If you always thought earthworms were beneficial in your garden, you may be surprised to learn that many are not! There are several Asian worm species invading North America which are currently wreaking havoc in our northeastern forests and gardens.
Zoom in to hear Dr. Gale E. Ridge, Associate Scientist at The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, to learn how to identify these earthworms and what measures you need to take to protect your gardens and native habitats. Dr. Ridge will share the most recent research about the impact these worms are having in our woods and yards, and possible methods to contain or control them.
Following Dr. Ridge’s presentation, you will have the opportunity to ask questions.
This Pollinator Series talk is brought to you by Wakeman Town Farm and Westport’s Pollinator Pathway.
The Perfect pairing: a fabulous Baker + a Master Preserver 4.3.22
Please join us in Tim's Kitchen for a special Sunday "team teach' featuring local Master Preserver, Pam Lillis, of Pam Jams, and Baker Extraordinaire, Sheryl Mascarinas, of Peyton's Pastries, as they pair up in this hands-on culinary class. This is part cooking class, part Afternoon Tea, featuring culinary lesson, tea, tastings, and a bit to take home! This is a fun experiential event to share with a friend or loved one.
$125 pp
First, we will learn to make scratch-baked scones from the dough up.
Next, we will learn to make fresh jam from best-of-the-season berries.
Put them both together, and your mornings just got better!
Note: this is not a canning class
Pam's bio here
Sheryl's info here
Kids' Pizza Pop-Up Class / Friday Fun (Ages 8+) 4.8.22
An Outdoor Pizza Making Class for Kids Ages 8+
4:15-6 p.m.
Calling all jr. pizza chefs! Join us for some Friday after-school fun as you make your own homemade pizza with your choice of toppings, baked in a flash in Wakeman's own outdoor wood-fired pizza oven. Learn the techniques, roll the dough, top your creation, and enjoy your custom pizza hot and fresh at our picnic tables. Limited number for best experience.
Home Hacks:The Eco Dude’s sustainable swaps for a healthier home 6.29.22
NEW DATE! 06.29.22 @ 7PM - "Home Hacks: This for That" with the Eco Dude
Join Brad Kerner, aka, The Eco Dude, owner of the Eco Dude, to learn how he made sustainable swaps with his family to reduce their reliance on plastic and ultimately reduce the amount of trash they created. Brad's story will inspire you to take this waste free journey on your own.
Brad will bring a set of products from his store, Eco Evolution, located in South Norwalk (135 Washington Street) and explain why these products are better than their traditional peers. His commitment? All products are good for people and the planet. Join us in person and you will get 15% off all products demonstrated. Products will range from bathroom, laundry, kitchen, skin care, kids, pets and more! A night with The Eco Dude not to be missed.
Purchase tickets to this in person event on Eventbrite.
Haiku Workshop with Westport's Poet Laureate 2.28.22
Date/Time: Feb 28th at 7pm
Join Westport Poet Laureate for a Haiku Poetry Workshop: Haiku is a poetic form consisting of 17 syllables arranged in three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively. It is the perfect way to learn to write concisely. Diane Lowman will discuss the origins of this beautiful genre, and participants will then write and share their own creations. We will use the environs of the Farm for our inspiration.
About Diane
Diane's essays have appeared in many publications, including O, The Oprah Magazine; Brain, Child; Brevity Blog; and When Women Waken. She writes a weekly column called Everything’s an Essay. In addition to essays, she has written a memoir called Nothing But Blue, which was published in November 2018. Shortly thereafter, she received her M.A. in Shakespeare Studies from the University of Birmingham’s Shakespeare Institute. She has explored other forms of literary expression in more than 2,000 haiku and essays analyzing each of Shakespeare's 37 plays. In July 2019, she was named Westport, CT’s first Poet Laureate.
