'Celebration of Connecticut Farms'

The 11th Annual Celebration of Connecticut Farms is Sunday, Sept. 11, noon to 4 p.m., at Jones Family Farms in Shelton.

Guests can enjoy spectacular dishes featuring ingredients from over 50 farms across the state and prepared by chefs from 24 of Connecticut’s best restaurants including Metro Bis in Simsbury, It’s Only Natural in Middletown, The Dressing Room in Westport, The Suburban in Branford, Polytechnic ON20 in Hartford, and many more.

Attendees can also enjoy wine from 10 Connecticut wineries and vineyards and beer from Connecticut breweries. Musical entertainment will be provided by the band, Bone Dry, and paintings by members of the Connecticut Plein Air Painters Society will be on display and for sale.

Returning as honorary chairpersons of the celebration are Tony Award-winning actress Christine Baranski, WNPR's Peabody Award winner Faith Middleton, and celebrity TV chef and author Jacques Pépin.


Tickets are $150 ($75 is tax deductible) and proceeds support the work of Connecticut Farmland Trust.

Easton Banjo, Easton Farm Tour, Rides

Most children love ponies, that's a fact.

Here's an event to make tracks for this weekend - head to the Easton Firehouse Green on Saturday, Aug. 13, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the annual Easton Farm Tour. Free events begin at the firehouse green and many are perfect for families with young children.

Yes, there will be pony rides - or follow your interests with the "Easton is a Farmers Market" guide that lists 15 locations for hayrides, PYO vegetables and fruits and more.

A new film about family farming in Easton will be screened (free) starting at 10:30 a.m. at the town library.

CSA-ers At Ambler Farm, Monday Jan. 11

Community Supported Agriculture, also known as CSA, is the focus of a seminar on Monday, Jan. 11, 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Ambler Farm, 257 Hurlbutt St. in Wilton.

Three CSA farmers, Dina Brewster, The Hickories, Ridgefield; Paul Bucciaglia, Fort Hill Farm, New Milford; and Patricia Popp, Sport Hill Farm, Easton, will be at Ambler Farm to talk about their programs, their challenges and their visions of the future for community supported farming.

Registration is $5 per person, and advanced registration is required.

For details, e-mail amblerfarm@gmail.com or call (203) 834-1143.

Ambler Farm is set on 22 acres of with barns and buildings and gardens. The Raymond-Ambler House (a beautiful white farmhouse) is circa 1799.

Open Farm Sunday, Cabot Cheese and Local Flavor

McCadam Cheese Company and Cabot Creamery Cooperative - along with their 1,200 local farmers across upstate New York and New England - have together won every major taste award for their cheddar cheese – including the prestigious World Cheese Awards.

Now, those same farmers are opening their doors to thank the public during Open Farm Sunday, on Nov. 1 (that's this Sunday).

For details, go to www.OpenFarmSunday.com.

The public is welcome to celebrate the local flavor - and the farmers who work to make McCadam & Cabot Cheddar Cheese so delicious. (There are 29 participating working farms.)

Farmers “open their barn doors” to guests of all ages - meet the farmers, see their cows, sample McCadam and Cabot cheddar cheese.

For those who can’t make it on November 1, McCadam & Cabot have created a virtual ‘Open Farm’ where the public can visit the some McCadam & Cabot family farmers online starting Oct. 23 at www.OpenFarmSunday.com.

A list of all McCadam and Cabot Creamery Cooperative farms, located across New York and New England, are available at www.cabotcheese.coop.

Open Farm Sunday (in Connecticut) participants include: Joseph and Lois Greenbacker, 182 Wallingford Road, Durham; Tim Young, 210 Child Hill Road, Woodstock; and Larry and Meagan Hastings, 472 Hill St., Suffield.