Agriculture is here to stay.

Islanders and visitors from all over Washington and British Columbia turned a blind eye to the weather and came out in droves to explore the many forms of farming on the island. From alpacas and apples, to winter squash and wine, last weekend’s tour offered something for everyone.

At the Case Farm in Oak Harbor, families picked out the perfect pumpkin, gaggled with the geese, and spied many other farm creatures including cows, turkeys, peacocks and a momma cat with her 5-week-old litter of kittens.

While children took in the scene and explored farm equipment, parents loaded up on farm-fresh produce from a tent near the pumpkin patch.

Mike and Sheila Case-Smith run the 110-year-old farm, the longest-lived operation on the tour. Acting on the community-minded way of farming, they invited neighbors Joe and Pennie Janousek of Hunters Moon Blueberries to offer their special fruit for sale during the tour.

The Janouseks’ blueberries are unique in that the berries are late-season, meaning that the berries ripen in early to mid-October instead of early September. Due to the extended ripening process, the fruit has a higher sugar content, making them sweeter than the average blueberry, said Joe.

Meanwhile, young families visited Island Bliss Alpacas on Taylor Road, run by Dina Blackstone and Tracy Quinten.

Blackstone led Fidalgo, a sandy-colored, 1-year-old alpaca, out from a corral of several animals so wide-eyed children could touch his soft, woolly fleece.

“He came out of the womb loving two-leggeds,” Blackstone said of Fidalgo’s friendliness.

Julia Geppert of Lynnwood fed the polite, young alpaca and got kisses in return.

Inside the gift shop, other youngsters watched Lisa Phillips card and spin fleece. Shoppers curiously looked through the natural-colored fleece and spun yarn for sale, each wrapped in a label with the name and photo of the animal who contributed the fleece.

People come in here asking for a certain animal by name, so they can complete a sweater with the same color, she said.

Phillips also brought an array of produce from her property on Silver Lake Road, Round Tuit Farm, including heirloom tomatoes, squash, potatoes, peppers, garlic, eggs and honey.

Farming includes more than just animals and produce, as many kiddos learned last weekend.

Hummingbird Farm Nursery and Gardens specializes in rare and unusual perennials and serves as a gathering place for numerous community events, said Lori Spear, who takes care of the gift shop and crafty end of the farm. Her husband, Lee, is the mastermind behind the plant-growing operation, composting and wildlife aspects.

The nursery’s large, periwinkle barn has served as an event center for WAIF, CADA and Whidbey Playhouse, among other local groups.

Breana Koontz, a third-grader at Hillcrest Elementary, paid a visit to the farm. During her first visit to the farm on a field trip as a first-grader, she built bat boxes with her classmates. Her mom, Edna Henderson, is excited that her daughter is taking an interest in the farm’s projects and said the family enjoys the annual farm tour.

“It’s going to be our tradition every year,” she said.

And the tour continued for the 21-and-up crowd, who appreciated another product from Whidbey farming — wine.

Two wineries participated in this year’s tour, Greenbank Cellars and Langley’s Whidbey Island Vineyards and Winery.

Olivia Forte-Gardner, coordinator for the agriculture, sustainability and land stewardship program said she works to include a balanced variety of farms for the tour.

The farms chosen for this year’s tour demonstrated concern and active response for agricultural stewardship.

“The farms on tour show a commitment to farming responsibly and are interested in educating the public,” she said.