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Visitors to the Lake Metroparks Farmpark in Kirtland got to learn how to make staple household foods, get up close with farm animals and see other elements of farm life at its Farmfest event
Crowds walked throughout the park on the morning of July 11, stopping at different demonstrations or taking time to play at the park’s playground. The morning also featured free access to the park and calm weather conditions
Some visitors stopped by the morning food demonstrations, where they could learn how to make cheese, bread, ice cream or barbecue foods
Lake Metroparks interpreter Denise Cudnik made cheese using milk from Farmpark cows. She said that the process includes heating up the milk if needed, adding ingredients to help separate curds from whey and then using a cheese press
“Basically just showing them what we can get from point A with our cows all the way to the cheese that they can eat,” Cudnik said
- Reveille Bakery’s Tony Binkowski demonstrates breadmaking at the Lake Metroparks Farmpark during the 2026 Farmfest. (Bryson Durst — The News-Herald)
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Reveille Bakery’s Tony Binkowski demonstrates breadmaking at the Lake Metroparks Farmpark during the 2026 Farmfest. (Bryson Durst — The News-Herald)
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Meanwhile, Reveille Bakery’s Tony Binkowski led a breadmaking demonstration. He said that breadmaking is “very accessible” for a person with an average kitchen setup, and that a yeasted bread takes three hours
“All they would have to buy is yeast,” Binkowski said. “They probably have flour, and they have water, they probably have sugar and salt.”
His bakery uses fresh-milled flour, and he said that fresh-milled flour provides more nutrients than commercial flours. The website is reveillebakery.com, and he said he “should be back up and running hopefully in September for that.”
Elsewhere in the Farmpark, representatives from the Historical Engine Society ran a demonstration on grinding corn with engines from the 1930s to 1950s, said HES representative Adam Lang
“This can be ground into animal feed, or we can grind it into what they make most of our food products out of, so cereals, grains, breads, corn syrup, soft drinks,” Lang said
- Representatives from the Historical Engine Society show how to grind corn into corn meal at the Lake Metroparks Farmpark during the 2026 Farmfest. (Bryson Durst — The News-Herald)
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Representatives from the Historical Engine Society show how to grind corn into corn meal at the Lake Metroparks Farmpark during the 2026 Farmfest. (Bryson Durst — The News-Herald)
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Inside the Farmpark’s Exhibit Hall, Raven Hooves Farm provided wool demonstrations while Meyer Hatchery of Polk, Ohio, showed off baby birds
Meyer Hatchery marketing supervisor Jess Nestor said that the business has 160 breeds of chicken, turkey and other birds
“We love coming to these events and just kind of sharing about starting your own backyard flock,” Nestor said
She added that representatives from the company hoped to show visitors “the basics of starting your own backyard flock.” They also talked about keeping animals safe from predators
“We have turkeys and chicks here, so it’s been kind of fun to kind of share the difference between raising turkeys and the chicks and the different needs that they have, and just kind of, we’ve gone over a little bit of different types of breeds that are good for Northeast Ohio,” Nestor said
- Meyer Hatchery marketing supervisor Jess Nestor, left, and customer service representative Carol Gentile pose with one of the farm’s chicks at the Lake Metroparks Farmpark during the 2026 Farmfest. (Bryson Durst — The News-Herald)
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Meyer Hatchery marketing supervisor Jess Nestor, left, and customer service representative Carol Gentile pose with one of the farm’s chicks at the Lake Metroparks Farmpark during the 2026 Farmfest. (Bryson Durst — The News-Herald)
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Farmpark events manager Andy McGovern described Farmfest as a “homesteading event.”
“What Farmfest is is a one-day, free-admission event to thank people, to thank the citizens of Lake County, to thank people who just want to come,” McGovern said. “And it’s also an opportunity for people who haven’t been a part of Farmpark or been to Farmpark. It gives them an opportunity to come here.”
He added that there was “a little bit of everything” at the event
“Our clubs that all call Farmpark home are here, whether it’s bees, tractors, spinning and weaving, things like that, so, it’s really an opportunity for people to get to know Farmpark and what’s going on,” McGovern said
