Blue Grass Farms Charities Hosts “Festival of Christmas” Party

Blue Grass Farms Charities held its annual Festival of Christmas charity event Tuesday and Wednesday at Keeneland's Thoroughbred Training Center in Lexington. The 2016 event, geared toward the families of those who work with Thoroughbreds in the greater Lexington area, welcomed 1,072 individuals–including 574 children–to a Christmas party that included live music and a visit from Santa Claus.

Every child in attendance received a gift bag complete with toys, books, gloves and a hat, while adults were treated to poinsettias, household items and gift cards to Kroger grocery stores. Each night featured a gift raffle of a bicycle donated by the Race for Education. Executive director Wade Haga said that providing holiday cheer for families with limited financial resources is of the utmost importance.

“It's our biggest outreach event of the year and, of course, it's very popular,” Haga said. “It's a very hard-working community of people, and they often just don't make enough to make ends meet during the holidays. So this is a really great opportunity for them to dress their children up and spend some quality time with Santa and have that memory together as a family.”

Blue Grass Farms has had a busy year in 2016, growing its emergency assistance program and delivering fresh produce to hundreds of farm workers on a weekly basis. In addition to promoting education, the organization also expanded its annual Farm Soccer Tournament at Dixiana Farm to 15 teams. Haga added that events like the Festival of Christmas serve to heighten awareness about their mission.

“Several of our programs have increased their reach and impact in a great way this year,” Haga added. “We signed up between 20-25% more people for the Festival of Christmas this year, compared to last year. The amount of backpacks and school supplies also increased greatly this year. So I'm thankful that word is getting out about how we are able to serve these families, and it's obvious that the programs we're providing are meeting the needs of people. We're continuing to grow and more and more people are wanting to participate.”