Horn Farm Center for Agricultural Education

Author Archive: Alexis Campbell

Horn Farm Happenings – September 20, 2024

Pawpaws, Hikes & So Much More!

Next weekend is sure to be Wild & Uncommon! Don’t miss your chance to enjoy seasonal tastes, local crafts, learning adventures and more during Wild & Uncommon Weekend, a new expansion of the York County Pawpaw Festival.

Check out our line-up of events and offerings taking place at different locations across the Susquehanna Riverlands:

Thursday, September 26th

Pawpaw Cooking Class

Locally Seasoned at LegUp Farmers Market

Friday, September 27th

Lancaster Conservancy at Lavender Acres Winery
Market Tours & Shop Local Food!
Leg Up Farmers Market

Saturday, September 28th

Lancaster Conservancy at Kinsley Preserve
White Clover Farm
Susquehanna National Heritage Area’s Columbia Crossing River Trails Center
Lancaster Conservancy at Wizard Ranch Nature Preserve
Sweet Botanist at Firefly Hollow Wellness
Dark Hollow Biodynamic

Sunday, September 29th

Horn Farm Center at SNHA’s Columbia Crossing River Trails Center
Guided Hike: Wild Pawpaws and Zebra Swallowtails
Lancaster Conservancy at Turkey Hill Nature Preserve
Dark Hollow Biodynamic
Live Music & Flavorful Indulgences
Lavender Acres Winery

All Weekend Long

Pick Your Own & A Taste of Apple Schnitz
Flinchbaugh’s Orchard & Farm Market
Let’s Eat More Local Food!
Leg Up Farmers Market
Pawpaw Cocktails, Lavender Indulgences, & Local Wine
Lavender Acres Winery
River Discovery Boat Tours
Susquehanna National Heritage Area’s Zimmerman Center
Don’t miss out on these wild and uncommon experiences next week from September 26th through September 29th – all part of Wild & Uncommon Weekend! Some events and offerings require pre-registration so be sure to check out the program details by clicking on the links above.

Click here to Plan Your Weekend!

Thank You Sponsors!

The Horn Farm Center’s new Wild & Uncommon Weekend wouldn’t be possible without the support of local businesses who believe in our mission to foster ecological learning through land stewardship, community partnership, and hands-on experiences. We are grateful for their generous support!

Tickets are Going Fast!

The York County Pawpaw Festival will be held on Saturday, September 28th from 9am to 5pm at the Horn Farm Center!

In addition to pawpaw fruit and other unique seasonal foods, the event will feature local vendors, food trucks, plant nurseries, and educational activities at the Horn Farm Center.

To attend, purchase your tickets online today. Tickets will not be available for purchase at the door. 

This year, you may choose from 3 ticket options, including Premium Early Entry and VIP Tickets for parking on-site:

  • $7 General Admission – parking off-site with shuttle
  • $15 VIP Ticket – parking on-site
  • $20 Premium Early Entry – from 9am-10am only – parking on-site, priority access before the crowds
  • Free Admission for Children 12 & Under

Visit the Festival FAQ page for more information.

While the York County Pawpaw Festival is ONE DAY ONLY on Saturday, September 28th, you can explore the wider ecosystem of foods, makers, and experiences across the Lower Susquehanna Region by participating in our FIRST EVER Wild & Uncommon Weekend, taking place September 26-29th!

Dick Bono and his pawpaw trees growing at the Horn Farm Center. (Photo credit: Kat Arazawa)

Seeding a More Sustainable Future

Nationally recognized news site, Civil Eats, highlighted the 20th Annual Pawpaw Festival while speaking to the deeper meaning of this truly bioregional fruit! As we like to say, the pawpaw isn’t just a fleeting treat: it’s an invitation to learn more about local food and the natural landscapes we call home.

“At Horn Farm Center, where neighbors tend a flourishing community garden a short distance from young hazelnuts, persimmons and elderberries, Alexis Campbell hopes the pawpaw can be part of something bigger than itself. With that in mind, this year’s festival, now called Wild & Uncommon Weekend, will widen its scope beyond the pawpaw to consider a range of native fruits that are central to the farm’s regenerative vision. The broader focus can educate visitors about ‘bioregional living,’ a way of engaging with agriculture to elevate ‘what’s inherent and special about this particular climate, this particular land,’ Campbell says.”

