CANTON — Enjoy a spring Saturday with like-minded community members at Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Grow and Preserve Open House on Saturday, May 11, from 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at the Learning Farm.

People of all ages and abilities are invited to stop in anytime during the event to enjoy a diversity of activities centered around tending gardens and putting up seasonal foods.

There will be multiple giveaways while supplies last including canning jars, canvas Harvest Kitchen tote bags, and more. Visitors can add their name to a free raffle drawing to win a Go Local Gift Certificate. The winner of the drawing gets a $50 gift certificate to the St. Lawrence County farm or food business of their choice.

“The promise of spring brings a flood of ideas and possibilities,” Extension Local Food Program Leader Flip Filippi said. “We are hosting the Open House to help folks channel that enthusiasm and assist in making it a delicious, rewarding year in your gardens and kitchens. Our Master Food Preserver and Master Gardener volunteers look forward to seeing you at the Extension Learning Farm. There will be activities for the public in the Harvest Kitchen, front classroom, Bear’s Den pavilion, pollinator garden, and orchard.”

Visitors can plant seeds in 6-packs and make “seed bombs” to bring home. Enjoy tours highlighting various parts of the Learning Farm including the pollinator garden (at 10:30 and 11:30 a.m.), the methane digester (at 11 a.m. and noon), or self-guided walk through the orchard which includes chickens in the understory.

Visit the Harvest Kitchen to sample preserved treats made by Master Food Preserver volunteers then bring home some of their favorite preservation recipes. Explore the extensive collection of preservation equipment and compare various models of water bath canners, pressure canners, dehydrators and other supplies, and ask Master Food Preservers about them in the process. If you have a dial gauge canner, the dial can be checked for accuracy at 11am or noon.

Chat with the area non-profit GardenShare and pick up their newly released 2024 Local Food Guide or stop by The Energy Efficiency Table to learn more about how you can save money and reduce energy consumption.

There is no cost to attend the Grow and Preserve Open House, but visitors have the option to make contributions towards future programming in donation containers stationed around the event. The Extension Learning Farm is located at 2043B State Highway 68 in Canton.

Find more information about the May 11th Open House on the Cornell Cooperative Extension event page at stlawrence.cce.cornell.edu/events.

While there, learn about the April Canning Jar Drive, the Homesteading for Everyone Series and other community programs. Contact the Local Food Program Leader M. “Flip” Filippi with questions at (315) 379-9192, ext. 229 or mpf65@cornell.edu.