Horn Farm Happenings – September 29, 2023
A Wet, Wild & Uncommon Weekend
A Wild & Uncommon weather weekend made for an unforgettable York County Pawpaw Festival!
Thanks to an incredible community of vendors, volunteers, and visitors, we made it happen! We’re grateful for this year’s unbelievable turnout and appreciate the patience and understanding of our community as we worked through the rapid changes brought on by the storm.
Still we enjoyed a memorable weekend filled to the brim with local flavors, one-of-a-kind plants, and opportunities to learn from the natural landscape that we share with the peculiar pawpaw! We hope your visit inspired not just a liking for pawpaws, but a love for the land and a commitment to keep on learning, planting, and making a “pawsitive” impact!
We’re already looking forward to next year’s celebration of the Wild & Uncommon at the Horn Farm Center!
Photo of Festival Tour-goers by Christopher Garcia
The York County Pawpaw Festival wouldn’t exist without Richard & Judy Bono, the founders of the festival. It all began with their enthusiasm for slow food and an obscure, locally-grown fruit.
Today the event has grown to become a regional attraction, drawing over 2300 visitors to scenic York County from up and down the east coast.
In the photo above from this year’s festival, Richard Bono is giving a tour of his pawpaw orchard, which is located at the Horn Farm Center.
Thank You to Our 2023 Sponsors!
The 2023 Pawpaw Festival is supported by local businesses who believe in our mission to foster ecological learning through land stewardship, community partnership, and hands-on experiences.
We thank our 2023 sponsors for supporting regenerative agriculture and education at the Horn Farm Center.
A special thanks to Klinge Corporation and Church of the Open Door for helping us secure an alternative parking area and Bailey Coach for providing Saturday shuttle service to and from the festival.
This year’s event really lived up to its community spirit! Thank you for taking part in the 2023 York County Pawpaw Festival, hosted by the Horn Farm Center and Explore York!
Thank You Volunteers & Vendors!
What does it take to host the York County Pawpaw Festival? Over 80 volunteers!
On top of that, 37 vendors, including food trucks, crafters, plant nurseries, and community organizations, gathered up their wares to share their unique offerings – the best of York County – with our visitors.
A big thanks to our army of dedicated volunteers and vendors who contended with cold, windy, and soggy conditions to help make the 2023 Pawpaw Festival a success.
Wild Lands Series Starts This Sunday
Are you ready to ignite a deeper connection with nature?
Beginning this Sunday, the Horn Farm Center’s 5-week Wild Lands Primitive Skills Series is firing off! Following an introduction to wilderness observation skills on Sunday, October 1st, we’ll spend the next four weeks digging into topics like:
sourcing water,
building shelter,
making fire,
foraging,
hunting, and more!
Don’t miss out on this enriching immersion into the world of age-old, place-based skills!
Sign up for individual sessions or the full series. Sessions take place over five consecutive Sundays from October 1st through October 29th.
Bow Making 4-Day Intensive
Over four consecutive Sundays in November, we’ll take to the forest for an intensive workshop on crafting your own, fully-functional bow and arrows using primitive materials. All four classes will take place from 9am to 4pm at the Horn Farm Center.
Our time together will span all elements of the bow making process including: stave selection, initial shaping, curing, crafting arrows, tillering and string construction, advanced tillering, and shooting.
Students will learn how to craft a hunting-quality wooden bow suited to their own height and strength along with a handful of arrows. Due to the fact that potentially dangerous tools will be utilized, tool safety will be taught and strictly followed for the well-being of all participants. Additionally, students will be given their own tool set, covered in the class cost, for ease of instruction.
PLEASE NOTE: participants must be able to hike one mile into uneven, wild forest terrain and work using fine motor skills and small hand tools for an extended period of time.
Bow making is a process of longevity and though it requires strenuous work, honing the skills of bow craftsmanship can be very rewarding. Whether you’re a hunter, woodworker, or explorer, we hope you can join us for this intense and fulfilling experience!
The centerpiece of the festival is the pawpaw: the largest edible fruit native to the Eastern United States, which grows naturally right here in York County’s bountiful Susquehanna Riverlands! Similar in taste to tropical fruits, the pawpaw is a unique, nutritious, and ecologically significant delicacy that ripens for a short period of time from mid-September to mid-October.
Sponsor Highlight: Natural Awakenings
Don’t miss your chance to make the most of your festival experience by including a one-of-a-kind biodiversity tee, designed by local artist Joanna Tice, to your ticket order!
Studio design team worked collaboratively with the Horn Farm Center to understand our needs and the true spirit of the event to craft a unique and creative design for the Pawpaw Festival. We couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome!