One of the festively themed displays at the Holiday Stroll at Kelsay Farms, which features activities and photos opportunities for local residents throughout December. The event is open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings until Dec. 23.
SUBMITTED PHOTO | KELSAY FARMS
This holiday season, the Johnson County community has a chance to experience a good old-fashioned Christmas on the farm.
People can pose for photos around lighted tractors and farm buildings, among the many festive displays. Real cows, sheep, goats and other animals make up a living Nativity scene. Kids can take part in the Whoville Hunt, or explore the cottages of the Little Christmas Village.
Hot cocoa, cookie decorating and other seasonal activities offer a warming touch on cold winter nights.
“It’s very relaxed. You park the car and walk around, have some hot chocolate and let the kiddos run around, enjoy the campfires. It’s a chance to slow down a little bit during the holiday season,” said Amy Kelsay, whose family owns Kelsay Farms.
Kelsay Farms, one of the county’s most popular agritourism destinations, is once again opening its grounds to the public this December. The Holiday Stroll features decorated Christmas trees, lighted displays, new attractions and a host of photo opportunities for families.
Now in its second year, the Holiday Stroll is more grand than ever before. The experience will feature double the trees, three times the lights and all new concession items.
“It’s such an honor to be able to provide another outdoor experience for the community. We’ve done fall for so long, and we love it so much, to be able to continue that into the holiday season and invite our customers back again,” Kelsay said.
Kelsay Farms is a linchpin of the county’s agricultural history. Six generations of the Kelsay family have farmed the land, growing row crops and vegetables, having a working dairy and raising swine.
More recently, the family has opened up the farm to the community in the fall to celebrate the end of the growing season and learn a little more about modern agriculture. The move has proven to be a massive success. Weekends in the fall are packed as families come out to pick out pumpkins, take hay rides and enjoy attractions such as the Moo Choo Express, a kids train that circles the farm fields.
Thousands of students across Johnson County come out for field trips, where they learn where the food their parents buy at the grocery store actually comes from.
With the popularity of the fall experience, the Kelsay family wondered if they could offer a holiday-centric opportunity to see the farm. They planned out a walking tour on the farm grounds, setting up lights and displays, giving people plenty of Instagram-worthy sets to show off their holiday spirit.
Last year’s debut was a good one; weekends were typically busy and full of people throughout December. So the Kelsays decided to bring it back in 2022 — bigger and better than before.
“We actually doubled the number of exhibits and the number of trees and lights; since it turned out well last year, we wanted to try it again this time,” Kelsay said.
As they looked to improve upon their debut, the Kelsays wanted to put an emphasis on activities that appealed to children as well as their parents.
“The thing we realized last year was, at Kelsay Farms, what we specialize in is kids. We’ve always been a place for kids to come and play,” Kelsay said. “We had so many exhibits, but most of them were just to look at, not necessarily interact with. So we’ve added areas where kiddos can play.”
They kept the variety of holiday-themed displays, utilizing antique sleds, colored ornaments and trees of all shapes, colors and sizes where people could get photos together. But they also created a Christmas Village, with decorated play houses that kids can run around in. Cookie kits are available, so kids and their parents can sit down and decorate sweet holiday treats right there.
The Moo Choo Express was strung with lights and brought back out for the season. The Whoville Hunt is a scavenger hunt taking up an entire section of the Kelsay Farms barn, where participants search for Grinch-themed ornaments on decorated trees.
Of course, Santa Claus will be on the grounds for free photos nightly.
“A big thing this year was remembering who we are — we’re a place where kids come to play, and we wanted to incorporate that into the Holiday Stroll,” Kelsay said.
The Holiday Stroll debuted Nov. 25 and runs from 6 to 9 p.m. every Friday, Saturday and Sunday through Dec. 23. The experience will also be open during the week of Dec. 19-23.
Tickets are available online, and people are encouraged to buy their admission in advance, Kelsay said.
