It's time once again for the annual Farm-City Week Banquet, which has become a tradition over the years in Bladen County. The banquet, like others throughout the nation, accentuates the interdependence of the farm and urban communities.

The banquet, which is held annually in Bladen County at the Powell-Melvin Agriculture Service Center, is sponsored by the local Kiwanis Club. The Kiwanis initiated the Farm-City Week celebration in 1955 to promote understanding between the rural and urban communities.

Since that time, it has grown to become one of the most widely celebrated events across the nation, with about 18,000 communities participating in one manner or another.

A main part of the Bladen County Farm-City Week celebration has been the banquet, which is held annually on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. It is co-sponsored by the Bladen County Center of North Carolina Cooperative Extension, Elizabethtown Kiwanis Club and other local sponsors. It begins at 6:30 p.m.

The theme for this year's event, is "Partners in Progress," which spotlights how American Agriculture reaches far beyond the farm or ranch.

The keynote speaker at this year's event will be Valeria Lee, president of the Golden Leaf Foundation.

"We're looking forward to this year's event being the best ever," said Bladen County Cooperative Extension Director Kent Wooten. "This event gives us an opportunity to honor the farmers who produce our food and those who work in our food production industries."

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