>> Matt: This week on "Friends and Neighbors."

>> Tony: So mead is the oldest known purposefully fermented alcoholic beverage by mankind found in most ancient civilizations.

>> Melissa: We have definitely added a lot of enchantment with this Unicorn Tyme event to try and reach a little bit of a different audience.

All of these rides and attractions are included.

There's something for everyone here at the farm.

>> Phil: You know, there's happy tears and there's sad tears.

But when you're walking with people through a difficult journey of cancer, we wanna be there for all of those to experience life together and really be authentic and let them know they have a friend.

And that's what friends do.

They're able to be there in times of sadness and in joy.

>> Jeff: As it started evolving and people started seeing the beauty and stuff, there's photo shoots are all the time anymore.

A lot of people do photo shoots out here.

Prom, weekends, you know.

There's, you know, proms from Valpo, Crown Point.

All of them seem to make their way down here anymore, all the local ones within an hour.

>> Advertiser 1: Centier Bank is proud to serve hometown community banking across Indiana.

For over 128 years, Indiana's largest private family-owned bank has been not for sale and promises to keep it that way for years to come.

>> Advertiser 2: Sacred Dunes Integrative Health is your comprehensive holistic wellness center, specializing in acupuncture, massage therapy, functional lab testing, nutrition, and herbal medicine.

Sacred dunes where wellness grows.

>> Advertiser 3: Local programming is made possible by IBEW Local 697, Northwest Indiana's source for electrical professionals.

Providing certified trained and experienced professionals for residential, commercial, industrial, and solar projects.

>> I have a very strong connection to other students.

Everyone makes an effort to help each other.

I'll remember the feeling of being here, the feeling that I was a part of a family.

(bright music) >> Advertiser 4: Strack and Van Til is hiring full and part-time positions for deli, floral, bakery, department managers and more with flexible work schedules, sign-on bonuses, paid vacation and benefits.

Learn more at strackandvantil.com.

>> Advertiser 5: Methodist Hospital's mission is to provide compassionate quality healthcare services to all those in need.

Methodist Hospital, celebrating 100 years of healing in Northwest Indiana.

Learn more at methodisthospitals.org.

(bright music) >> Announcer: Additional support for Lakeshore Public Media and Friends and Neighbors is provided by viewers like you.

Thank you.

(bright music) (upbeat music) >> We specialize in mead, which is a wine beverage fermented with a majority of the fermentable sugars coming from honey.

So mead is the oldest known purposefully fermented alcoholic beverage by mankind found in most ancient civilizations.

(upbeat music) So when I moved to Crown Point, I saw an opportunity to do something.

I wanted to work around people and I wanted to offer something creative.

So initially, I always had a fascination with fermentation in general, making beer, wine, mead, cider at home.

Initially, I always thought it'd be really neat to start a brewery.

Growing up in Munster, Indiana, I saw Three Floyds go from a Hammond garage to where they are now and sort of be a very large player.

Being in this new town and seeing what was going on, there were already several breweries in this area and we had a rich beer market, but I started to think, you know, I like to create things and I like art and expression.

And so with fermentables, you get a chance to express yourself in a culinary way.

And a lot of what we do is education 'cause as I said earlier, we're really at a point where mead's been around for so long but we're reintroducing it to a modern market.

(upbeat music) >> I was listening to NPR and an article came across or a section came across where Tony, the owner of Manic here, was on and was talking about this new meadery that was in Crown Point on my way home from work.

And I decided to stop in after hearing that on the radio and got a chance to talk to the owners and learn about mead and what mead was.

And I had never actually even had mead before, before I walked into this building.

So one night I came in and fell in love with it.

Came back many more times and wanted to learn how to do it.

So I did the classic YouTube learning, trying to figure it out online.

And then from there, came here with a bunch of questions from the things that YouTube couldn't teach me.

Kind of fell into an accidental internship for apprenticeship and then after a while, I was coming in more and more and more and learning and they decided, "Hey, we kinda need you full time."

So I decided to make the jump almost three years ago now.

(upbeat music) I like to see people with like Bam, which is the peanut butter and jelly mead.

When they try that, that's always an interesting reaction of, "Oh my goodness, it tastes just like peanut butter and jelly."

Or things like the traditionals that we do.

So we have a coconut blossom traditional, that is a coconut blossom honey from Hawaii.

There is no coconut in it.

It's just the honey from the coconut tree.

And it creates an almost coconut flavor but it creates a very interesting, almost chardonnay like sweeter flavor.

