Workshop photo: Chris Battaglia
Events
Smithereen Farm hosts workshops in collaboration with our sister organization, Greenhorns.
- Greenhorns offers free and low-cost events for the benefit of the local and regional community. If you are able to donate beyond the affordable cost of a workshop, or if you enjoy a free event, consider making a tax deductible donation to Greenhorns to support the actual costs of this and future programming so we can keep these accessible. Thank you!
- RSVP to [email protected], or follow the registration link within the workshop description.
- Coming for a workshop and want to stay a while? You can book a campsite at the farm.
- REFUND POLICY Due to our rural location and small event sizes workshop registrations are not refundable.
Spring 2024
MAY 1
Opening Day: Farm Store and Camping
Our Farm Store opens at 12 Little Falls Road in Pembroke, open 9-5 every day through October.
Our camping opens for the season. Book your sites directly on Hipcamp.
MAY 8-12, Wednesday–Sunday
Low Low Tides: Seaweed Harvest with Kacie Loparto
Registration required. Email [email protected] if you’d like to talk about becoming a part of the Harvest Team.
Kacie Loparto leads the algae harvest at Smithereen farm, with lots of chats for beginners and intermediates.
Groundrules
- Be Punctual. The tide waits for no one.
- Safety First. We recommend rubber boots, water booties, woolen long johns, bib pants/wetsuits, wool sweaters, extra socks, thermos of tea.
For first-time attendees, we don’t expect much more than learning and orienting to the intertidal zone. This is an educational experience we are happy to share in the spirit of the commons.
If you want to join as a “Proper Harvester” …
This is a multiple-day commitment, to learn the whole sequence of how we have learned to harvest, dry, and process for Smithereen Farm products. If you are interested, we need to make sure you have the correct licensing for that. We are also willing to pay, feed, house and invest in your learning. Serious inquiries contact: [email protected]
This event also takes place April 11–14 (Thursday–Sunday)
MAY 18, 1pm • Saturday
SPA DAY: Apple Blossom Special
Smithereen Farm hosts SPA DAYS, to take in the good energy of the farm and release anything else down the drain.
We provide: herbal tea, personal seaweed bath, shared hot sauna, scrub, salt, mud, Bixa Fixa cream
You bring: change of clothes, bathing suit if desired, your own drinking water vessel, your own towels, farm-appropriate footwear, a sense of adventure!
Cost is $75 per person for a 3-4 hour experience.
You may wish to book a massage (paid separately) with Mandy Newell of Mountain Air Therapeutics. To schedule, please text: (207) 214-1068
Questions? [email protected]
MAY 24+25, Friday and Saturday, 10am–5pm both days
Third Annual Pennamaquan Alewife Festival
At the Crossroads in Pembroke
Free event! No RSVP required
We’re delighted to partner once again with Downeast Salmon Federation to bring you a family-friendly weekend of FISH!
- Smoking of fish with Downeast Salmon Federation
- Eating of fish! Free lunch buffet by Smithereen Farm
- Activities for kids
- Indoors and outdoors
- Group bike rides and bike tune-ups with Mike’s Bikes of Eastport
- NOAA Fisheries Biologist Max Tritt will be on hand all day Saturday to lead learning experiences about alewives for all ages, with his interactive Stream Smart table, followed by a presentation about Atlantic salmon restoration.
- Live music organized by LAMPS (Lubec Area Musicians’ Philanthropic Society)
- More details and participants coming soon!
Make a weekend of it and book your campsite at Smithereen Farm, for a full agritourism experience.
Thank you to Maine Office of Tourism for supporting this event.
More info and media for learning at greenhorns.org/alewife-festival, and at earthlife.tv/fish
Summer 2024
JUNE 15 + 16, 3pm • Saturday + Sunday
SPA DAY: Peak Meadow
Smithereen Farm hosts SPA DAYS, to take in the good energy of the farm and release anything else down the drain.
We provide: herbal tea, personal seaweed bath, shared hot sauna, scrub, salt, mud, Bixa Fixa cream
You bring: change of clothes, bathing suit if desired, your own drinking water vessel, your own towels, farm-appropriate footwear, a sense of adventure!
Cost is $75 per person for a 3-4 hour experience.
