Sponsored by Murray McMurray Hatchery, the fest offered the means to learn about homesteading, gardening — and all things poultry.

There were kids showing chickens and learning from a kindly poultry judge.

There were “coffee ladies” under a tent, chatting it up about raising chickens and homesteading.

And there were standing-room only presentations from gardening experts from across the nation — and even across the world.

-Messenger photo by Lori Berglund
Hamilton County Recorder Kim Anderson found a shady place for a break with her dad, retired Hamilton County Sheriff Scott Anderson, as they took in the talks at the inaugural Murray Fest Midwest.

It was a good weekend to be from Hamilton County.

“The community is really presenting itself well,” said Bob Erickson, a perennial local volunteer who was making his way across the midway Saturday in his motorized wheelchair. “It’s just a great event.”

The three-day event wraps up today with a chick sale at the hatchery.

It was the first trip to Iowa for many of the folks walking the fairgrounds on Saturday.

Ruth Samsel, a book publisher from Higganum, Connecticut, was at Murray Fest to support her authors at Harvest House Publishing. Her husband is a beekeeper, and she was anxious to learn more about homesteading as she visited with Angela Miller of the Women’s Homestead Society.

-Messenger photo by Lori Berglund
Eight-year old Noah Cole, left, came from Missouri with his family for Murray Fest Midwest. He was anxious to ask Janet Garman, right, lots more about raising sheep after her presentation at the Ed Prince building Saturday at the Hamilton County Fairgrounds.

“I’m often overwhelmed by homesteading,” Samsel said, smiling.

She praised the quality of the facilities at the fairgrounds and the organizers from the hatchery for bringing it all together. “McMurray Hatchery is a stand-out in the industry.”

Miller was visiting the state for the first time from her home in Tennessee. She works at conferences throughout the nation on behalf of the Women’s Homestead Society. The organization serves as a mentor for women who seek a more sustainable life.

Phillip Cole and his 8-year-old son, Noah, took in a session on raising sheep presented by Janet Garman. Garman is an author and homesteader who raises the wooly animals in Maryland. She offered tips for caring for fleece and accepting the minor imperfections that come with natural products.

“There is so much to learn here,” Phillip Cole said after the presentation. “We raise sheep for meat, so we don’t have a lot of wool.”

-Messenger photo by Lori Berglund
“No Dig” gardener Charles Dowding packed a crowd into the show arena at the Hamilton County Fairgrounds as the featured speaker for the inaugural Murray Fest Midwest this weekend.

The Coles came from Granby, Missouri, to take in Murray Fest. Noah, for his part, was having a grand time chatting with Garman about the differences between sheep raised for wool and the breed the Coles raise that have a thin coat of hair, rather than a true fleece.

“We sell lambs and meat and milk, and we have dogs and chickens,” Noah said, happily explaining his family’s farming operation. While the Coles also work off-farm, dad Phillip Cole said he hoped Murray Fest would help them learn new ways to increase farm income and rely less on outside sources.

“We want to figure out how to make more from the farm and more of a homestead,” he said.

Ann Accetta-Scott was another popular speaker. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Accetta-Scott has now been in Tennessee for three years.

“We are 80 percent sustainable,” she said of her homestead.

-Messenger photo by Lori Berglund
Valda Horton, of Webster City, was in the spirit of Murray Fest as she offered crocheted hens and more in her midway tent. Horton said she was having a ball talking to everyone and telling them about her local business, Sunny Side Stitches.

To increase sustainability, she focuses on maximizing the seasons. She uses greenhouses to extend the growing season. While there is a cost to a greenhouse, she said it needs to be viewed as an investment to help grow sustainability.

The ancient art of bartering is another important component of homesteading for Accetta-Scott.

“For our lifestyle, bartering is currency,” she said. “I don’t even drink wine, but I just bartered for two cases of wine.”

She used the wine as currency to barter for a hog.

Chrissie DiCarlo and Holly Callahan-Kasmala are the hosts of the podcast “Coffee with the Chicken Ladies,” who could probably get onboard with wine or coffee. Best friends for more than 40 years, the chicken ladies were happily chatting chickens with one and all stopping by their tent.

-Messenger photo by Lori Berglund
The Lihs family came from Bondurant to exhibit their poultry at Murray Fest this weekend and walked away with impressive awards. From left are siblings Henry Lihs, Myles Lihs, Gavis Lihs and Emma Lihs.

Based in Maryland, it was also their first time in Iowa. They found everyone “super friendly.”

The women favor heritage breeds and credited McMurray Hatchery as “one million percent helpful” for those who want quality birds.

“We always tell people to learn their breed and how to care for them,” DiCarlo said. “Go slow if you are just starting out, and be patient.”

