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PRESTON - You may have seen Taj’s Lemonade at various community events, but do you know the story behind the traveling lemonade stand? Now is the perfect time to brush up on their history before you visit them this weekend at Campbell’s Lane Farms’ Holistic Farm Festival.
Taj Johnson - for whom the small operation is named - is a local boy who was born without a fully formed left hand. He and his mom, Katie, set out to get him a modern prosthesis called a “Hero Arm” in 2024, which would provide him an artificial (but nonetheless helpful) remaining arm, wrist, and hand with moveable fingers. The Hero Arm was unfortunately not covered by insurance, which led to the opening of Taj’s Lemonade as a fundraising venture for the nearly $24,000 dollar device. After the first year, Taj’s Lemonade had only raised $1,500.
Then, this year, the Johnsons received the call of a lifetime. A little girl named Remi from Utah who had been fundraising for a Hero Arm of her own was given more than she needed, and she had decided to pay for Taj’s Hero Arm in full.
If this was life’s way of giving Taj lemons, he has made some serious lemonade. Despite receiving his Hero Arm, he and his family continue to raise money to support other children with malformations like his.
If you want to support this mission, or you just really have a hankering for some fresh-squeezed lemonade now, you’re in luck, because Taj and Campbell’s Lane Farms are teaming up to raise the most money they can for Taj’s cause at their Holistic Farm Festival on Oct. 11.
Ann Altvater of Campbell’s Lane Farms said the Holistic Farm Festival “has come about from my passion of creating a Holistic Event Venue. A safe place for humans and animals to gather for restorative rest, transformation, and deep healing.” She said that the event “felt like a good way for the public to learn more about what we offer…while also supporting other local holistic practitioners and products.” What do they offer, you may ask? “classes, workshops, trainings, and retreats that incorporate a holistic perspective, creative exploration, fun, and kindness,” Altvater said.
Altvater met Taj and his mom through a mutual friend. After seeing a news clip on Good Morning America about Taj’s story, Altvater was inspired to help due to their shared passion for what she calls “FUN-draising.” Being known for her line of donkey-inspired t-shirts with witty quotes, Altvater went to work creating a shirt to sell during the Holistic Fall Festival to bolster Taj’s proceeds: “$5.00 of every ‘lemonade’ shirt we sell will be donated to Taj’s lemonade stand.” The t-shirt design says “Bray it Forward”, a play on the phrase “pay it forward”, and obviously includes an adorable caricature of a donkey enjoying a tall glass of lemonade. “My biggest hope for this partnership is to support Taj and his family, that will in turn support many other children and their families,” Altvater said.
