What to Expect at ON Farm Fest 2019!

September 21st, 10am-3pm

• Take a free wagon tour of the orchard and sample hard cider at Four Grand Cidery
• Step into the cider pressing room to learn how cider is pressed
• Meet the Abbott family and see what life is like for today’s fruit and vegetable farmers
• Orchard Grille open for lunch (for purchase)
• Shop the Country Store for fudge, ice cream, and retail items (for sampling and purchase)
• Special Guest! Meet and Greet with Award-winning cookbook author and PBS host, Julie Taboulie from 10am-Noon
• Live Music! Enjoy the sounds of Syracuse’s own Todd Hobin
• Giveaways and Health Tips! From the Onondaga County Health Department 

Special Note: The Abbott Farms Fall Fest is going on at the same time as ON Farm Fest. All of the above activities are free. However, if you’d like to experience the additional activities listed below from noon until 4pm, there are fees associated that range from $5-$9. For a complete list of fees – including information about a $14.99 wristband – visit the Abbott Farms website. 

• Corn Maze
• Apple Canon
• Kids Zone
• Pony Rides
• Face Painting
• Balloon Art
• …and More!

Directions

About

“In 1866, we were like most of the area farms, a subsistence dairy. You grew what you needed and a bit more to sell to generate cash to buy what you could not make. As the industrial revolution came to agriculture so did specialization. My grandfather Homer Abbott had a potato route. He went door to door in the northern parts of Syracuse selling potatoes. In 1964, the dairy was sold to make way for a grain farming focus. The potatoes remained but now they were mostly sold through independent groceries in the area, like Williams in North Syracuse and the Peters stores around Syracuse. We packed them in “revolutionary poly bags”. We actually did u-pick potatoes for many years and they were big for us through the 60s and 70s.

In 1993, with the construction of our new farm market, we started to look at retail sales more closely. In 2007, we reinvented the farm again, focusing entirely on retail. Potatoes fell away with the demise of the independent grocer and we quit grain farming and planted strawberries, raspberries and blueberries all in the same year! Our current model is to let our community pick our crops first. After years of making sweet cider, in 2016 we started our hard cidery to make better use of both our apples and equipment.

2019 continues the evolution of Abbott Farms. We started a CSA and are now planting summer vegetables for it. CSA stands for “community supported agriculture” and it’s where people buy a share and then participate in the risk and reward of the growing season and harvest. We have become a wedding and party venue complete with a full onsite catering menu. We now have hard cider in cans and the flavor development continues. Already this year we have hosted a wedding and a quinceanera with several other events to follow such as graduation, corporate, and birthdays.”