First Farm Friday, country concert set for Downtown Coshocton

Leonard L. Hayhurst, Coshocton Tribune
·3 min read
Children ride a pedal tractor through a corn maze in front of a large piece of farm machinery at the First Farm Friday event in 2021. The event returns on Friday with a concert by ERNEST following.
Children ride a pedal tractor through a corn maze in front of a large piece of farm machinery at the First Farm Friday event in 2021. The event returns on Friday with a concert by ERNEST following.

COSHOCTON — Downtown Coshocton will be a bustle of activity Friday with the return of First Farm Fridays and the finale of a summer concert series.

First Farm Friday in its 11th year will be from 5 to 7 p.m. in and around the Coshocton County Court Square. Country singer Ernest K. Smith, known as ERNEST, will perform at 8 p.m. at the court square as well. Both events are free.

Deb Bigelow of the Coshocton Soil and Water Conservation District said agriculture is the number one industry in Coshocton County and State of Ohio, but there are still plenty of people unaware of what's in their own backyards. It's a collaboration of the SWCD, Coshocton County Farm Bureau and Coshocton County Office of Ohio State University Extension.

"Our goal from the beginning was to put together a program that helps the general public, and especially youth, to understand agriculture better on a national and state level, but especially a local level," Bigelow said. "This is an opportunity for people to get up close and personal with agriculture."

Jerrod Allison, Ohio Department of Natural Resources wildlife officer for Coshocton County, shows off animal pelts of animals that can be found locally at First Farm Friday in 2021. The event returns on Friday with a concert by ERNEST following.
Jerrod Allison, Ohio Department of Natural Resources wildlife officer for Coshocton County, shows off animal pelts of animals that can be found locally at First Farm Friday in 2021. The event returns on Friday with a concert by ERNEST following.

There will be 20 volunteers with farm machinery, animals or a display with activities for children. There will also be food vendors. Animals include sheep, goats, beef cattle and dairy calves. Machinery includes a combine, tractor, sprayer and logging truck.

"Some of the big machines they see out in the fields running, they can climb up into them and get a bird's eye view of what it's like to sit in that tractor or combine," Bigelow said. "Our volunteers always bring something different for them to learn or to do. It makes it interesting each year for the young people involved."

Kayla Jones of the farm bureau said the youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow and it's crucial for them to know where their food comes from.

"It's important when they are at some point in a position of leadership be able to speak up for farmers and make sure this is an industry that can continue on doing what we do and feeding the world," Jones said.

Youth can get a card stamped at different stations to earn a  cup of custard from Whit's Frozen Custard. They will also be entered into a drawing for passes to the Coshocton County Fair.

"The response has been tremendous. We've never had anyone not pick up or turn down that fair pass. It's a biggie," Bigelow said.

David Lapp of Lapp Farms talks to attendees of First Farm Friday in 2021 while sitting in front of a tractor with bean planter he uses on his farm. The event returns on Friday with a concert by ERNEST following.
David Lapp of Lapp Farms talks to attendees of First Farm Friday in 2021 while sitting in front of a tractor with bean planter he uses on his farm. The event returns on Friday with a concert by ERNEST following.

ERNEST has written songs for Morgan Wallen, Jake Owen, Florida Georgia Line, Thomas Rhett and Chris Lane among others. His song "Flower Shops" with Wallen peaked at 13 earlier this year on the U.S. County Top 40 charts by Billboard. "Flower Shops (The Album)" peaked at 12. It's ERNEST's second album on the Big Loud label, the first was "Locals Only" in 2019.

The summer concert series is being spearheaded by Our Town Coshocton and Councilman Chad Johnson. They hope to continue the series next summer with more show dates. The series has been made possible via a $40,000 grant from the Charles E. and Dorothy S. Bechtol Fund of the Coshocton Foundation and other donations.

Previous concerts were Double Vision, a tribute act to Foreigner, and Fleetwood Mac Mania, a tribute band to Fleetwod Mac.

Leonard Hayhurst is a community content coordinator and general news reporter for the Coshocton Tribune with close to 15 years of local journalism experience and multiple awards from the Ohio Associated Press. He can be reached at 740-295-3417 or llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com. Follow him on Twitter at @llhayhurst.

This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: First Farm Friday, country concert set for Downtown Coshocton