Horn Farm Center for Agricultural Education

Author Archive: Alexis Campbell

Horn Farm Happenings – June 27, 2025

Explore the Susquehanna Riverlands

From outdoor adventures to uniquely local treats, Horn Farm Center’s 2nd annual Wild & Uncommon Weekend is 4-day happening full of fun for the whole family!

We invite you to experience the local flavors, creativity, and beautiful landscapes of the Lower Susquehanna region from September 18-21, 2025. Explore special tours, artisan markets, classes, nature walks, and of course, the beloved Pawpaw Festival at Horn Farm Center.

Here’s a quick preview of the Weekend…

  • Thursday: Meet the Makers Market with The Gardener of the Owl Valley
  • Friday: Pawpaw Tour & Tasting at the Horn Farm Center
  • Saturday:
    • It’s All About Trees at Kreutz Creek Library
    • “In Search of the Old Ones” Author Talk at Kreutz Creek Library
    • Weird Fish & Fishing Weirs Youth Program at Susquehanna National Heritage Area’s Columbia Crossing River Center
    • Pawpaw Baked Goods at White Clover Farm
    • Party by the River with the Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association’s Dam Bridge Challenge
  • Sunday: Pawpaw Cooking Class with Locally Seasoned
  • All Weekend Long:
    • Nature Walks with Lancaster Conservancy
    • Uncommon Calm Massage Packages at Firefly Hollow Holistic Wellness
    • A Farmer Feast at Flinchbaugh’s Orchard & Farm Market
    • More Local Food at Leg Up Farmers Market
    • Pawpaw Cocktails & Locally-Made Wine at Lavender Acres Winery

Check out our Weekend Calendar of Events, featuring fun, learning, and adventure at locations around the Lower Susquehanna Riverlands. More details coming soon! 

Learn More About the Weekend Events

 

Pawpaw Festival Tickets: Now on Sale!

The 21st annual York County Pawpaw Festival at the Horn Farm Center will soon be ripening again! On Saturday, September 20th, 2025, join us for the signature event of the Horn Farm’s Wild & Uncommon Weekend.

This year, we’ve got a few options to help you sweeten your experience at the Pawpaw Festival:

GENERAL ADMISSION TICKETS – $7.00

  • Includes shuttle service to the festival beginning at 10AM
  • Option to add a PARKING PASS to skip the shuttle.
  • Children Ages 12 & Under Attend for Free!
PREMIUM EARLY ENTRY TICKET – $35.00
  • Includes on-site, front-row parking at the Horn Farm
  • Exclusive access to vendors, tastings, and pawpaw fruit sales before the crowds
  • AND, if this year’s harvest allows, access to unlimited pawpaw purchases during the first hour of the festival. 

Tickets are now on sale! Spaces are limited for Premium Early Entry, so we recommend getting yours early!

Get Your Pawpaw Festival Tickets Now!

Celebrating Summer Solstice with Community & Heat!

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our first Summer Solstice Market!

We welcomed the season in style with a vibrant celebration of local makers, community, and connection. Accompanied by the blazing summer sun, the farm was alive with music, handcrafted goods, delicious food, and good cheer as visitors explored our vendor marketplace, took in the beauty of the land, and celebrated the longest – and warmest – day of the year together.

Events like this remind us of the power of gathering in place and in purpose. We’re already looking forward to next year!

What is Biochar?

Earlier this month, students and staff witnessed soil-building in action through a hands-on workshop on creating biochar!

An incredible resource for gardeners, farmers, and land stewards, biochar is made through burning woody biomass (lots and lots of sticks) in a low-oxygen environment. The result is a form of stable carbon that supports healthy soil in so many ways, from improving water and nutrient availability to keeping climate change-fueling CO2 out of the atmosphere.

Biochar is a burning example of how simple, local, and natural materials can serve as incredible resources for restoring landscapes while nourishing abundant food. Our Gardening & Growing Classes follow that thread–showing you how to build healthy soil and plants in resourceful, ecological ways!

