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Cider Pressing & U-pick Launch

from $0.00

How to register: You can register your family or group on one form. Please add names of everyone in your group, including children, ensuring each person attending is included on a registration form. The person completing the form will be consenting to the liability waiver for everyone listed on the registration, which is required to participate.

If you would like to purchase more items than what is included on your group’s registration, you can complete another registration with just one name to pre-purchase items or buy additional items at the event with cash, check or Venmo.

Take home option:
Farm tour 1-2 pm:

How to register: You can register your family or group on one form. Please add names of everyone in your group, including children, ensuring each person attending is included on a registration form. The person completing the form will be consenting to the liability waiver for everyone listed on the registration, which is required to participate.

If you would like to purchase more items than what is included on your group’s registration, you can complete another registration with just one name to pre-purchase items or buy additional items at the event with cash, check or Venmo.

About Cider Pressing & U-Pick Launch

Join us for one of the sweetest days of the year! Help press fresh cider and celebrate the opening of U-Pick season in our orchard. Participants are welcome to arrive between 10 a.m. & Noon to participate in the fruit harvest & cider pressing. Participants can pay $5 per person for an optional farm tour from 1-2 p.m. You’ll explore:

  • Hands-on cider pressing & cider tasting

  • Fruit harvesting in our mature organic orchard

  • Community harvest celebration

Note: This workshop is run more like an event and has no cap on the number of participants. Information sharing will be minimal, particularly compared to our other farm workshops.

Ways to participate & optional add-ons:

  1. Free participation open to all: Join in the fall harvest fun by picking apples & pears. Contribute your picked fruit to the community cider making & enjoy free cider samples. Bring your own snacks or lunch for a picnic in our home base area.

    • WIC & Senior Farm Direct vouchers: We anticipate being approved to accept WIC & Senior farm direct vouchers during this event. Purchase fresh fruit at the farmstand using your $4 vouchers.

  2. $20 take home, fresh fruit & cider: Fill our custom, handmade bag with fruit, then contribute fruit to our cider pressing & take home ~half a bag of fruit and a half gallon of cider.

    • $5 Upcycled fruit bag: Take home our custom, handmade upcycled bag for an extra $5. Bring your own tote to take home fresh fruit if you don’t want to purchase a bag.

  3. $8 take home, cider: Fill our custom, handmade bag with fruit, then contribute fruit to our cider pressing & take home a half gallon of cider.

  4. $5 per person farm tour, 1-2 pm: After we wrap up our fruit picking and cider making, participants are invited to explore more of our farm, learning about regenerative agriculture & meeting & feeding our goats and more!

    • Families with 3-5 family members can pay $15 to participate in the farm tour.

Accommodations & items to bring:

  • Hazards:

    • Blackberry & tall grass - As an organic farm & conservation easement, we do minimal mowing in our orchard and do not use herbicides on our blackberry. Participants will be most comfortable & protected wearing close toed shoes & clothes that cover your legs.

    • Ground squirrel holes & uneven ground - Look out for holes on the way to & from and throughout the orchard! Our orchard and farm paths are not wheelchair friendly, unless you have an adventure chair meant for uneven ground.

    • Wasps - Our stinging pollinator friends love sweet fruit as much as we do. Participants with allergies to wasps are encouraged to bring epi-pens or allergy meds. They will be present near the cider pressing area & in the orchards. We use organic pest control methods to reduce wasp activity.

  • Heavy lifting: All participants who want to sample or take home cider will be asked to harvest apples from the orchard and bring them to our home base food processing area. If you cannot or do not want to carry a full bag of apples a few hundred yards, we recommend bringing a wagon or cart if you have one. We may have a few carts available.

  • Noise: Our apple grinder is quite loud and will be running continuously. We also run a large fan to keep wasps away from the pressing area. We recommend bringing ear protection, especially for those sensitive to loud noise. We do have some ear protection available, but not enough for all participants.

  • Kids & families: Families are encouraged to bring a baby wearing item to carry non-walking kiddos. Strollers are not ideal on our farm. Wagons can be used but will be a bumpy ride!

Information about the full series

Living Systems: Second Saturday Farm Workshops

Slow skills to build seasonal rhythms and a connected life

  • At Parker Learning Gardens, learning happens with dirt on your hands, tools in motion, and community all around you. Our Second Saturday Workshops are immersive, hands-on skill days designed for families, adults, and curious learners of all ages who want to reconnect with land-based knowledge, seasonal rhythms, and traditional crafts.

    Each month offers a new epic, tactile experience—from weaving living willow and pressing cider, to cob building, broom making, and herbal medicine. These are not demos. These are do-it-together days.

    • Parking & meeting location: Park on the south side of the farmstand in the grassy open area before the orchard. We’ll meet at the farmstand.

    • Gear: Closed-toe shoes required. Weather-appropriate clothing strongly encouraged. Aprons, gloves, and layers recommended for many workshops.

    • Lunch option: Participants are welcome to stay afterward for lunch in a designated area. Please bring a paper brown-bag lunch—we’re happy to compost it for you.

    • PLG style: Expect farm sounds, animals nearby, mud, laughter, real tools, and real learning.

  • Monthly on the second Saturday | 10 AM – 1 PM
    February 14 – December 12, 2026

    Note: Times will generally stick to this schedule but may vary slightly depending on the skill.

  • Sliding scale / suggested donation: Choose the price that works for you from $0–15 per workshop. Participants pay what they can (truly), providing free & low-cost skills education that works with everyone’s budget. Monetary contributions support staff time, materials, and land stewardship.

    Take-home items: Participants have the option to purchase an item created during the workshop or related to the skill. Pricing varies depending on materials and time involved.

  • Capacity: Capped at approximately 20 adult participants. Adults register for the workshop separately with an option to add children to their registration form. Please register in advance!

    Family-friendly: Children are welcome, with the understanding that some activities require focus, tools, or heat. Caregivers may need to step away from the workshop to support their younger children. Volunteers and activities for children will be available to support kids’ engagement.

    Select teen volunteers & students enrolled in other other PLG programs may be able to participate without an adult present with prior PLG staff approval. Text us at 541-579-8788 or email us at info@parkerlearninggardens.org to discuss teen participation options.