How ya gonna keep 'em down on the farm?

For the Hawaii State Farm Fair, you piggyback ... with a museum.

The Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation is reinventing its annual farm fair today and tomorrow at the Bishop Museum, a new venue.

"We wanted to bring it back into town," said Alan Takemoto, farm bureau executive director. "We were looking for a site to suit our mission and purpose, and also

accommodate our activities."

Enter the Bishop Museum and its sprawling Great Lawn.

"Our presence fits their mission, their purpose — to educate the community and thus support the agricultural industry," Takemoto said.

So the pigs, the steers, the lambs, the livestock in the annual 4-H auction will all be there.

Plus a petting zoo, inflatables for bouncing, and smaller rides for keiki.

But no E.K. Fernandez carnival rides. Or the long drive to Kapolei Community Park. Or the asphalt parking lot at Aloha Stadium.

Or a multiweek schedule.

"We're scaled down — not to rebuild, but to refocus," Takemoto said of the two-day run.

"We're moving toward doing a country fair, with lots of produce," he said. "Maybe we'll add homemade crafts in the future. We're having corn-husking and watermelon-eating contests." And, down the line, perhaps pie-baking.

The shift to the Bishop Museum brings added value: The admission fee includes the farm fair and access to the museum exhibits.

Further, Kapi'olani Community College's Saturday Farmers Market will not be at KCC today; instead, two dozen vendors will assemble today and tomorrow at the farm fair for an expanded run, offering breakfast, produce, homemade jams and jellies, baked breads and plants.

Just like an old-fashioned country fair — in the city.