Interested in Electric Vehicles? A Discussion with the Experts 2.7.22
Interested in purchasing an electric car, but not sure where to start? Want to make an informed decision before purchasing? This is the lecture for you! Brady Kresch and Analiese Mione of the EV Club of CT will host a lecture at WTF going over what is an EV, different types of EV's, the process of charging the battery, what to look for in an electric car, and the climate effects of an EV.
Encore Class: Fire Cider Infusing Workshop - The Age-Old Cure-All 1.27.22
Our last class was so popular, we are hosting an encore! Whether you want to fight cold & flu season, or just feel great, this class is for you! Learn to make the age-old cure-all in this workshop Thursday, January 27, 6:30 - 8:00 pm
What is Fire Cider and why is everyone drinking it? We'll talk about the health benefits of each ingredient in this metabolism & anti-inflammatory tonic, then pitch in together and chop! Whether you want to fight cold & flu season, or just feel great, this class is for you! Once you know the method, you can make your own version all winter long.
Did you know that Fire Cider takes 3 weeks to infuse? (We best get started now)
This is a Hands-On Workshop, and you will leave with a quart of your very own Homemade Fire Cider and a refillable Mason Jar with label.
Pam Lillis is a certified Nutritional Health Coach as well as a Master Preserver & Culinary Instructor specializing in all methods of canning and preserving. Pam loves to teach her students to preserve real organic fruits and vegetables to enjoy year round. Whether you are interested in shrubs & tonics, jams & pickles — or any of the bounty from each season, small-batch canning is easy to learn from this Master Preserver. Pam is the owner of Pam's Jams at Cook Up A Storm in Westport CT.
DATE CHANGED to 2.17.22 Winter Soup class with Chef Diana Andrews/Originally 1.13.22
TWO SPOTS LEFT. DATE MOVED TO 2.17.22
In this winter soup class, participants will learn to make three crowd-pleasing cold-weather soups with different flavor profiles—a hearty chili, veg-forward soup, and an old-school Italian comfort classic.
•Chocolate Stout Chili. Learn the secrets to making the most tender, flavor-enriched, craveable chili. Caramelized onions and bittersweet chocolate combine to lend their savory-sweet intensity. Stout beer adds a creamy, hoppy flavor with coffee notes. This full-bodied, complex chili gets even better with time. Make it once; eat it twice. This chili freezes extremely well.
•Roasted Vegetable-Quinoa Soup with Garlic and Kale. This zesty soup is perfect to come home to on a cold day. A variety of oven-roasted vegetables combine with warming spices to make an inviting dinner that fills the kitchen with mouthwatering aromas. Served with a toasted baguette, it makes for a satisfying one-bowl meal.
•Chicken, Escarole, and White Bean Stoup (somewhere between a stew and a soup). Living in a world between a soup and a stew, this nurturing wholesome, and substantial “stoup” combines diced chicken, ditalini pasta, escarole, and cannellini beans to make a hearty, rib-sticking feast.
Basic Class Info
•Students will partake in tastings and not full meals (this is not a dinner class).
•Recipes are subject to change based on ingredient freshness and seasonal availability.
•Full recipes provided at class.
•Maximum class capacity: 8 to 9
• All Covid rules in effect.
• No refunds allowed. If you cannot attend, you may pass or sell your ticket to another person; however, you must provide us with their contact info prior to class for admittance.
Diana Andrews is a culinary director, recipe developer and tester, food writer, and instructor. Her clients include online and print food media publications and kitchen appliance and food companies. She was the senior food editor and test kitchen director at Fine Cooking Magazine and head recipe developer/editor for the first six seasons of the Emmy-nominated PBS TV show Moveable Feast. In addition, she has worked for Spruce Eats, Meredith Corporation, Food Network, Cuisinart, Sur La Table, Dressing Room Restaurant, Park Avenue Seasonal Restaurant, and the James Beard Foundation.
She is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. Visit her at https://chefdianaandrews.com.
