WENDELL — Bunch, splash, un-bunch and dry.
That’s really it. Those are the only steps to make a quality piece of tie-dye apparel, like those made at Diemand Farm in Wendell on Saturday.
To link up with ArtWeek, the Wendell farm held its first-ever learn-to-tie-dye event, which the family of farmers say will likely continue in the future.
It was a rainy day, which kept attendance down, but the workers all said it’s about offering fun for the community, whenever possible.
“One of the things we’ve been trying to do is more events at the farm,” said Tammy Ketcham, who came up with the idea of a tie-dye event.
“It will grow the agritourism in the area,” she added.
People brought light-colored shirts — even a onesie — and scrunched them up into small, compact shapes, before squirting the items with any colors, in any order, they wanted.
“People are very particular about their things,” said Anne Diemand Bucci.
The rainbow colors stained and spread, the shirts were unraveled and hung to dry and, just like that, people left with the distinctive swirls of tie-dye on their old clothes.
“People brought T-shirts, big shirts, toddler-sized shirts,” said Faith Diemand.
While the event was cut short, Diemand Bucci said the farm will focus more on weekend events. She said, in the past, events like Easter egg hunts have drawn more than 700 people.
However, it’s all about getting the word out.
“People who grew up right down the street sometimes don’t know we’re here,” Diemand Bucci said. “There’s people I’ve known for 40 years who have said, ‘I didn’t know you guys sold beef.’”
Well, for a start, 20 people will have gone home with tie-dyed shirts to remind them of Diemand Farm.
Reach David McLellan at dmclellan@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 268.