Calf Open House 
Sunday, APRIL 27
TIME: 1–4 pm • Free to all

Spring has sprung at the dairy and we have a lot of baby Brown Swiss calves!  Come greet our newborns (and other cows), try your hand at milking a cow, and climb on a farm tractor as we celebrate calving season!

Mother’s Day Tours of The Inn at Shelburne Farms
Sunday, MAY 11
TIME: 12:00–5:00 pm
TICKETS:  $10/adults; $9/seniors; $8 members.  On sale at the Welcome Center, 802-985-8442.

Join us for this once-a-year opportunity to see all of the public rooms and guest rooms at the Inn.  Guides stationed throughout the house will share the history of the Webb family and explain the original furnishings. This year, discover “food on the farm” in the Marble Dining Room, with a recipe demo from Cooking with Shelburne Farms, herbs and early greens from the garden, and updates on what’s new this season in the Inn’s dining room.

Summer Garden Community Potluck
Friday, JULY 18
TIME: 6:00 pm   
FEE: $10/adult; $8/children under 10
REGISTRATION: Call 802-985-8686 x341
LOCATION:  Coach Barn

Join community members for a potluck supper to celebrate the joys of the vegetable growing season!  The Farm’s cookbook, COOKING WITH SHELBURNE FARMS: Food and Stories from Vermont, has a chapter on Summer Greens to inspire you, or make one of your own favorites featuring summer vegetables. Shelburne Farms will provide an entrée featuring produce from its Market Garden and gardener Josh Carter will be on hand.
 

Green Mountain Draft Horse Field Day
Saturday, JULY 26
TIME: 11 am–2 pm
FEE:  Free with admission to property

Come watch demonstrations of traditional farming methods presented by the Green Mountain Draft Horse Association.  Horses bred for strength and power will be harnessed to plowing, mowing, and reaping machines used on Vermont farms.  Enjoy a hay ride too!
 

Vermont Fresh Network Forum—
Connecting the Dots: Healthy Farms, Innovative Chefs, Vibrant Communities
Sunday, AUGUST 3
INFORMATION: www.vermontfresh.net or 802-434-2000

Enjoy the agricultural bounty and rich culinary talent of the Green Mountain State! Following a guest speaker, feast on a spectacular grazing dinner showcasing local foods raised by VFN farm partners and prepared by over 20 of Vermont’s finest chefs. Afternoon seminars with local and national food authorities, chefs and growers will be offered.
 

Habitat for Humanity Community Picnic
Sunday, AUGUST 10
TIME: 3:00–7:00 pm
TICKETS & INFORMATION: www.greenmountainhfh.org; group rates available for businesses.  Pre-registration encouraged.

Play casual backyard games, enjoy a tasty barbeque, and help support affordable housing for local families—all in a beautiful setting. Lawn games for adults and games especially for children start at 3:00 pm; food starts at 5:00 pm.
 

Family Programs focus on age-appropriate activities designed for children and an accompanying adult. 
Registration begins APRIL 23 members; APRIL 24 nonmembers. Call 802-985-8686 X341. Cancellation Policy
TIMES: Ages 4 & 5: 9:30-11:30 am  •  Ages 6+: 12:30-2:30 pm (except where indicated)
FEE: Member: $10 parent & child, $5 each additional child. Nonmember: $12/$6.
 

“I Spy!” at the Inn
Saturday, JUNE 21 
TIME: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm, For ages 4 and up
The Inn has been a fun and exciting place to visit for the last 120 years.  Many things have happened over the years.  Journey around the grounds of the house to “Spy” the ways in which the Inn has changed.

Get into the Garden!
Saturday, JULY 19 
TIME: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm, For ages 4 and up
Greens, corn, garlic, and herbs...  Our Market Garden will be full of plants and work to be done.  We’ll work together to help the gardener, and end with a picnic celebration of garden treats.  Join us for this unique opportunity to see our production garden in action.      

Sheep Shearing Clinic
Saturday, APRIL 19
TIME: 9 am – 3 pm •
FEE: $100 for shearing (must bring own equipment); $35 for lectures & observation
REGISTRATION: 802-524-6501

Learn the hands-on basics of sheep shearing in this day-long workshop guided by professional sheep shearer, Chet Parsons.  Sponsored by UVM Extension.
 

Salamander Sleuthing
APRIL or MAY (dates to be announced)
TIME & LOCATION: TBD  •  FEE:  Free  •  REGISTRATION:  Call 802-985-8686 x341 to be on the email/phone list for notification as soon as field walk is scheduled.

