In this file photo from Feb. 13, 2016, Kristine Chapman, center, and Adam Weigel, right, provide information at the Common Ground Garden booth at the Kaw Valley Seed Fair.

Master gardeners and horticulture newbies alike are invited to this weekend’s installment of the annual Kaw Valley Seed Fair, slated for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Douglas County Fairgrounds, 2110 Harper St.

Now in its eighth year, the free event is expected to draw upwards of 1,000 people to the fairgrounds for a day of sustainability-focused seed sharing, educational demonstrations, kids’ activities, raffle prizes and more. Visitors can also purchase vegetarian fare from The Purple Carrot Co-op throughout the day.

Trina McClure, one of the organizers behind this year’s event, credits the Seed Fair’s enduring popularity, at least partially, to its accessibility for gardeners of all experience levels.

“We always see that ‘I’ve never done this’ anxiety. There’s something so intimidating about the idea of growing a plant,” McClure says. Luckily, more than 25 area exhibitors, including the Douglas County Extension Master Gardeners, will be on hand Saturday to help ease those anxieties with a little knowledge and friendly conversation.

“They want people to grow gardens, whether they’re flower gardens or vegetable gardens or landscaping or container gardens, or just having house plants,” McClure says.

A key component of the fair is education — and organizers like McClure believe knowledge comes from sharing ideas, advice and resources. The big draw each year is the seed exchange, for which guests are asked to bring their own excess seeds (store-bought or from the garden) to swap with others, in addition to books, videos, catalogs and other seed-saving resources.

But even those without seeds are welcome to join in, McClure says. Envelopes and containers for storing the goodies are always recommended, but never required, at the seed swap table.

“You don’t have to bring something, but we do want to encourage this sense of coming together, in all these small ways, to share something,” McClure says.

McClure is one of only a handful of organizers behind the fair, which she says has maintained a consistently high turnout over the years, thanks in part to what she describes as the Lawrence community’s “deeper attachment to food.” And also, she adds, knowing where and how our food is produced.

Local businesses pledge each year to help promote the event, for which there’s very little spent on advertising, McClure says. Local artists chip in, too, creating a poster for the fair each year — this time around, it’s Douglas County teen Wil Myslivy. Community members gathered for a “coloring party” last month to add their personal touches to copies of his poster, which were later distributed to local businesses and public sites around town.

“All of these little pieces come together, and we wouldn’t be able to do it if we didn’t have people coming together and helping in their own little ways,” McClure says.

For more information on the Kaw Valley Seed Fair, visit www.facebook.com/kawvalleyseeds.