Family friendly farm festival set for Saturday

Lottie Bug Farms in Hawkins, owned by the Lilley family, has cute, neat and interesting things going on year-round. But for their 3rd annual Fall At The Farm festival, they are pulling out all the stops.

In fact, in 2025, the festival has a whole list of events – events that uniquely fit their quaint, fun, family-friendly feeling.

“It’s a vibe, you know?” laughed Lottie Bug Farms marketer Loni Gaither, who is also the Lilley’s daughter. “It really is though! …Getting to see kids be kids, and not being on tablets, and just enjoying nature, and running, and playing, and laughing (is wonderful).”

For the festival, the Lilleys will provide a bounce house, yard games like giant Connect 4/Yahtzee/Jenga, and a recently revamped outdoor playground, which features tunnels, slides and more. They will also bring in vendors for permanent jewelry, baked goods, freeze dried candy and for karaoke or drinks like lattes, chai or lemonade. They will also be doing an ever-popular fall festival event: hayrides!

All this is, of course, in addition to things the farm has for visitors to purchase or interact with daily, like farm-fresh eggs, honey, goat-milk soap, etc.

“(Things like this event) has always been (my parents’) heart,” said Gaither. “They just truly do love people, and hosting, and my mom just loves having people out; she loves seeing the kids playing at the farm. It makes her so happy.”

Since owner Felicia Lilley specializes in art and ceramics, she’ll also be offering a special “paint-your-own-ceramics” event. While the farm offers paint-your-own ceramics daily, the festival brings a time when studio fees are waived, according to Gaither. Visitors will have to pay only for the ceramic items themselves, not for the paint or supplies to use on-site.

The best part? Everything (except the ceramics and vendor items) is free.

“We don’t want people feeling rushed,” said Gaither. “We want them to sit, and almost be like they’re part of our family.”

The event takes place on Saturday, Oct. 25 from 1-6 p.m. Lottie Bug Farms is located at 3385 FM 14 in Hawkins. For more information, visit their Facebook page or website.