For seven days in August (15th – 21st), farms around Vermont open up their doors to the public for a unique on-farm experience. With almost 100 farms hosting events during open farm week, there’s tons going on! In addition to experiencing farms (and their food) first hand, a number of farmers are sharing their skills, hosting classes and workshops on taking care of draft horses, cooking with local ingredients, regenerative agriculture, and much more! Open Farm Week is a great opportunity to pick up some new skills to optimize your garden, or to simply gain a better appreciation for the craft of farming.
Merck Forest & Farmland Center
Farm Chores for Children
- This hands-on/hands-dirty workshop is designed to introduce your children ages 3 and up to simple farm routines and products, and to meet our animals under expert supervision. Please Pre-Register early, because participation is limited
- Thursday, August 18th
Farrier's Demonstration
- Fern and Arch, our draft horses, need new shoes. The blacksmith will shoe one horse in the morning, one in the afternoon. It's a fascinating demonstration of an old-time skill. Free.
- Wednesday, August 17th
Fleece Skirting Demonstration
- Try your hand at skirting (or cleaning) a sheep's fleece in preparation for spinning it into yarn! Free
- Wednesday, August 17th
Learn to Care for Draft Horses
- If you're between the ages of 12 and 15 years old, here's your chance to get some hands-on experience with Fern & Arch, our Suffolk Punch draft horses. Learn about heritage breeds, receive instruction on how to care for our two gentle giants, and give Katie a hand harnessing and driving them around.
- First session on Tuesday, August 16th
- Second session on Friday, August 19th
Bread & Butter Farm
Learn How to Make Cheese!
- Make whole milk mozzarella at this on-farm workshop with raw Jersey cow milk from Henry's Dairy at Bread and Butter Farm. Workshop includes a pasture talk and milk tasting with Henry Cammack (meet the cows!), cheesemaking instruction with Chris Howell of Vermont Farm Tours, and a hearty snack with your cheese and produce from the farm. Drop in on the afternoon milking after the workshop.
- Saturday, August 20th
Jericho Settlers' Farm
Sample CSA Day
- Farm Tours and Workshop (Tomatoes! How to Preserve your Harvest)
- Monday, August 15th
Class and Dinner
- Seasonal Cooking with Chef Contos (farm tour included)
- Thursday, August 18th
Shelburne Farms
Sun to Cheese Tour
- Where does the story begin with our delicious Farmhouse Cheddar Cheese? Come find out! We will take you on a behind-the-scenes tour to discover the magic of cheesemaking and how its delicious taste starts way before the milk hits the cheesemaking vat. We will visit the dairy, meet the cows that make the milk, find out exactly how milk turns into cheese, and give you a sampling of our cheeses.
- Wednesday, August 17th
Farm to Medicine Cabinet Plant Walk with Kate Elmer Westdjik
- This “weed walk” will introduce participants to medicinal plants commonly found on different parts of the Vermont farm landscape and invites participants to engage in deepening the local food movement by incorporating nature-based local medicine as part of a resilient food system.
- Saturday, August 20th
Earthwise Farm & Forest
- Enjoy a Pasture Walk and see how we manage our chickens, pigs and dairy cows on our rotational grazing system
- Friday, August 19th
- Sunday, August 21st
City Market
Yoga at the Farm
- Join us for a great new event combining some of our favorite things—yoga, local food, and great people! We will gather together for a 1 hour yoga practice, led by certified instructors Krissy Ruddy and Sarah Diedrick at the Intervale’s Community Barn. As we meditate on sense of place, they will inspire you to connect to your food—and the land and people from which it comes.
- Monday, August 15th
High Mowing Organic Seeds
- A unique opportunity to visit the High Mowing Organic Seeds extensive Trials Fields and celebrate the vibrant local food culture of the Northeast Kingdom. This event includes workshops, tours, kid’s activities, snack’s and tastings. Please note that advanced registration is required.
- Sunday, August 21st
Red Wagon Plants
Salad Fixings Series, Part 2: The Summer Salad and A Tomato Tasting
- We welcome our customers, friends, and neighbors for a summer garden salad workshop. We will offer lots of tips and tricks for creating the best salads of high summer. We will go over ways to use herbs to compliment these salads and how to make easy dressings that will have your friends asking for the recipe. We will have a tomato tasting as part of this workshop so that you can take notes and compare varieties to each other, and maybe get some ideas for future plantings.
- Thursday, August 18th
Beginner Kitchen Garden Series, Part 2: Growing the Fall Garden
- Join Julie Rubaud, owner of Red Wagon Plants, as she shares with you tips and practices for growing, harvesting, and cooking vegetables and herbs during the later part of the season. Early August is the perfect time to think about, plan, and start to sow and transplant the beginnings of the autumn harvest.
- Saturday, August 20th
Smokey House Center
Tutorial Center - Summer Photo Workshop
- Summer Photo Workshop for Beginners to practice and improve nature photography skills - A workshop that includes basic concepts, photo activities, and an intro to digital editing in iPhoto. Bring any kind of camera or “device” from phones and iPads to digital SLR’s. Led by local photographer, Heidi Bagley, the group will explore and share a visual feast, from wildflowers to landscapes.
- Tuesday, August 16th