Homesteading Programs Continue This Fall

We’re rounding the corner on our 20th Anniversary year at the Horn Farm Center! Join us as we continue our year-long tribute to Homestead Education Day–a popular annual event from our past that we’re commemorating in the present by offering special “homestead-themed” topics throughout the year.

Interested in exploring earth-conscious skills rooted in local food and hands-on crafts? Check out the following programs coming up at the Horn Farm Center:

Visit the Horn Farm Center this fall to learn new skills with the Homesteading Series programs!

Click here for More Info

Horn Farm Happenings – September 6, 2024

Ticket Sales End September 13th!

Don’t miss your chance to indulge in the flavors of the pawpaw season during Wild & Uncommon Weekend!

Join us on Sunday, September 29th for the Horn Farm Center’s new Pawpaw Brunch & Learn, held at Columbia Crossing River Trail Center. Enjoy a delicious, pawpaw-themed boxed brunch and beverage station while overlooking the iconic Susquehanna riverfront in Columbia, PA.

During the brunch, we will explore the history, culture, and lore of the pawpaw fruit with educator, Dale Hendricks. Learn about establishing other productive perennial crops like honey locust, persimmon, mulberry and more while building an excitingly diverse farm landscape that is water friendly, carbon negative, and presents a hopeful vision for the future.

Check out the brunch menu and other offerings taking place at Columbia Crossing River Trails Center and buy your tickets now! Ticket sales end next Friday, September 13th! 

A big thanks to Susquehanna National Heritage Area for hosting the event!

Click here for Tickets

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

Pawpaw Festival is One Day Only! 

The York County Pawpaw Festival will be held on Saturday, September 28th from 9am to 5pm at the Horn Farm Center!

In addition to pawpaw fruit and other unique seasonal foods, the event will feature local vendors, food trucks, plant nurseries, and educational activities at the Horn Farm Center.

To attend, purchase your tickets online today. Tickets will not be available for purchase at the door. 

This year, you may choose from 3 ticket options, including Premium Early Entry and VIP Tickets for parking on-site:

  • $7 General Admission – parking off-site with shuttle
  • $15 VIP Ticket – parking on-site
  • $20 Premium Early Entry – from 9am-10am only – parking on-site, priority access before the crowds
  • Free Admission for Children 12 & Under

Visit the Festival FAQ page for more information.

While the York County Pawpaw Festival is ONE DAY ONLY on Saturday, September 28th, you can explore the wider ecosystem of foods, makers, and experiences across the Lower Susquehanna Region by participating in our FIRST EVER Wild & Uncommon Weekend, taking place September 26-29th!

Purchase Tickets to Pawpaw Fest

Join the Pawpaw Festival for Free! 

Volunteering at the York County Pawpaw Festival on Saturday, September 28th has its perks, including:

  • Free admission to the full day of the festival with on-site parking;
  • Priority access to purchase pawpaw fruit;
  • Free beverages, snacks, and a local pizza lunch, PLUS …
  • A special invite to a volunteer-only educational get-together in the spring!

Enjoy the festivities while lending a hand with admissions, pawpaw sales, parking patrol, and more: consider attending as a volunteer!

Volunteer for Pawpaw Festival 

Plan Your Satur-Date: Cooking with the Seasons

Don your inner amateur chef hat on Saturday, October 26th from 10:30am-1:30pm in the Horn Farm Summer Kitchen. Enjoy a guided cooking session and learn to prepare a 4-course, healthy, plant-based meal featuring local, fresh, and in-season produce. Our autumn offering is sure to be nourishing and delicious!

Each aspiring chef will make enough for two meals which they can either enjoy at the end of class or take home with them to wow their family, friends, and social media following. But the best meals are better together…so bring a friend or special someone to share this unique and tasty experience.

Join us in the Horn Farm Summer kitchen as we put into practice the saying “Eat fresh! Eat local!”

Click here for More Info

Horn Farm Happenings – August 23, 2024

Seeking VolunTREEers! Riparian Buffer Tending Days

With a forest of support from volunteers and community partners, the Horn Farm Center has planted over 17,000 trees across 16 acres of streamside land, contributing to the health of our watershed and local ecology.But getting roots into the ground is just the beginning. Restoration is not only about building soil, protecting water, and bolstering biodiversity–it’s about reawakening our relationship with the natural landscape and reclaiming our roles as tenders and partners in nature’s wellbeing. Like any relationship, time, patience, and dedication are needed for mutual flourishing.