Discover More About Biochar

Horn Farm Happenings – June 13, 2025

 

Next Saturday: Celebrate Summer with Us!

Join us next Saturday, June 21st from 10am-2pm for a vibrant day of seasonal abundance and community joy featuring fresh produce, native plants, artisan goods, and tasty food—all set in the beautiful surroundings of the Horn Farm.

In addition to organically-grown produce and late season garden starts from the Horn Farm Center, enjoy unique offerings from our Solstice Market partners:

Food will be available for purchase from Locally Seasoned, or bring your own picnic! We have space to hang out, socialize, and share in community!
Enjoy kid’s activities and free farm tours throughout the day. Discover how we’re growing food, restoring ecosystems, and building resilience together.

Claim Your Spot: Free Farm Tours on Saturday, June 21st:

It’s more than a market—it’s a celebration of regeneration, connection, and the longest day of the year. We are looking forward to seeing you at the Horn Farm!

Learn More About Solstice Market

 

This Sunday, June 15th: Pawpaw Festival Tickets Go Live

The countdown is on for the 2025 Pawpaw Festival—Horn Farm Center’s signature celebration of local flavors, crafts, and natural wonders—happening Saturday, September 20th as part of Wild & Uncommon Weekend, a four-day adventure taking place across the Lower Susquehanna, September 18–21.

Tickets for the 2025 Pawpaw Festival go on sale Sunday, June 15th! 
Pre-purchased tickets are required, and special options like Premium Early Entry are limited.

It may be June, but the pawpaw’s moment in the sun is fast approaching—along with a full weekend of seasonal tastes and uncommon adventures.

Wild & Uncommon Weekend

Trained for Safer Learning Experiences

Whether you’re a student in a class or a volunteer helping out in the field, you can now feel a little bit safer at the Horn Farm thanks to some specialized training completed by two of our educators.

Earlier this year, Andrew and Jon undertook a Wilderness Advanced First Aid training course hosted by the Lancaster Conservancy in partnership with Wilderness Medical Associates International.

With thorough scenario practice, case studies, and more, they learned basic lifesaving skills and ways to intervene for issues we might encounter across our outdoor learning spaces. The experience covered everything from emergency situations and preparedness to field care for common injuries and environmental illnesses, with mindful and responsible attention to patients at the core.

We’re grateful to our community partners at the Lancaster Conservancy for hosting this incredible and important learning experience!

Discover the Uncommon. Savor the Wild

From September 18–21, experience a four-day celebration of local flavors, creativity, and nature across the Lower Susquehanna region. Explore special tours, artisan markets, workshops, nature walks, and of course, the beloved Pawpaw Festival at Horn Farm Center. Here’s a quick preview of the Weekend:

  • Thursday: Meet the Makers Market with The Gardener of the Owl Valley
  • Friday: Pawpaw Tour & Tasting at the Horn Farm Center
  • Saturday:
    • It’s All About Trees at Kreutz Creek Library
    • Weird Fish & Fishing Weirs Youth Program at Susquehanna National Heritage Area’s Columbia Crossing River Center
    • Pawpaw Baked Goods at White Clover Farm
    • Party by the River with the Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association’s Dam Bridge Challenge
  • Sunday: Pawpaw Cooking Class with Locally Seasoned
  • All Weekend Long:
    • Nature Walks with Lancaster Conservancy
    • Uncommon Calm Massage Packages at Firefly Hollow Holistic Wellness
    • A Farmer Feast at Flinchbaugh’s Orchard & Farm Market
    • More Local Food at Leg Up Farmers Market
    • Pawpaw Cocktails & Locally-Made Wine at Lavender Acres Winery

Check out our Weekend Calendar of Events, featuring fun, learning, and adventure at locations around the Lower Susquehanna Riverlands. More details coming soon! 

Wild & Uncommon Weekend

Explore the Summer Season: Foraging & Nature Walk Adventures

Step into the wild and discover the hidden wonders of the landscape through summer foraging and nature walk programs at the Horn Farm Center. From edible plants and medicinal herbs to wildlife signs and seasonal ecology, each program offers a chance to deepen your connection with the natural world—one step, taste, and discovery at a time.