And people who are wine drinkers taste that and they just can't believe that it's just honey.

And that's really where it gets interesting for me, is every honey is a little different.

So just adding that different honey to water and yeast, you're gonna get different products called traditionals and every honey's gonna taste a little different.

And that's really where it's exciting.

It's, brewing beer, you have a very set number you're looking for and a set flavor profile you're looking for.

And it's gonna be very similar every time.

With mead, every time we make Elliot or every time we make a different Red Raspberry mead, the raspberries are gonna be a little different every year, sweetness and pH, and the honey's gonna be a little different every year.

Even though it came from the same hives, it's gonna be a little different parameters that they're getting from.

So that keeps it a little more interesting and it makes it a little more collectible because every year is gonna be a little different, even if I use the same recipe.

So people who collect 'em year after year after year enjoy taking it and drinking each one together and kinda seeing the differences from year to year.

(bright music) >> When people, they come in and they say, "Oh yeah, I've had mead before at a Renaissance fair," which, not knocking it, you know, it's still home brewing which is how we started out.

But a lot of times, the meads at those kinds of fairs are not, you know, the best quality.

So they say, "Oh, I've had it before.

I'm not really sure I like it."

They're there with a friend or you know, their wife wanted to come.

So you know, we'll try and say, "Okay, well, what do you like to drink when you go out?"

And we try and go from there.

Most people start out and they really like sweet things 'cause it's easy, it's approachable.

And as you try new things, your palette kind of opens up and develops a little bit.

So it's really cool to see, you know, what the boys have created and it sounds kinda corny but kinda like touching people's lives a little bit and helping them have a new experience and seeing them enjoy it is really fulfilling.

(bright music) >> Today, we're here at Harvest Tyme Family Farm in Lowell Indiana where they have things going on all year long.

But today, we are here to check out unicorn fun.

So let's grab our glitter and check it out.

(bright music) So we are here today with my friend, Melissa Sickinger.

Hi Melissa, how are you?

>> Hi, Matt, how are you?

>> I'm good, so you wouldn't know this by looking at me, but I love unicorns.

I have a feeling I'm in the right place.

>> You are definitely in the right place if you have a little bit of a unicorn obsession.

>> So we've got this awesome purple guy behind me.

His name please?

>> This is Sparkles Magoo.

>> Sparkles Magoo.

>> And if you're really, really good and you throw him some glitter, maybe you can have a conversation with Sparkles.

>> So wait, these guys move?

>> I guess you didn't even need the glitter.

>> No, so I can't just come and look at unicorns, they're interactive.

>> So unicorns are real here at Harvest Tyme and our Unicorn Tyme experience includes a bunch of our animatronic unicorns, just like Sparkles behind us.

>> Matt: How many unicorns do you guys have on site right now?

>> We have over 20 and then we also have the ride-on unicorns.

So you can take a ride on a unicorn.

>> I can ride a unicorn today?

>> You can ride a unicorn.

>> I have been wanting to ride a unicorn forever.

This is my friend, Sparkles.

Sparkles is gonna let me ride her.

You ready, girl?

Let's go.

>> Melissa: Throw the glitter!

>> Oh, glitter, glitter, glitter.

All right, glitter.

Woo-hoo!

I'm king of the world!

Melissa, I noticed behind me, we've got this beautiful pegacorn.

So we've got a unicorn Pegasus.

And I love, I love it.

>> Like a hybrid.

>> It is a hybrid.

Can I just go down to Party Express and get these guys?

>> Melissa: Absolutely not.

We have been working for months with a manufacturer customizing all of these beautiful creatures here that we have on the farm.

We got to pick not only their body colors but the color of their manes if we wanted them winged or not.

>> Now, one of the things I do love about the unicorns that you have here is you have so many very different styles of unicorns.

Some of these like Dot here is very realistic-looking.

You have some that look very cartoon-looking.

You have unicorns of all styles because unicorns are all styles.

>> Absolutely, and we definitely try to branch out.

Some of them look a little bit more of an animated unicorn.

Not all of them are animatronic but many of them are including the ride-on ones.

They are all customized just to make sure that we have that variety here.

(bright music) >> Melissa, first of all, we have two gentlemen sitting with us.

Who are these guys?

>> These are our future owners.

These are our sons.

This is Henry and this is Conrad.

>> Matt: And they're helping run this farm, huh?

>> Melissa: Absolutely, they are the brains and the creative inspo behind the operation.

>> Speaking of the creative inspo, tell me what goes into putting together something like Unicorn Tyme.

>> Lots of magic and lots of creative thinking and planning.

