Meraux Foundation Celebrates Record-breaking attendance at 5th Annual AgMagic on the River

Kids and adults alike came out to experience the fun at the fifth annual AgMagic on the River from May 8-12 at the Meraux Foundation’s Docville Farm in Violet. Thanks to a partnership between the Meraux Foundation and LSU’s AgCenter, the hands-on event is free for schools and the public.

“AgMagic is one of our Foundation’s most cherished activities,” said Rita Gue, the president of the Meraux Foundation. “It brings together so many components of our mission into one event, including community building, the environment, and education.”

Hosted annually at Docville, this year’s AgMagic took place over five days and was the biggest yet. For the first four days, the educational event welcomed students from third through sixth grades from 31 schools. Then, on Saturday, the final day, the event was open to the public and, with over 3,882 attendees, broke records as the most well-attended AgMagic on the River.

“We are thrilled with the success of this year’s AgMagic and are so thankful to the educators, sponsors, and volunteers who help make it happen, especially, of course, our partners at the Meraux Foundation who do so much to promote education in St. Bernard Parish,” said Beth Gambel, who is the chief organizer of the event for the LSU AgCenter.

Visitors were invited to walk around to all the different exhibits and discover as much as they could. All the exhibits had different themes, ranging from animals, insects, and seafood to forestry, plants, and “The Mighty Mississippi.” Guests could see and touch live farm animals at the animals exhibit and view the river from atop the Foundation’s Arlene Meraux River Observation Center.

Through the several interactive exhibits, attendees of AgMagic were able to understand how the different elements of their everyday lives are connected to the environment around us by seeing the origins of their food, shelter, and clothing, among others. All the exhibits offered sensory, educational activities as a way for visitors to learn and interact.

Beginning in Baton Rouge over a decade ago, AgMagic moved downriver to St. Bernard in 2014 to bring the magical family fun to more people. The annual educational endeavor seeks to link Louisiana agriculture and environment with people’s everyday lives and take visitors on an interactive journey.

Meraux Foundation and LSU’s AgCenter are already hard at work planning next year’s AgMagic on the River. To learn more about Docville Farm, visit https://merauxfoundation.org/docville-farm/.