You may wish to book a massage (paid separately) with Mandy Newell of Mountain Air Therapeutics. To schedule, please text: (207) 214-1068
Questions? [email protected]
JUNE 21, 5pm • Friday
SPA DAY: Midsommar Night (Full Moon!)
Smithereen Farm hosts SPA DAYS, to take in the good energy of the farm and release anything else down the drain.
We provide: herbal tea, personal seaweed bath, shared hot sauna, scrub, salt, mud, Bixa Fixa cream
You bring: change of clothes, bathing suit if desired, your own drinking water vessel, your own towels, farm-appropriate footwear, a sense of adventure!
Cost is $75 per person for a 3-4 hour experience.
You may wish to book a massage (paid separately) with Mandy Newell of Mountain Air Therapeutics. To schedule, please text: (207) 214-1068
Questions? [email protected]
JULY 20-21
Build Your Own Garden Cart Workshop with Farm Hack
- There is a $250 fee to cover the cost of materials. Let us know if you are interested but need financial assistance.
- People under 18 years old are welcome to attend with parent or guardian supervision.
- Signup deadline is July 1.
- More details about exact time and location will be sent to registered participants. The bulk of the workshop will take place on July 20, with July 21 as an as-needed day for completing the project, clean-up, and conversation.
AUGUST 3+4 Saturday + Sunday
Wild Maine Blueberry Weekend with Odessa Piper
Smithereen Farm will be open for U-pick organic blueberry picking at our little wild blueberry barren on Youngs Cove Road in Pembroke on both Saturday and Sunday, August 5th and 6th. Come along Downeast for an adventure in blueberry land. Bring a picnic, enjoy a seaside hike, explore the farm and surrounding historic villages. This Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine event gives you the excuse to indulge in your “Blueberries for Sal” fantasy!
Guests are invited to borrow one of our rakes and a harvest bin, pick blueberries for a while and then retreat to the shade to drink a cold beverage and participate in pie-making at our timber-frame summer kitchen, led by renowned chef Odessa Piper, returning for another year. We’ll have the wood stove going making jam and pie filling. We’ll have some nice icy drinks. Enjoy the ocean breezes at our shaded picnic tables while eating your packed lunch and enjoying the spectacular view over Cobscook Bay.
All of our activities are FREE! We will be making pie crusts from organic Maine-grown flour, butter, and even our own Smithereen Farm lard. You can participate for free in the pie making, and in the pie eating!
We will have available for purchase items from our farm shop such as our home-made ice-cream. Peruse our library and purchase a Greenhorns New Farmers’ Almanac, meet the animals and farmers, and see what a diversified saltwater farm is all about.
We kindly request that visitors come prepared for a day in the sun. Wear a sunhat, bring your own water bottle, be sensible around electric fences and holes in the ground, park where it says to, and please pack out your own trash and recycling. NO LOOSE DOGS are permitted on Smithereen Home Farm. Please watch out for your own children, we cannot babysit them while we are baking pies.
We are looking forward to seeing you. Please contact us with any questions.
AUGUST 17-18
Chokecherry + Fireweed Intensive with Rachel Alexandrou
Join wild edible plant educator Rachel Alexandrou for a hands-on, immersive workshop identifying, harvesting, processing, cooking and tasting two important, abundant and delicious plants of Downeast, Maine. This weekend-long workshop is meant for anyone interested in learning about how to safely harvest and eat these plants or for those seeking to experience a communal wild food harvest. All levels of experience are welcome.
Chokecherry is a prolific, native shrub that is often overlooked in modern North American cuisine. Together we will prepare a brilliant magenta juice and syrup as well as chome cherry bbq sauce. Fireweed is another native fire-loving plant which can be processed into a complex and flavorful tea reminiscent of a fruity, floral black tea.
We will end the weekend creating a feast together and tasting the fruits of our labor. Based on the abundance of the hedgerow, and the swiftness of our handiwork, participants may be able to take home a jar of syrup, jam, bbq sauce, or fireweed tea.
Signup for the workshop here (link coming soon) and then book your stay through Smithereen Farm HipCamp. Campsites with outdoor tent platforms are available for your stay during the workshop. If you have any questions about the workshop, do not hesitate to reach out to Rachel via email.
