A glass of red or a glass of white — it all depended on Johnson County residents making it around the long trail of the Walker Homestead Farm and Winery.
Walker Homestead hosted its first “Sip and Seek” event Saturday, April 19 to benefit CommUnity Crisis Services. There, eventgoers could hike around the 85-acre farm, stopping at the halfway and end points for wine.
The event raised funds and awareness for CommUnity Crisis Services, a nonprofit dedicated to helping families in emotional, food, or financial crises.
The attendees began and ended their journey at the barn venue, talking in amplified voices over the familiar guitar strums of a Bob Seger cover that found its way inside and out of the barn.
Greeting, dodging, and bustling through it all was Kristy Walker, the president of Walker Homestead. She co-founded the farm and winery with her husband, Bob Walker, in 2019.
“I think Easter Saturday is great,” she said. “Easter is about new beginnings. And I think it’s a great way to kick off spring, doing something kind for someone else, and coming together with your family out on a walk with music, on this farm, which is my happy place.”
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Besides reaching the $10,000 fundraising goal, Walker hoped the event would bring awareness to residents about CommUnity Crisis’ services.
“During COVID, a lot of people found themselves in tough situations, and a lot of them became food-insecure because they didn’t realize what resources they had in their community to help overcome insecurity,” she said. “I just want people to know that these resources are out there to help them with.”
Posted in the barn with the CommUnity booth was Elliot Tucker, the organization’s financial support coordinator. He had been the one to initially suggest the event to Walker. Both he and Walker now hope for the event to become an annual tradition.
“I work in direct service, so I don’t typically get to dip my toes into the event planning space. So just being able to be the catalyst for this event and help this happen, this is a huge honor,” he said. “It feels kind of surreal now that this is happening.”
Tucker explained that the donations from the event will be used wherever they are needed most and aren’t set aside for a specific CommUnity initiative. The fundraiser came just in time for the CommUnity Baby Shower, an annual drive to collect essential baby supplies — such as diapers, wipes, formula, and baby food — for families experiencing financial hardship.
Tucker also hoped the event would raise awareness among residents in need.
“They’re not alone,” he said. “They have support in the community, and things like this exist and truly do help people. It’s not just a nonprofit name and a pretty design. It’s invaluable and lifesaving.”
Along the way, they may have spotted eggs nestled in hay bales and grass. Hidden in some of these eggs were golden tickets, offering the lucky finders a free t-shirt or pizza from Walker Homestead.
This system and other parts of the event were planned by University of Iowa students in the event management certificate program, students like third-year Jordan Dawson.
“This is way better than taking any exam or trying to study a bunch of books,” she said. “I’d much rather do this any other day. And so I’m really thankful and just so honored to be here and have people enjoy what we put all our hard work into.”