WTF Events 2022 (Revised)
Jr. Chef's Summer Cooking Camp for Middle Schoolers 8.1-8.4
Fun With Food- Summer Cooking Camp
Days: Aug 1-Aug 4, 2022
Time: 9-noon
Ages: Entering Grades 6-8
Instructor: Robyn Herman
Students: Min 6, Max 10
Price: $475, includes ingredients
We’ve had interest in a summer cooking camp for middle schoolers, so here it is! Fun with Food is an enriching and fun cooking experience that features menus sprouting from the Farm’s gardens and beyond.
Themes include Simple Italian Cooking, Breakfast for Dinner, Sweet & Savory Dumplings/Hand Pies, and Healthy snacks. We will go out to the gardens, berry patches and fruit trees and pick fruits, herbs and vegetables grown on the Farm when available.
We will introduce our young chefs to fresh, seasonal ingredients and global flavors, broadening their palates and sprouting culinary creativity while teaching them an array of practical kitchen skills.
Robyn Herman has been developing and delivering personalized cooking programs, birthday parties, and facilitating educational experiences for after-school programs promoting food exploration for 20 years.
Her classes incorporate fresh ingredients with an eye toward nutrition to teach students how healthy food can be tasty food.
Now on Zoom: Talks Around the Farm Table: How We Eat 1.18.22
Continuing the conversation from the Westport Library’s “Dinner Disrupted: How We Eat” (below)
Jan 18th: 7-8pm, virtual
Wakeman Town Farm invites you to gather around our table (virtually) to expand on themes explored during Paco Underhill’s presentation (like below). We will use his book and our own recommended podcasts to inspire conversation about how to navigate the brave new world of food and drink.
Link to the WTF Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.com/e/talks-around-the-farm-table-how-we-eat-tickets-231103475717
Westport Library Program Dinner Disrupted: How We Eat
Tue, January 11 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm EST
The food system in America-- how we produce, process, distribute, and consume food—is broken. Market researcher and bestselling author Paco Underhill sets out to solve these problems and show us where our eating and driving lives are headed in his newest book, How We Eat: The Brave New World of Food and Drink. Underhill takes an upbeat, hopeful, and characteristically witty approach to how we can change the way we consume.
How We Eat reveals the future of food in surprising ways, like how the city is getting country-fied with the rise of farmer’s markets and rooftop farms; how supermarkets are on their way out with their most valuable real estate, their parking lot, for growing their own food and hosting community events; and how marijuana farmers, who have been using artificial light to grow a crop for years, have developed a playbook so mainstream merchants and farmers across the world can grow food in an uncertain future.
Link to the Westport Library talk: https://westportlibrary.org/event/dinner-disrupted-how-we-eat/
Resolve to Compost 1.24.22
Want to turn over a new leaf to help the planet in 2022? How about turning over some compost? Learn how you can save water, reduce pollution and improve your garden, too, when you start making ‘black gold’ at home. It’s easier than you think!
All are welcome – both newbies and practicing composters who want to up their compost skills in 2022.
(And the farm will share some of its brown gold to get you started!)
Taught by UConn master composter and advanced master gardener Alice Ely.
Now on Zoom! Winter Sowing Workshop 1.10.22
Want to get a jump on spring – and attract pollinators to your garden this summer? Sign up for our Pollinator Series talk! Join us on Zoom + seeds will be available for pickup at the Farm.
Learn to make your own “mini-greenhouse” in a bottle to start seedlings. Leave it outside ‘til spring, when you’ll reap a dozen or more native milkweed seedlings to start in your garden.“If you grow it, they will come!” Collect or save your bottles now: Clear 1-liter or 2-liter soda bottles or translucent half gallon milk bottles are recommended. We’ll be sharing some special milkweed seeds sourced right in our ecoregion. We will provide instructions for when and where to pick them up at the Farm.
Workshop is taught by UConn advanced master gardener Alice Ely.
Why I Support Wakeman Town Farm
On Giving Day, we had an outpouring of support from the community. For some of our major donors, it was personal. Here, we showcase a few of the generous supporters who share why the Farm means so much to them, and why they choose to contribute to help make the dream of a renovated barn a reality for the community.
