Frey Farms Founder and CEO Sarah Frey, author of the bestselling book "The Growing Season”, will visit the SC Governor’s School for Agriculture at John de la Howe (192 Gettys Road, McCormick, SC 29835) for an Author Q&A and Book Signing. This free, community, outdoor event will be held on the SC Governor’s School for Agriculture campus on Wednesday, May 12, 2021. The event will start at 4:45 p.m. with BBQ plates for sale and live music by the Ruby Red’s New Orleans Jazz Band. BBQ plate tickets may be purchased in advance for $10 at the McCormick County Library (201 Railroad Avenue, McCormick, SC 29835). The Author Q&A will begin at 6:00 p.m., shortly followed by the Book Signing.

Published in August 2020, the story of “The Growing Season” highlights how Sarah Frey built a new life and saved an American farm. The youngest of 21 children, Frey grew up on a struggling farm in Southern Illinois. At 15, she started her own fresh produce delivery business out of an old pickup truck. Two years later, she took over the family farm and started doing business with the largest grocery retailers in the country.

Frey’s story is one of never giving up, negotiating with some of the biggest businesses in the nation and building a company which serves consumers with fresh, healthy products. Frey Farms is the nation’s leading producer of pumpkins, earning Frey the nickname “America’s Pumpkin Queen.”

"Reading the book will be a valuable learning experience for our students, but the opportunity to meet the author is priceless!”, says Jennifer Brown, Director of Library Services at the SC Governor’s School for Agriculture. “We are grateful to Ms. Frey and to all involved for bringing this experience to our campus."

The McCormick County Library is a proud partner of this event, through “One Book, One School, One Community”, a county-wide reading initiative made possible by a Library Services and Technology Act grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the South Carolina State Library.

“Our goal is to bring the community together through a shared reading experience connected to agriculture,” says Paul Brown, Library Director at the McCormick County Library. Copies of “The Growing Season” are available at the McCormick County Library and may be purchased at Books on Main in downtown McCormick. Copies may also be purchased at the event.

Limited seating will be available, attendees are encouraged to bring their own seating to ensure social distancing. The Friends of the McCormick Library will provide free samples of Sarah’s Homegrown Beverages and Tsamma Watermelon Juice during the event. 

For more information about this event, please contact Jennifer.Brown@delahowe.sc.gov or Hayley.Belton@delahowe.sc.gov.