Field naturalist Matt Kolan will lead a field walk to capture a signature signpost of early spring: the migration of amphibians to their spring breeding pools.  Program will be scheduled for a damp night!
 

Spirit and Nature Retreats Residential Program
Friday–Tuesday, MAY 16–20 or Thursday–Monday, SEPTEMBER 11–15
FACILITATORS: Mary Abele, Interfaith Pastor; Jeffrey Allen, Psychologist; Delia Clark, Educator; Matt Kolan, Naturalist 
FEE: $200 includes meals & accommodations
INFORMATION & APPLICATION FORMS:  Sue Dixon, 802-985-0318, sdixon@shelburnefarms.org

Shelburne Farms is collaborating with All Souls Interfaith Gathering, a neighboring spiritual center with a shared commitment to environmental stewardship, to offer these retreats. Participants of diverse faiths, scientific perspectives and environmental backgrounds will be invited to explore nature as a pathway to spirit, the motivation of stewardship, and common ground between environmentalism and spirituality.  Enrollment is limited.
 

Pasture to Palate:  The Art of Cheesemaking
Monday–Wednesday, MAY 19–21 Residential Program
FEE:  $500/person includes meals and gratuities; accommodations $145–$380/night + tax.  Room information is available at www.shelburnefarms.org • REGISTRATION: 802-985-0342

With the elegant Inn at Shelburne Farms as your hub, take a three-day journey into the world of artisanal cheesemaking. From maintaining a dairy herd to highlighting cheese flavors, each step of this course brings to life the art of creating, appreciating and serving Vermont’s finest cheeses. Visit several Vermont cheesemakers, enjoy a cheese-tasting reception, make cheddar with our head cheesemaker, stroll the pastures and tour the dairy where our cheese begins.
 

Taste of Place Luncheon
Thursday, MAY 22 •  Time: noon
FEE: $30/person • LOCATION: Inn at Shelburne Farms

Celebrate the publication of THE TASTE OF PLACE:  A Cultural Journey Into Terroir as author Amy Trubek leads you through a guided tasting lunch.  Each course will be an exploration of the natural environment, regional traditions and artisanal practices of items featured on the menu.
 

Bedrock to Birds: The Natural History of Shelburne Farms’ Working Landscape
Friday–Sunday, MAY 23–25 Residential Program
FEE: $250/person includes tuition and meals; optional overnight accommodations: +$50/person/night (double occupancy) 
INSTRUCTORS:  Walter Poleman and Matt Kolan, field naturalists
REGISTRATION:  802-985-0342

Enjoy a weekend rich in discovery and friendship as you explore the natural history of the Farm’s rural working landscape from bedrock to birds, and from forest to furniture. The program includes morning birdwalks during the year’s most diverse bird-watching season, wildflower identification, geology explorations, and wildlife observation.  Accommodations are in a former private residence on a spectacular lakeside bluff.
 

“Menu for the Future” Vermont Earth Institute Discussion Course
Tuesdays, MAY 27–JULY 1
TIME: 6:00–7:30 pm 
FEE: $25 for course materials

This six-week community discussion course at Shelburne Farms explores the connection between food and sustainability. The course, led by Food Systems Coordinator Phoebe Garfinkel, will cover a range of topics from various perspectives, including “From Field to Fork,” “Farming for the Future,” and “Local Food Communities.”
 

Morning Birdwalk
Wednesday, MAY 28
TIME: 7:00–9:00 am 
FEE: $6

Celebrate the return of the dawn chorus. Join naturalist Matt Kolan to explore shrubland, grassland, wetland, and forest habitats in search of the sights and sounds of our feathered friends.
 

Stone Carving Workshop
Saturday & Sunday, MAY 31 & JUNE 1
TIME: 8 am – 6 pm • FEE: $250/person • INSTRUCTORS: Bob Babcock & Kathy Stockman, Carving Studio & Sculpture Center • REGISTRATION: 802-438-2097 or www.carvingstudio.org

Learn how to carve soapstone or alabaster at the Farm with instructors from the internationally acclaimed Carving Studio and Sculpture Center in West Rutland, Vermont. Explore the wonders and colors of soft stone to create your own sculptures — giving life to inanimate rocks.  You’ll receive instruction on using basic hand tools for creative design, direct and indirect carving, modeling, stone selection, sculpturing techniques, and safety. All tools and equipment are provided, along with a 35-40 pound rock to carve. Lunch will be provided each day.
 

