Special to Iredell Free News
Greg Atkinson of Atkinson Acres Farms will host HempStock, a fall festival, on Saturday, October 15, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Admission is free and open to the public. The event will be held at 399 Lookout Dam Road near Statesville.
There will be food, BBQ, activities for kids and adults alike such as crafts and vendors, refreshments and beer, activities for the kids like gem mining, and live music by The Cosmic Hillbilly Experience.
Sponsors include Lowe’s Home Improvement, The Murray Maids, Pop’s Store & Tavern, and New South Tractor.
Proceeds from the event will benefit “The Magic of the Outdoors for Kids,” a program that introduces children to the joys of sustainable farming and being in nature.
“We want to create a magical place where kids who have never been on a farm can experience the wonder of agriculture in our county,” explained Atkinson, a professional magician and farmer in Iredell County. “Since last year we have added all kinds of farm animals — pigs, chickens, cattle, bunnies, mules — and it’s expanding all the time.”
Atkinson has been farming in Statesville for five years and growing hemp for the past four. As a hemp farmer, he must follow state regulations, which means his crop has a THC content of less than 0.3 percent and is hemp derived and tested independently. Hemp products are legal to sell in North Carolina.
Atkinson tends to the hemp by planting, fertilizing, and manicuring each by hand to assure the quality of the best hemp buds.
Atkinson Acres Hemp Farm located is on 15 acres.
“We planted 2,000 plants on 2.07 acres totally organic without any pesticides in 2019. These were harvested in October 2019,” he said. “The plants are dried and cured properly to achieve the maximum amount of CBD content with tightly controlled humidity and temperature values. In 2020, 2,400 plants were planted of Baox, Cherry Mom, and T1 (different hemp strains) harvested in late October 2020.”
LEARN MORE
For more information about HempStock, Magic of the Outdoors for Kids and Atkinson Acres Farms, please contact Greg Atkinson at 803-603-6500 or email AtkinsonAcresNC@gmail.com. Visit HeavenlyHempNC.com or TheMagicoftheOutdoorsforKids.org.