On Sunday, January 21, we'll have our annual Wassail celebration, a highlight of the season. Hosted by Dan Pucci and Madeleine Osborn, the Wassail celebration will begin at 1 pm with a foraging expedition, followed by workshops and activities in the taproom leading up to the main event. At 4 pm, revelers will gather to walk into the orchard, where an interactive ceremony will take place.
1:00-1:30 pm Foraging expedition (meet at fire pits behind Taproom)
1:30-3:30 pm Crown-making workshop (inside the Taproom)
1:30-3:30 pm Torch-making workshop (at picnic tables behind Taproom)
4:00pm Gather at firepits to light torches and prepare for Ceremony
General admission is free. Workshops are priced on a sliding scale: a contribution of $10 is suggested for crown-making and $20 is suggested for torch-making. No registration required. Both workshops are family-friendly, but torchbearers must be at least 18 years old.
The Farm and Taproom will be open 12pm until 7pm+ with food pop-up Misto serving lunch/supper from 1pm until 7pm.
Dan Pucci leads the 2023 Wassail Celebration procession up into the orchard.
Wassailing is an old English practice with pagan and Norse roots that involves celebrating the last year's apple harvest and anointing the trees with cider to encourage a prosperous harvest for the following season. Wassail celebrations typically involve music, recitations, and noise-making in an orchard, all with the goal of awakening the apple trees and scaring away spirits that might blight the crop. Bread is hung on tree branches and the roots are anointed with cider. The wassailing group sings, hollers, and bangs on pots and pans. Troublesome spirits cannot tolerate such a racket.
Our Wassail celebration will borrow from some of these customs and introduce a few new ones as well. All wassailers welcome—prepare to make noise and to make merry! Please bring pots and pans to make noise and stale bread to hang in the trees as an offering to the orchard. Dressing up as a woodland sprite or creature is encouraged. Join us in celebrating the many years of beautiful fruit the orchard has provided and ensuring an excellent harvest for 2024.
2023 Wassail Celebration revelers anointing the orchard with cider.