Wild Edibles: An Introduction
Wednesday, JUNE 4
TIME: 8:30 am – 1:00 pm 
FEE:  $50
REGISTRATION: 802-985-8686 x341

Join Shelburne Farms’ naturalist Matt Kolan for an exciting introduction to foraging and preparing wild edibles. Meet in the morning for a guided exploration on the Farm to learn how to identify and sustainably harvest wild foods, then gather to collaboratively prepare a light lunch from the morning’s foraged foods with Shelburne Farms’ Head Chef Rick Gencarelli. Space is limited. Register early!

Raising Layers: Small-Scale Egg Production Backyard Farmer Series
Saturday, JUNE 14
TIME: 9:00 am–12:00 pm 
FEE: $25

Come learn the basics of backyard egg production, including the economics of producing eggs, selecting the perfect laying hen, basic and innovative housing solutions, feed requirements, and flock health management. Meet the Farm’s hens, tour the coop and traveling hen-house at the Children’s Farmyard, and take home a half dozen Farm-fresh eggs.
 

Small-Scale Livestock Production Backyard Farmer Series
Saturday, JUNE 21
TIME: 9:00 am–12:00 pm 
FEE: $25

Interested in raising animals for meat, milk, or eggs but unsure where to begin? Come discuss backyard, small-scale livestock production, including some of the basic economics of raising livestock, selecting which varieties and how many animals to raise, land, facilities and feed requirements, livestock health management, and options for slaughtering.
 

Cooking with Shelburne Farms:  A Summer Picnic
Saturday, JUNE 21
TIME: 11:00 am – 1:00 pm 
FEE:  $25

Join Melissa Pasanen, co-author of COOKING WITH SHELBURNE FARMS, for a discussion and demonstration of summer recipes from the cookbook and then walk up to the top of Lone Tree Hill to enjoy a picnic prepared from recipes in the cookbook.  In case of inclement weather, lunch will be in the Education Center at the Farm Barn.
 

A Toast to the Season: An Evening with Shelburne Vineyard
Tuesday, JULY 8 (Rain date: wednesday, July 9)
TIME:  6:00 pm 
FEE: $35
Watch the sun set over Lake Champlain in the spectacular setting at Shelburne Vineyard as you enjoy a family-style dinner of rustic tarts and market garden salads and meet winemakers Ken and Gail Albert.  Shelburne Vineyard wines will be available at a cash bar.
 

Campfire Breakfast
Saturday, JULY 12 (Rain date: Saturday, July 19)
TIME:  8:30 am 
FEE: $15/adult; $8/children under 10

Meet in the Children’s Farmyard to gather the eggs for your breakfast, then walk up the hill to the campfire site to join Melissa Pasanen and Chef Rick Gencarelli, co-authors of COOKING WITH SHELBURNE FARMS, for bacon and eggs and the cookbook’s Cinnamon Sugar Pancakes and Golden Flannel Hash cooked over an open fire.
 

Tour Two Great Country Houses: The Brick House and Shelburne House
Saturday, JULY 19 & Saturday, AUGUST 30
TIME: 1:00–4:00 pm
FEE:  $35/member of Shelburne Farms or Shelburne Museum; $40/nonmember 

Information & reservations:  802-985-3346 x3377 or brickhouse@shelburnemuseum.org
Enjoy in-depth tours of both the Brick House, the Colonial Revival Vermont home of Shelburne Museum founder Electra Havemeyer Webb, and Shelburne House (The Inn at Shelburne Farms).
Brick House Tours are available on weekends in July and August through Shelburne Museum. See contact above.
 

Lenses on the Land:  Photography at Shelburne Farms
Friday–Sunday, OCTOBER 17–19 Residential Program
TIME: Friday, 5:00 pm–Sunday, 9:30 am
FEE: $225/person includes tuition & meals; overnight accommodations available for additional $40/person/night (double occupancy)
INSTRUCTORS: Matt Kolan, Naturalist; Marshall Webb, Photographer & Shelburne Farms Woodlands Manager
REGISTRATION: 802-985-8686 x341

With Shelburne Farms as your subject, explore the possibilities of using photography to tell stories that tie humans to the land or unlock secrets of nature.  Learn photography that moves beyond technique to demand a relationship with the subject. Discover how a deeper knowledge of Shelburne Farms’ eco-community (ecology, history, agriculture, seasonal changes) leads to a more intimate relationship with the place, and inspires more dynamic photography.  Digital camera (2 megapixel min.) recommended.