Benefit barbecue set for James Farm this Saturday

The annual barbecue to benefit James Farm Ecological Preserve will be held this Saturday, Oct. 16, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be live bluegrass music and food catered by Bethany Blues.

Visitors can enjoy pork, chicken, sides and desserts. There will be pumpkin painting for kids, as well as hay rides and more.

E.J. Chalabala, restoration coordinator for the Center for the Inland Bays, which manages the James Farm property, said the hay ride will take people from the pavilion across the street so they can get a tour of the farm. Also, new this year to celebrate the Oyster Gardening program, there will be an oyster tasting with Eastern oysters.

“It’s to get people to know us,” Chalabala said of the event. “Last year, we had 75 to 100 people. It’s mainly to thank people, with food, fun and music!”

James Farm Ecological Preserve has been managed by the Center for the Inland Bays since they entered into an agreement with Sussex County in 1998. The property had been a gift to the county from the late Mary Lighthipe, in memory of her son, with a stipulation that it be used for environmental education and recreational activities.

Since then, the Center has worked with the community to create an ecological preserve there. James Farm now boasts a 150-acre nature preserve, with two miles of hiking trails, three observation decks, an amphitheatre seating area, a boardwalk dune crossing, open meadows, a natural upland forest and a sandy beach on the shores of the Indian River Bay.

The property is enjoyed by nature lovers, kayakers, and more, and is located off of Cedar Neck Road in Ocean View. Visitors are welcomed during the day, free of charge, every day of the year.

In addition to the annual barbecue/pig roast, the Center for the Inland Bays hosts the Gardening for the Bays Native Plant Sale in May and holds school programs in the spring and fall at James Farm.

Tickets for the barbecue are available online for $25 for adults, kids 10 or younger will be admitted free with a paying adult. For more information, visit www.inlandbays.org or call (302) 226-8105.