Celebrate Family, Farms, and Conservation at Fall Fest on the Prairie - October 17, 2026
Updated: Oct 2
Gather your family and friends for an autumn afternoon at New Farm, our research farm in the Kettle Moraine region of SE Wisconsin. Michael Fields Agricultural Institute staff are looking forward seeing neighbors and colleagues at our second annual Fall Fest on the Prairie on Saturday, October 17, from 3:00 to 7:00 PM at New Farm, N8832 Pickeral Lake Rd, East Troy, WI.
YOU DON'T NEED TO RSVP, BUT EVERYONE WHO DOES WILL BE ENTERED INTO THE MANY DOOR PRIZE DRAWINGS DURING FALL FEST! This free, family-friendly celebration will feature kids’ activities, art making, natural history hayrides through prairie strips and research fields, a Tool Exchange, campfire, local food and farm vendors, and opportunities to learn about prairie restoration and conservation in the wild heart of Wisconsin’s Southern Kettle Moraine.
Activities will include:
Fall-themed photo opportunities
Kettle Moraine natural history hayrides
Face painting, potato printing, and pumpkin decorating
Local food and farm vendors (tacos! pancakes! toast! tempting dessert bites!)
Gourmet s’mores bar and hot chocolate
Tool Swap
Silent auction supporting MFAI’s regenerative agriculture research
For the Tool Swap, guests are invited to bring tools, seeds, cuttings, plant divisions, and other useful items they would like to share.
"Have shovels or hoes to get rid of? Power tools you no longer use? Bring them over! Or, are you scouting for more tools to add to your arsenal? We will have an area to lay out tools that are free for the taking!" - Dr. Nicole
In addition to celebrating the fall harvest season, Fall Fest offers an opportunity to learn about the remarkable geology of the Kettle Moraine region. MFAI Research Director Dr. Nicole Tautges and Research Associate Dr. Jim Stute will lead educational hayrides through the New Farm at 3:30, 4:30, and 5:30 PM.
Nestled into a mosaic of forest, wetlands, savannas, rivers and lakes, the Mukwonago River Watershed is a natural treasure in the southern Kettle Moraine. The surrounding landscape is home to a wide array of native plants and wildlife, including sandhill cranes, tree frogs, mink, red fox, butterflies and dragonflies. MFAI’s organic fields help to steward this fragile environment in partnership with The Nature Conservancy. “The Mukwonago River is classified as an exceptional resource by the DNR because of its high water quality. It is home to several endangered and threatened species, and rare landforms such as calcareous fens,” says Dr. Stute, MFAI’s former Research Director. “The new farm is divided across two subwatersheds, draining into Lulu Lake to the North and also Pickeral Lake then Lake Beulah. The waterway and buffers installed on the farm protect easterly flow, protecting Lake Beulah, which is a huge regional recreational draw. MFAI's agricultural practices and research help to protect this major headwater."
Join us on the Prairie!
Guests are encouraged to dress for the outdoors and bring their family and friends for an afternoon of local food, fall fun, and learning on the land.
Admission is free, but guests will have opportunities to support MFAI’s work through a silent auction featuring local goods and experiences.
Want to sponsor this family event? CLICK HERE to learn how.
Want to donate to the Silent Auction Fundraiser? Click Here.
Want to support the work, but can't attend? GIVE HERE.
Many thanks to Tracey and Tom Novak at Pleasant Valley Acres, LLC for being sponsors for Fall Fest. Go visit their amazing farm stand in Sullivan, WI, for your fall eating and decorating needs! They have ten different varieties in the "Squash House."
Many thanks to Kriss and Shannon Marion at Circle M Market Farm in Blanchardville, WI, for donating a 2-night Farm Stay in one of their restored vintage campers to the Silent Auction fundraiser. Check out their cute sheep and Nigerian Dwarf goats!
You don't need to RSVP to attend, but it would help us plan for food and s'mores. PLUS, EVERYONE WHO DOES RSVP WILL BE ENTERED INTO THE MANY DOOR PRIZE DRAWINGS DURING FALL FEST!
This event sounds genuinely wonderful. The idea of combining a community celebration with hayrides through actual research fields and prairie restoration walks is such a thoughtful way to make conservation feel accessible to families rather than just academic. I came across this while working on a university assignment about how organisations communicate environmental initiatives to local communities. Resources through UK academic support services have been really helpful for that angle, and finding public relations assignment help for UK students gave me a much clearer framework for analysing how events like Fall Fest build authentic public engagement around conservation work.
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