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PASTURE PERUSING - Guests at Swallowtail Farm admire the rolling acres of lands Saturday, April 11, 2015, at the 6th annual Spring Festival. All proceeds from the event went directly back to the farm, whose main objective is sustainability and natural growth. (photo by Courtney Culbreath)
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MAKING WAVES - Physics Bus workers Amber Medina, 23, and Chris Discenza, 37, demonstrate an exhibit on tension and wavelengths to 11-year-old Nesta Suvajdzic and 9-year-old Kaya Suvajdzic Saturday, April 11, 2015, at Swallowtail Farm's Spring Festival. From the Physics Bus, Medina, a pre-med biology major at the University of Florida, said she wants kids to question the world around them and try to "put a scientific grasp on the phenomena that they see every day." (photo by Courtney Culbreath)
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CIRCLE OF FOG - Meric Augat, 26, and Chris Discenza, 37, make smoke rings shoot out of a garbage can for 9-year-old Kaya Suvajdzic at their Physics Bus exhibit at Swallowtail Farm's Spring Festival. Saturday's event was the Bus' major debut, and the workers hope to been seen around Gainesville in the upcoming year. (photo by Courtney Culbreath)
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PHYSICS FUN - Amber Medina, 23, and Chris Discenza, 37, demonstrate an exhibit on gravity used on their Physics Bus tour Saturday, April 11, 2015, at Swallowtail Farm's Spring Festival. "I want kids to walk away with an imagination experience where they might think of a new machine that they want to make, just to tinker around with things," said Medina, a pre-med biology major at the University of Florida. (photo by Courtney Culbreath)
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HAMMER TIME - Pete Johnson, a 26-year-old blacksmith, pounds a metal rod that will later be used to construct a framed sculpture. Johnson, along with his partners Leslie Tharp, 29, and the coordinator of the Southeast Florida Artist Blacksmith Association, Shawn Williams, 47, demonstrated the art of metal-making Saturday, April 11, 2015, at Swallowtail Farm's Spring Festival. (photo by Courtney Culbreath)
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FARM FRENZY - Swallowtail Farm hosts its 6th annual Spring Festival Saturday, April 11, 2015, at its property north of Alachua. People milled around the farm from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. while they enjoyed live music, agricultural workshops and homemade vendor items. (photo by Courtney Culbreath)
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BASKETS FOR BEGINNERS - Nancy Gildersleeve teaches an introduction workshop on making pine needle baskets to children and their parents at Swallowtail Farm's Spring Festival Saturday, April 11, 2015. Gildersleeve, 76, demonstrated the proper way to weave short sowing needles through long pine needles to create miniature baskets.
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BASKETS FOR BEGINNERS - Nancy Gildersleeve teaches an introduction workshop on making pine needle baskets to children and their parents at Swallowtail Farm's Spring Festival Saturday, April 11, 2015. Gildersleeve, 76, demonstrated the proper way to weave short sowing needles through long pine needles to create miniature baskets. (photo by Courtney Culbreath)
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BARREL TO BARREL - Six-year-old Virginia Mayhew plays on 4-feet tall hay barrels Saturday, April 11, 2015, at Swallowtail Farm's Spring Festival. The 6th annual event featured various kids' activities such as face painting, workshops on making flower crowns and tractor rides. (photo by Courtney Culbreath)
The smell of manure, meatloaf and mulch meandered through the muggy air Saturday as Swallowtail Farm hosted its sixth annual Spring Festival.
The farm, located north of Alachua, hosted workshops throughout the day along with various live music acts, including Shaky Earl, Thin Skin and Captive Eddies.
Zipporah Sky, a 23-year-old jewelry vendor at the festival, said she loves being at Swallowtail because it’s a beautiful part of the community.
“I love being out in nature,” said Sky, who walked around the festival barefoot. “A lot of my friends are here, so it’s a win-win.”
Amber Geller, the Outreach Coordinator for Swallowtail Farm, said the Spring Fest brought in about 1,000 people. The event was meant as a fundraiser, with all proceeds going directly to the farm. Geller is unsure of how much was raised this year.
She described it as “a model of sustainability and fine land stewardship.”