Thank you for Donating to the Al's Angels Toy Drive
Thanks for helping us make the season bright for youngsters in our area. We collected unwrapped toys at the Farm. Thank you for your generosity! Al’s Angels did all the wrapping + delivery. It takes a village.
CANCELLED! MLK Vacation Day Camp: Sign Up NOW - Enrollment is limited 1.17.22
PLEASE NOTE, THE TOWN OF WESTPORT CANCELLED ALL WTF EVENTS AND PROGRAMS ON THIS DATE.
Wakeman Town Farm Town Farm Town Farm is offering a MLK Day camp from 9:00am-1:00pm for 6-11 year olds!
Join our experienced Farm Educators, Arts, and Culinary Instructors for a MLK Day like no other! We will spend the day visiting our Farm animal friends; learning to cook delicious farm-fresh snacks; creating a variety of nature-based crafts and other “maker” activities; playing games; exploring the grounds, gardens and nature trail. Please bring a hearty nut-free snack and lunch, a reusable water bottle, and wear warm shoes or boots and weather-appropriate outdoor clothes that are OK to get dirty. All Covid safety measures in effect.
WTF Am I Going to Get for Holiday Gifts? Logowear!
We just ordered the softest, most stylist hoodies around. Check out all our WTF merch in our online store. Great hats and stocking stuffers, but you won’t go wrong with our newest hoodies in two colorways.
Holiday Centerpieces 12.14.21
Join us at Wakeman Town Farm and make a wonderful centerpiece perfect for holiday parties and dinners!
About this event
Wakeman Town Farm's own Chyrse Terill and Ellen Goldman will instruct you on how to create an amazing centerpiece that is perfect for the holiday season. Attendees will be able to use materials collected from Wakeman Town Farm to decorate their piece. At the end of the class, participants will take home their unique creations. Feel free to bring an appetizer and a bottle of wine or drink of your choosing, as the event is meant to be festive and fun!
Making Spirits Bright: A Mixology Class to Get You into the Holiday Spirit 12.6.21
Wakeman Town Farm and Mixxed by Ed come together to provide a festive holiday-themed mixology class!
7-8:30 p.m.at the Farm
About this event
We’re getting festive with a Mixology Class hosted by “Mixxed by Ed’s" Edward Hernandez. Hernandez is known for creating elevated cocktails. Attendees will learn how to make 5 holiday-themed libations, featuring natural ingredients picked straight from Wakeman Town Farm. Premium liquor will be provided by Remy Cointreau.
Attendees will receive a cocktail-making kit, including: 12 oz sampling cup, lime squeezer, jigger, muddler, trade card, and 3-piece shaker.
Additionally, there will be a guest speaker to give a quick primer about the Remy Martin Cognac and other spirits we will be using.
The class is $100/person and will run for an hour and a half, with small plates provided for food.
Attendees must be 21+ to attend, and please arrange for a designated driver or ride-share service.
Mixxed by Ed website: Www.mixxedbyed.com
art with a heart: A fundraiser for ukraine: Bidding is open!
Local artist Leslie Alexander donated this piece to raise money for the Farm’s ongoing fundraising efforts for the people of Ukraine. We are donating proceeds from this auction to @wckitchen, one of the leading hunger-relief organizations with a big presence serving food to those at the Ukraine border.
Stand with Ukraine, 2022, pigment ink on paper, 16 x 24 inches
Retail: $500.
Starting bid: $100. Bidding is now open! Bids will close on Wed. March 16 @midnight.
Leslie Alexander is an artist who grew up in Westport, currently living in Old Lyme, Ct. She received her BFA from Philadelphia College of Art and her MFA from Hunter College. She has shown widely including Jack Tilton Gallery NYC, Lesley Heller Gallery NYC, BRIC Contemporary Brooklyn, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Silvermine Arts Center and Housatonic Museum of Art.
Her paintings are completely created and generated by computer. They are made from multiple photographs she takes, which are collaged, layered and painted digitally.