We have definitely added a lot of enchantment with this Unicorn Tyme event to try and reach a little bit of a different audience.

>> So every time that I come here, I can discover something new but there are staples of little pockets of favorites that I can enjoy every single time that I come.

>> Melissa: Yeah, our amusement area is incorporated into all of our events, including Dino Tyme, Unicorn Tyme our fall festival, sunflower festival.

They all are a one price, everything included event.

So all of these rides and attractions are included.

There is something for everyone here at the farm.

>> All of this sounds like a lot of fun.

Can we go check it out?

>> Guess so.

>> Alright, let's go.

>> Come on, guys.

>> Come on.

>> Come on!

>> Oh, oh, wait for me.

>> Okay!

(bright upbeat music) (bright upbeat music continues) (bright upbeat music continues) (bright upbeat music continues) (bright upbeat music continues) (bright upbeat music continues) >> All right, you guys.

Make sure that you check out Unicorn Tyme at a Harvest Tyme Family Farm here in Lowell, Indiana.

Seriously, this is a blast.

Make sure you check out the gift shop.

Woo-hoo!

(bright upbeat music) (gentle music) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) >> When I was 22, I was first diagnosed with stage four cancer.

Doctors said I was in the most advanced stage for nine months when I was diagnosed.

And I ended up down at University of Chicago Hospital.

And everything that I knew in life before was gone.

And the fast-paced life, the media, my friends, it was just me on my hospital bed.

And so I went through six months of chemotherapy and doctor said that I was cancer free.

Went to become a fourth grade teacher, taught for half of the year.

And then I was rediagnosed with cancer, still stage four Hodgkin's lymphoma, where it was attached to my bones and had lymph nodes and that were swollen in my neck throughout my whole body.

And that time took about a year to go through it.

The way that Phil's Friends began is really how people loved me and supported me.

So I had a group of people who put a care package together for me.

They all signed their names to it, said they were thinking about me and praying for me.

I got that about a week after I was diagnosed and it really caused me to break down and to just cry to know that it was okay to accept other people's support.

I wasn't gonna be alone when I went through this journey.

And that I had people praying for me.

The reason all those items are in there is because I kept a journal during the two years of my disease and I wrote down what people did for me and what was important and what was needed.

And so simple things such as a Kleenex and you know, a journal for people to write their thoughts down on, water bottle, 'cause obviously drinking water's super important to flush all that chemotherapy out, a Bible to be able to be encouraged and get strength, personal notes and personal cards that go inside of those packages.

Everything is really just packed by love, you know, through volunteers.

So then when it shows up in that decorated box on the outside, it's like, wow, you've taken time out out of your busy schedules and there's so much power, you know, in doing that, when you don't even know who you're getting this care package from other than this organization, you have no idea who requested it.

And so when it shows up, it's just that all those items are in there.

There's so much power in that.

It's simple, it's a lot of items inside of a box but there's power to know that it's been done in love.

(bright music) >> Well, to begin with, I thought what am I gonna need these for?

'Cause this is my first treatment.

But as the treatment went on that day, I'm like, "Ooh, can I see that blanket?"

And I said to my husband, "Can you put those slippers on my feet?"

You know, so everyone had a purpose.

Every item in that box was so well thought of and It was supporting what I was feeling.

We have very good friends that, you know, we have a whole support group but some never came around and someone could identify.

But unfortunately until you're in this club, you really, it's just unimaginable what you go through.

And so I felt like I wasn't being seen.

People weren't, they wanted to help me at a superficial level but to really know what I was going through, it was hard.

So when I see the care packages, the boxes, it's like every one of those is supporting a need that someone has.

You're cold, you're really thirsty, your lips are, I need to write this down.

And all those items in the box address those needs.

And so I felt like they were seeing who I was, who I was as a cancer traveler and I felt like they were seeing my needs and I want to be that to other people.

(bright music) >> So we see connections build in powerful ways and it's really the story behind the story of what's going on inside of Phil's Friends.

We talk all the time that it's not just for the patients and families, but it's also for the volunteers.

You know, it's a 50/50 mission, you know, all of that together.

Friendships are built and community is built.

And that's just one of the powerful things about it.

You know, everybody when they're going through cancer or going through anything difficult in their life no matter who they are, it's important to have a friend, to know that you're not alone while you're going through something difficult and doing life together.

You know, life is so short and cancer's a reminder of how short, you know, life can be.

So, you know, there's happy tears and there's sad tears.