Rachel Alexandrou is an interdisciplinary artist who uses her education in plant science, and collaborative practice, to create experiential work about food, flora, and innovating human relationships to the natural landscape. Find out more about her @giantdaughter on Instagram or her website giantdaughter.com for more information on her events around Maine this year.
SCHEDULE
Saturday
- 10–11am — Meet at the outdoor kitchen for breakfast and introductions
- 11am–1pm —Fireweed Harvest
- 1–2pm — Lunch!
- 2:30pm — Chokecherry Harvest
- 4:30pm — Cleaning and Juicemaking in the kitchen
Sunday
- 10am–12pm — participants may join in on the community plantwalk (see below), process fireweed, or enjoy free time swimming etc.
- 12pm — Lunch
- 1pm — Processing Fireweed and cooking chokecherry sauces or any other foraged recipes in the outdoor kitchen
- 6pm — Wild Feast, Fire and Hangout
AUGUST 18
Community Plant Walk
Sunday August 18
10am-12pm
Join wild edible plant educator Rachel Alexandrou for a family- friendly wild edible plant walk at Smithereen Farm. We will meet at the outdoor kitchen and make our way through the gardens and to the shore learning about the wild edible and medicinal plants along the way. Notebooks are highly encouraged during this walk as lots of information will be disseminated. At the end of the walk, participants will be invited to the kitchen for a foraged refreshment.
This walk is open to community members, visitors and is included for Fireweed/Chokecherry Workshop participants.
AUGUST 24+25
Washington County Fair
9am–4pm Pembroke Fairgrounds
Smithereen Farm will participate in the Washington County Fair this summer.
Stay tuned for more details!
More info at washingtoncountyfairmaine.com
Fall 2024
SEPTEMBER 20+21
MOFGA Common Ground Fair
We’ll participate in the Maine Organic Farm and Garden Association (MOFGA) Common Ground Fair.
Stay tuned!
More details to come. More details at mofga/org/the-fair
There is always so much happening! To stay in the loop, join our mailing list. Find an archive of workshop documentation on our Instagram.
Event Archive / Past Events
MARCH 16, 1pm • Saturday
SPA DAY: Polar Bear Special
Smithereen Farm hosts SPA DAYS, to take in the good energy of the farm and release anything else down the drain.
We provide: herbal tea, personal seaweed bath, shared hot sauna, scrub, salt, mud, Bixa Fixa cream
You bring: change of clothes, bathing suit if desired, your own drinking water vessel, your own towels, farm-appropriate footwear, a sense of adventure!
RSVP is required. RSVP to [email protected]
APRIL 11-14, Wednesday–Sunday
Low Low Tides: Seaweed Harvest with Kacie Loparto
→Sign up here!
Registration required. Email [email protected] if you’d like to talk about becoming a part of the Harvest Team.
Kacie Loparto leads the algae harvest at Smithereen Farm, with lots of chats for beginners and intermediates.
Groundrules
- Be Punctual. The tide waits for no one.
- Safety First. We recommend rubber boots, water booties, woolen long johns, bib pants/wetsuits, wool sweaters, extra socks, thermos of tea.
For first-time attendees, we don’t expect much more than learning and orienting to the intertidal zone. This is an educational experience we are happy to share in the spirit of the commons.
If you want to join as a “Proper Harvester” …
This is a multiple-day commitment, to learn the whole sequence of how we have learned to harvest, dry, and process for Smithereen Farm products. If you are interested, we need to make sure you have the correct licensing for that. We are also willing to pay, feed, house and invest in your learning. Serious inquiries contact: [email protected]
This event will also repeat May 8–12 (Wednesday–Sunday)
APRIL 13, 2pm • Saturday
SPA DAY: Seaweed Special
(takes place during LOW LOW TIDES event!)
Smithereen Farm hosts SPA DAYS, to take in the good energy of the farm and release anything else down the drain.
We provide: herbal tea, personal seaweed bath, shared hot sauna, scrub, salt, mud, Bixa Fixa cream
You bring: change of clothes, bathing suit if desired, your own drinking water vessel, your own towels, farm-appropriate footwear, a sense of adventure!
Cost is $75 per person for a 3-4 hour experience.
You may wish to book a massage (paid separately) with Mandy Newell of Mountain Air Therapeutics. To schedule, please text: (207) 214-1068
Questions? [email protected]