Green Corn Festival

Native seed saving guided walk
Corn husk doll making
Tree tours
Fall pollinator scavenger hunt
Canning your crops workshop
Pumpkin smash composting station
Community meal + story time by the fire

Throughout the day, we will have optional ticketed workshops. To purchase tickets to the workshops, please click the ticket link below. Read below for more info on the ticketed workshops:

U-pick (Every half hour from 1:00 – 4:00 PM)

Meet one of our refugee market farmers as they guide you into their garden plots to help you pick your own fresh vegetables. Each person will get to decide which 5 vegetable bunches they would like depending on varieties available. Tickets are $30.
Grab your tickets here: https://aicchicago.app.neoncrm.com/.../neonevents/events...

Fermentation & Canning Workshop (1:00 –2:00 PM)

Come learn how to can and ferment your garden fresh veggies to prepare for winter with Vargo Brother Ferments. Tickets are $15 and cover supplies and vegetables. Learn more about Vargo Brother Ferments here: https://www.vargobrotherferments.com/

Ukwakhwa: Our Foods with Becky and Steve Webster
Becky and Steve Webster are enrolled citizens of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin and founders of Ukwakhwa: Tsinu Niyukwayay^thoslu (Our food: Where we plant things), a ten-acre homestead dedicated to teaching traditional Haudenosaunee foodways. Through their nonprofit and YouTube channel, they share knowledge about planting, harvesting, seed keeping, and preparing traditional foods as acts of cultural reclamation and sovereignty.

Corn Mush Class (2:00 – 3:30 PM)
In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn the traditional process of making corn mush — from pounding corn into flour using wooden corn pounders to sifting it through black ash baskets. The class will end with cooking corn mush sweetened with maple syrup for everyone to enjoy a warm taste of this traditional dish.

Kanastohale Class (3:30 – 5:00 PM)
This session invites participants to make kanastohale, a traditional Haudenosaunee corn dish that can be prepared either savory (with beans) or sweet (with berries and maple syrup). Participants will learn shaping methods for loaves, dumplings, or turtle molds, and explore traditional wrapping and cooking techniques using fresh corn leaves or dried husks.