DuPage farm event displays tradition

The theme of tradition ran strongly through the Homecoming Celebration on Saturday at St. James Farm near Warrenville, just as it does during homecoming football games and parades.

The event gave visitors the chance to engage in traditions of a Midwestern farm circa 1930, with pony rides, stable tours and the simple chance to explore the farm’s grounds.

“The homecoming celebration really is a return to the tradition of the character of St. James Farm, such as the equestrian activities,” said Audra Bonnet, a spokeswoman for the Forest Preserve of DuPage County, which sponsored the event.

Visitors could take a horse-drawn hayride, pet horses and cows, try their hand at archery or step aboard historic tractors during the open house.

A 1981 custom-built tractor pulling a cart struck the fancy of 8-year-old Blake Dudzik of Naperville.

“I want to get one of these,” he told his mom, Lorna Dudzik, while pretending to steer the farm apparatus.

Dudzik said Saturday’s trip to the farm with Blake and his 11-year-old brother, Dean, was the second time the trio attended the Homecoming Celebration.

“We always love horses, so we’re here to look at all the stables and the horses and see the show,” Dudzik said.

The Mario Contreras Equestrian Fiesta Troupe performed two shows Saturday, displaying a traditional activity called “dressage,” in which riders showcase their horse’s ability to jump and move gracefully.

An afternoon rain sent many to their cars about 2:30 p.m. — just before the second dressage show.

But before skies turned from gray to rainy, hundreds of families experienced tradition, evident in the farm’s architecture and grounds, with picket fences enclosing pastures and rolling fields colored with yellow prairie plants.

As Bonnet put it, the scene was a fitting showcase of a traditional farm.