Arts”.
Adult Spotlight
Lindsay Foerg is currently the choreographer and an Assistant Theatre Director for the Hobart High School Theatre Department. She underwent the challenge of choreographing her first musical at HHS with The Wizard of Oz.
Foerg “feels like she always had that personality that lends itself to theatre” but she did not actually join this after school club until her senior year of High School. Because she didn’t have the opportunity to join theatre at a younger age she is always looking for new people to join as young as they would like. Although this is just her first year at the program, she is planning on staying indefinitely, she would always like to help with the growth of students in a creative way and this program is the perfect way for her to do so.
Foerg stated that she, “could not picture [herself] feeling more at home anywhere else.”
She believes that theatre is not only a skill that lends itself to the theatre department but it also helps people discover the person that they are.
This summer Froeg is starting a program for theatre kids ages six through twelve. She is very proud of this new program because it gives kids an opportunity that she never had. Froeg feels that if people learn what theatre is about at a young age it will give them more time to grow as a person.
“There is this misconception that when you are involved in theatre you have to have a talent for acting, but that is not always the case," Froeg said. "Sometimes that talent shows up later, but in the cases where it doesn’t there are so many things that you can do while being apart of the community and taking advantage of all things that being on stage brings to you."
Froeg hopes that this program will help make the community more diverse in all things that theatre has to offer. The best piece of advice that Lindsay has to offer to our community is to try new things, she believes that she, “has never regretted the things [she] has done, but the things she hasn’t done.”
Student Spotlight
Lia Rodriguez started working at Johnson’s Strawberry Farm the weekend of June 8th. She heard of the job opportunity from her friend, Maxx Johnson, so she decided to apply with one of her best friends, Iyanna Steele. Both of them ended up getting the job and started to work as DJ’s for all of the festivals.
The DJ booth, as Rodriguez puts it, is “basically customer service with music, [she] answers questions and plays music.” Lia was very happy to get the job because she has always loved music. She is also very friendly and has a way of putting people at ease, even when they have questions or appear confused.
At Johnson’s, Rodriguez is impressed with all they have to offer, such as go-karts, inflatables, animals, and a nice store, not to mention all the fresh produce that they grow. Not only the people who work at Johnson’s, but the people who shop there are very kind people and always happy to have a nice conversation while buying a new plant or some fresh strawberries. It is a nice community of people and seeing the regulars is always a fun thing for all of the workers to experience. Rodriguez plans on working for Johnson’s Farm again next summer and is so happy she can have this fun experience with her friends. She would recommend working there as a first job, just like she did, because it is a nice midway point between no job and a full time job.