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Tucson Village Farm is asking the community to donate denim, boots and overalls as it prepares for a barn dance and fashion show fundraiser in November to support its new Animal Education Center.

The new facility will give local students and families the opportunity to learn about barn animals up close.

The farm has been fundraising for the center for the past few years and has so far raised more than $100,000. But that’s not enough to fund the ongoing expenses of feed, medical care and salaries of animal caretakers.

The farm already hosts biannual clothing swaps to encourage upcycling and reuse, with organizers saying the fashion show feels like a natural extension and a way to get creative while highlighting farm fashion staples.

“Hopefully the farm fashion will just show the community that there’s new offerings and new programs being developed at Tucson Village Farm and it will also function as a way for Tucson’s community to support the farm,” said Community Engagement and Development Coordinator Jessica Bell “It’ll be a little combination of a barn dance and a farm fashion show, like boots and denim and overalls,” said Bell. “And it will continue to fundraise for all the costs of having animals at the farm.”

Bell has been working at Tucson Village Farm for more than a decade. She and other staffers are eagerly preparing for November’s ribbon-cutting and grand opening of the new barn.

Co-founder Elizabeth Sparks came up with the idea of a fashion show, which was born out of the staff’s desire to showcase their love of overalls on the runway. And while it’s unlike anything the farm has ever done, Bell said it’s a testament to the creativity and sustainability practices taught at the farm.

“If you come to Tucson Village Farm, you’ll see that all the people that are working outside are usually decked out in overalls, it’s kind of our thing,” said Bell. “Everyone that comes and sees the overalls usually wants a pair so this is a way to bring that to them.”

To prepare for the event, the farm is seeking donations of gently used denim, overalls and boots. It’s also looking for volunteers to help decorate fashion show items and model in the show.

“We’ll be looking for and accepting overalls, denim and boots all the way until late October, early November,” said Bell. “We’ll be prepping for the event itself, so we are especially on the hunt for larger sizes of overalls. It’s been hard to find larges, XL, XXL.”

Donations can be dropped off at the farm. From there, local artists and University of Arizona students will start transforming the items into one-of-a-kind pieces that attendees will be able to bid on at an auction after the fashion show.

“We have a variety of amazing Tucson artists that have volunteered to donate either designed overalls or to come pick up a pair of overalls that we already have and kind of deck them out,” said Bell.

The artists will be working on their designs over the next few months and have no strict guidelines other than to make something fun and wearable.

While the final list of artists and models is still coming together, Bell said she expects participants will include mostly UA students, AmeriCorps members and longtime volunteers, in addition to local artists like Moonie Tyler, Sabra Mayer and Kalee Hunter.

The 18-and-older event is scheduled for Nov. 14 from 6 to 9 p.m. Attendees can expect a night filled with dancing, food, drinks and fun.

Angelina Maynes is a University of Arizona alum and reporter with Tucson Spotlight. Contact her at angelinamaynes@arizona.edu.

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