But when you're walking with people through a difficult journey of cancer, we want to be there for all of those to experience life together and really be authentic and let 'em know they have a friend.

And that's what friends do.

They're able to be there in times of sadness and in joy.

(bright music) (gentle music) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) >> Mr. Hamstra's a developer, did a lot of real estate building, shopping centers and every other thing.

And about 1960 to 1962, where we're sitting was a cornfield.

And from that passion he started building and now we're to where we're at now in 1992 is when I came on board 30 years ago.

And it's evolved from there.

He was a builder by trade and this was just a sideline, passion hobby.

Some people got show cars, he had a garden and he just kept maintaining and building it.

(gentle music continues) As it started evolving and people started seeing the beauty and stuff.

There's photo shoots are all the time anymore.

A lot of people do photo shoots out here, prom weekends, you know, there's, you know, proms from Valpo, Crown Point.

All of them seem to make their way down here anymore.

All the local ones within an hour.

(gentle music fades) (bright music) There's a lot more than meets the eye.

It's very, very highly maintained.

We're real particular on detail right down to little weeds and cracks to bricks being perfectly set.

As you can tell when you walk around here, everybody, it's always very neat and tidy.

With landscaping, you're always evolving but it's a maintenance job a lot, just keeping up what we got now.

But structures, you're always doing remodeling, construction stuff, you're always redoing pavers.

You're redoing beds, transplanting plants, replanting plants.

You know, it's never ending.

A lot of people say, "So what do you guys do?

Just mow?"

And that's basically hardly a drop in the bucket of what we do.

(bright music) >> I rarely, rarely come out here without a clippers and a saw on my hands.

'Cause if I see something that needs attention, I can do it right there.

And it gives me a form of exercise and also keep my body busy.

And I just enjoy doing that.

It's something I love.

It's a love for it.

I like to do it.

I'm out here not working.

I'm out here playing.

Just seeing people enjoy it and travel far to get here and it just gives me a great pleasure and joy to share it with other people and let them enjoy it.

And it would be not fair for to hone it to themself and not share it with the community in the surrounding area.

It is something, this is my hobby, my life and this is my way of getting away from with the work and everything so on.

And I can come out here and just relax and enjoy playing with the plants that I like to do.

It's not a job for me.

It's pleasure and yeah, I do it for the joy I get out of keeping it up and making it look nice.

And so I can share it with other people.

(gentle music) >> Jeff: You know, as anything, you know, after 30 years, sometimes you can get to where when visitors are here, you start seeing it through their eyes and it gets new again.

You work and you actually forget to stop and see the beauty at times, 'cause you're so busy and you from one thing to the next.

So sometimes it's nice when you do show somebody especially somebody that's never been here I guess it makes you feel good to show it off a little bit at times, you know, to have people and especially the people that really actually know what goes into having something like this.

(gentle music fades) >> Advertiser 1: Centier Bank is proud to serve hometown community banking across Indiana.

for over 128 years, Indiana's largest private family owned bank has been not for sale and promises to keep it that way for years to come.

>> Advertiser 2: Sacred Dunes Integrative Health is your comprehensive holistic wellness center specializing in acupuncture, massage therapy, functional lab testing, nutrition and herbal medicine.

Sacred Dunes where wellness grows.

>> Advertiser 3: Local programming is made possible by IBEW Local 697, Northwest Indiana's source for electrical professionals.

Providing certified trained and experienced professionals for residential, commercial, industrial, and solar projects.

>> Advertiser 4: Strack and Van Til is hiring full and part-time positions for deli, floral, bakery, department managers and more with flexible work schedules, sign on bonuses, paid vacation and benefits.

Learn more at strackandvantil.com.

>> Almost every single professor I've had, I'm on a first name basis.

By building that relationship with faculty, I was able to get involved with research.

It's one thing to read about an idea in a book versus physically doing it and seeing the results.

(upbeat music) >> Advertiser 5: Methodist Hospital's mission is to provide compassionate quality healthcare services to all those in need.

Methodist Hospital, celebrating 100 years of healing in northwest Indiana.

Learn more at methodisthospitals.org.

(bright music) >> Announcer: Additional support for Lakeshore Public Media and friends and neighbors is provided by viewers like you.

Thank you.

(bright music) >> [Lakeshore Announcer] Did you know that you can find all of your favorite Lakeshore PBS shows online?

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Visit video.lakeshorepbs.org to stream your favorite local shows >> Radio Announcer: As you travel across northwest Indiana and into Chicago, take Lakeshore Public Media 89.1 FM along for the ride.

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(gentle music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (gentle music)