The chicken ladies were a popular spot for learning with a twist of laughter.

Sessions ran concurrently throughout the day, with multiple speakers drawing crowds in the show area, Ed Prince and Van Diest buildings.

Dalia Monterroso drew a packed house for her talk on “Keeping Chickens.”

A Washington state author, Monterroso serves up a “Chickenlandia” YouTube channel and “BawkTawk” podcast. Her talk focused on practices for raising healthy chickens.

She favors all things natural.

“We can use antibiotics or synthetics, but not as a first resource,” Monterroso said.

To keep antibiotics effective, use them only when needed she said — a mantra found today throughout the medical community for both humans and animals.

“There is a time and place for them,” she said. But using them randomly is detrimental for all.

“Be gentle with your chickens,” Monterroso urged. “They are living creatures.”

The kids over at the poultry show had already taken that message to heart.

Kinsley Elifrits, a 6-year-old from Otho, patiently stroked the feathers on her Golden Laced Polish named Erma as Judge Zeb Skow of Fairmont, Minnesota, helped her learn about showmanship and a little chicken anatomy.

“Scrambled eggs are my favorite,” Elifrits told the judge.

Skow was happy to see the care with which exhibitors handled their birds and the knowledge they were accumulating.

“We need more poultry people, more poultry enthusiasts,” Skow told the crowd in the barn.

Henry Lihs, 10, from Bondurant, said his family raises more than 100 chickens. Lihs helps feed and water the chickens daily. “They’re fun and we get to show them for 4-H,” he said.

Two-year-old Chandler Bertrand got to pet one of the Lihs’ chickens after the show. Mom Kira Bertrand said the family came from Virginia, in large part to see the weekend’s featured speaker Charles Dowding from the United Kingdom, who helped bring in the crowd from both far and near.

It was also the Bertrand family’s first trip to Iowa. They visited Living History Farms on Friday and said it reminded them of Colonial Williamsburg.

But back to chickens.

“We’ve had chickens since about 2015 and I enjoy the work,” Kira Bertrand said. She has five kids, ages 2 to 11, and likes to know where the food she puts on the table comes from. She found Murray Fest as a great way to meet like-minded people.

“I enjoy being around people who want to be good stewards of the land,” she said.

Hamilton County Recorder Kim Anderson was taking in Murray Fest with her dad, retired Hamilton County Sheriff Scott Anderson.

“I was very interested in Rory Feek and Charles Dowding,” Kim Anderson said. “I’ve watched several of the people here on YouTube for three or four years before I even realized they were coming. For me it’s very interesting to see the people that I’ve been watching.” Feek was one of four musicians providing entertainment Saturday and Sunday evening.

For his part, Dowding did not disappoint as he filled the show arena to standing room only for his presentation about “No Dig Gardening.”

“I hate to see people working harder than they need to be,” Dowding said in a simplified definition of his “no dig” philosophy.

Dowding has been farming for decades in the United Kingdom. With his British accent, he draws people in to learn through his YouTube, Instagram, and other social media outlets.

“To me, the proof of something is what I see,” Dowding told the crowd. “Do your own trials, in your own situation, to see what works.”

Scott Anderson, the retired law man, said the event reminded him of many of the things he learned as a kid growing up in Kamrar. No one called it “homesteading,” back then, but the philosophy was much the same.

“My granddad taught me how to garden,” Anderson reflected. “He taught me a lot of things outside the garden as well.” Those days in the sun, with his grandad sitting at the edge of the garden on an overturned bucket, were good memories.

The families who flocked in for Murray Fest Midwest have now mostly flown, headed home with new ideas for making their homes and gardens better, and making new memories along the way.

-Messenger photo by Lori Berglund
The food tent lines were long but worth the wait at the inaugural Murray Fest Midwest at the Hamilton County Fairgrounds. Volunteering on the grill above were, Jerry Truelove, left, Burlington, Kansas, and Allie Maley, Prior Lake, Minnesota.

-Messenger photo by Lori Berglund
Iowa 4-H’er Emma Lihs, right, gently holds her chicken so that 2-year-old Chandler Bertrand, center, can pet the soft feathers. Mom Kira Bertrand, left, helps out. The Bertrands traveled from Virginia to attend Murray Fest Midwest this past weekend.

-Messenger photo by Lori Berglund
Publisher Ruth Samsel, left, came from Connecticut for Murray Fest Midwest. She enjoyed visiting with Angela Miller, right, a Tennessee woman who came to offer information on the Women’s Homesteading Society.

-Messenger photo by Lori Berglund
Ann Accetta-Scott speaks on Homesteading during a presentation in the show ring at the inaugural Murray Fest Midwest at the Hamilton County Fairgrounds.