Christmas in a Barn Event Sees Record Attendance; Donates to Two Organizations

Thursday, December 14th, 2023 -- 9:00 AM

Memory Lane Farm, Inc. a Marshfield non-profit recently hosted its third annual “Christmas in the Barn” event, a farm based walk through Bethlehem with a live Nativity and various family activities.

Beth Zarnke, Executive Director, reported an all time attendance record of over 2,000 guests with an additional 200 volunteers serving as cast members and support roles. The event is no-charge, however guests are invited to bring donations for a local non-profit.

This year Compassion In Action of Marshfield was chosen as the beneficiary of the event. Two truck loads of paper goods (toilet, paper towels, napkins and diapers) were collected to support The Bread Barn Food Pantry in Arpin and new socks and underwear were collected to support The Cashmere & Corduroy Closet, an outreach for women and children in crisis.

Both of these programs fall under Compassion In Action’s local outreach programs. Compassion In Action’s Founders, Tom and Cathie Shilts, recently accepted $ 1,000 in cash donations from the guests at Christmas in the Barn to continue their local outreach efforts.

Zarnke shared “With so many people in our communities in need this year, it was heartwarming to see such incredible generosity. Our hearts are full and because of the outpouring from the community, now the shelves are full at the Bread Barn.”

The annual Christmas event was a huge success, according to Zarnke, and is planned for the first weekend in December of 2024. Memory Lane Farm’s mission is to provide farm-based opportunities to people of all ages to enhance lives through learning, exploring and self-discovery.

The non-profit has been serving the community since 2018 through individualized mentoring, horse powered reading program, camps, equine assisted team building, field trips and other events.

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