Spots fill quickly—early registration is encouraged!

Horn Farm Happenings – May 30, 2025

From Farm to Theatre: Willow Arts

For those who joined us this winter and spring for the painstaking work of harvesting, pruning and sorting our basketry willow, our efforts are already paying off in a beautiful way! Seattle-based visual and willow artist Sarah Kavage, in collaboration with the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, reached out to us this winter to purchase specially-selected basketry willow for a unique project.

Hundreds of branches from our willow harvest will now weave their way into sculptural installations for an outdoor theatrical dance piece called TERRA: Bodies and Territories – taking place in June!

This is our first major contribution to community art-making with our basketry willows, and it would not have been possible without volunteer support: from winter harvests all the way through spring sorting. THANK YOU for helping to ~choreograph~ this cool collab!

Photos: Silvana Cardell, TERRA choreographer. Left: Sarah’s willow haul from the Horn Farm, Right: Horn Farm willow masterfully crafted into an artistic set piece.

 

Celebrate Summer with Us!

Join us on Saturday, June 21st from 10am-2pm for a vibrant day of seasonal abundance and community joy featuring fresh produce, native plants, artisan goods, and tasty food—all set in the beautiful surroundings of the Horn Farm.

In addition to organically-grown produce and late season garden starts from the Horn Farm Center, enjoy unique offerings from our Solstice Market partners:

Food will be available for purchase from Locally Seasoned, or bring your own picnic! We have space to hang out, socialize, and share in community!
Enjoy kid’s activities and free farm tours throughout the day and discover how we’re growing food, restoring ecosystems, and building resilience together.

Claim Your Spot: Free Farm Tours on Saturday, June 21st:

It’s more than a market—it’s a celebration of regeneration, connection, and the longest day of the year. We are looking forward to seeing you at the Horn Farm!

Learn More About Solstice Market

Endings & Beginnings

Last week we waved goodbye to our 2025 Ecological Gardener Training Program and said hello to the first cohort of our new Regenerative Grower Training Program!

Guided by our partners at Waxwing EcoWorks Co, Ecological Gardeners spent 16 weeks learning how to design, install, and care for resilient plant communities that support local biodiversity and ecology. After visiting regional landscapes, connecting with our plant allies, and exploring possibilities in their own spaces, students concluded their learning with eco-plantings at the Horn Farm. Students also presented on a range of personal projects, showcasing how our growing community of creative, empowered land stewards will continue to make an impact.

At the same time, our Regenerative Growers got the lay of the land, visiting our demonstration spaces while learning the foundations of regenerative farming and agroforestry. Over the next 22 weeks, they’ll dig deep into the craft of growing annual and perennial foods that build ecological health. Stay tuned for check-ins throughout the growing season to see what our RGTP gets up to!

Registrations for our 2026 training programs will begin later this summer. In the meantime, check out our upcoming classes and workshops.

  

Something Wild & Uncommon is Ripening…

Get ready to savor the flavors of the season at the 21st Annual Pawpaw Festival—coming to the Horn Farm Center on Saturday, September 20, 2025! Enjoy local crafts, artisans, food, pawpaws and more—fun for the whole family.

Tickets go on sale June 15—mark your calendar!

This beloved event is the highlight of our 2nd Annual Wild & Uncommon Weekend, a celebration of regional food, art, and nature held September 18-21, 2025.

More details coming soon! 

Wild & Uncommon Weekend

Help Your Garden Thrive

Grow with confidence this summer in our hands-on Gardening & Growing Classes—designed to help you cultivate a thriving, resilient garden!

Led by our Farm Manager, these hands-on sessions in the field will explore how to garden with ecology in mind—using the gifts nature provides to nourish both the land and ourselves.

Whether you’re aiming to grow more organically, frugally, resourcefully, or regeneratively, these classes offer practical tools and timeless wisdom to support your growing goals.

Spots fill quickly—early registration is encouraged!