Thus, the story of our growing riparian buffer continues this fall with our Tree Tending Workdays. We’re seeking individuals and groups to help ensure the health of our plantings by monitoring trees, planting new saplings, managing aggressive species, and more. By joining us “in the field,” you’ll learn about ecological restoration, native plants, agroforestry, and what makes a thriving riparian buffer (plus what makes ours “multifunctional!”).

See if you can lend a hand by joining an upcoming workday:

🌳 Saturday, September 7 (10am-12pm)
🌳 Sunday, September 15 (1-3pm)
🌳 Saturday, October 5 (10am-12pm)
🌳 Saturday, October 26 (9-11am)
🌳 Saturday, November 2 (9am-12pm)

Interested in getting your class, office, or community together for a group volunteer day? Email us at education@hornfarmcenter.org to coordinate a visit, and check out our Tours and Group Visits page for custom educational experiences in and beyond our riparian buffer!

Curious about the Horn Farm’s streamside restoration work? Check out our riparian buffer series in the Horn Farm Center blog: For the Whole Stream.

Sign Up to Volunteer!

Compassionate Stewardship: Ecological Restoration Certificate

Speaking of fostering relationship with the land, we’re excited to announce a new learning experience in collaboration with Waxwing EcoWorks and Reviving Wisdom!

Join us this winter for our Ecological Restoration Certificate: a three-week, hands-on workshop series where you’ll learn how to partner with nature and assist in the recovery of degraded ecosystems.

The skills and frameworks explored in this program are useful for practitioners seeking professional development, volunteers and community members assisting local conservation efforts, and landowners looking to revive ecological health at home.

You’ll learn practical skills for impactful stewardship while exploring new lenses for seeing our place in the landscape. Topics covered include assessing site conditions, taking inspiration from nature, planning and implementing restoration projects, and building a sustainable practice for a lifetime of earth care.

Discover or strengthen your role as an active, compassionate steward of the local landscape! Spaces in this program are limited, so we encourage you to register soon.

This program runs for 6-8 hours on three Saturdays in winter:

  • December 14, 2024, 9am-3pm
  • January 11, 2025, 9am-5pm
  • January 25, 2025, 9am-3pm

Click here to Register for the Eco Restoration Training

Join the Pawpaw Festival for Free! 

Volunteering at the York County Pawpaw Festival on Saturday, September 28th has its perks, including:

  • Free admission to the full day of the festival with on-site parking;
  • Priority access to purchase pawpaw fruit;
  • Free beverages, snacks, and a local pizza lunch, PLUS …
  • A special invite to a volunteer-only educational get-together in the spring!

Enjoy the festivities while lending a hand with admissions, pawpaw sales, parking patrol, and more: consider attending as a volunteer!

Whether or not you plan to volunteer, don’t forget to check out all of the Wild & Uncommon weekend happenings taking place across the region: September 26-29, 2024. It’s all a part of our newly expanded Pawpaw Festival! Full details and event registration links can be found at our Weekend Guide.

Volunteer for Pawpaw Festival 

Wild & Uncommon Weekend: Tastes, Tours, Talks, and More!

With events spread out across the Lower Susquehanna Region from September 26-29, 2024, the Horn Farm’s NEW Wild & Uncommon Weekend celebrates our diverse ecosystem of local foods, makers, and nature-based experiences!

It all started with the iconic pawpaw, the centerpiece of the main event on Saturday, September 28th: the 20th Annual York County Pawpaw Festival.

But the Pawpaw Festival is not the only way to connect with this fascinating fruit! Many of our Wild & Uncommon satellite events feature new ways to enjoy and learn about pawpaws, including a pawpaw cooking class, pawpaw desserts and mocktails, a hike through pawpaw habitat, biodynamic farm tours, and our special Pawpaw Brunch & Learn on Sunday, September 29th.

We’re also celebrating the greater ecosystem that pawpaws call home, featuring new local tastes, educational experiences, and plenty of family fun!

So while you purchase your tickets for the Pawpaw Festival on September 28th, be sure to check out our Wild & Uncommon Weekend Guide to see how you can extend the festivities across the Lower Susquehanna landscape: September 26-29, 2024!