The humble pawpaw will take the spotlight on Saturday, Sept. 19, when the Horn Farm hosts its annual Pawpaw Festival. The festival is the main event of the Wild & Uncommon Weekend, which will run from Thursday, Sept. 17, through Sunday, Sept. 20. Tickets are on sale now for the festival and the weekend's events.

"The Pawpaw Festival is a one-day celebration of North America's largest edible tree fruit, the pawpaw, alongside other native and uncommon foods of the season," explained Andrew Leahy, education and outreach specialist for the Horn Farm Center. "Visitors to the Pawpaw Festival can expect to find fresh fruit, trees and unique pawpaw products for sale."

The Pawpaw Festival will take place at the Horn Farm Center for Agricultural Education, 4945 Horn Road, York.

The event will feature plenty of pawpaws plus educational talks; children's activities; tours of the Horn Farm's regenerative farm and pawpaw orchard; and more than 40 vendors offering local food, crafts and plants.

"Visitors to the 2026 Pawpaw Festival can expect to find a bigger lineup of educational programs and live music," Leahy commented. "This is also our second year collaborating with Collusion Tap Works to offer pawpaw beer on tap at the event."

The Pawpaw Festival is the signature event of the Wild & Uncommon Weekend, which launched in 2024.

"With the growth of the festival and the Horn Farm's mission to connect people with the land, it became important for us to highlight not just the pawpaw, but the greater landscape we share with this ancient and storied fruit: the Lower Susquehanna Riverlands," Leahy said. "Thanks to partnerships with local businesses and nonprofits, Wild & Uncommon Weekend offers special tours, educational programs and family activities beyond the Horn Farm, and many of these events incorporate the pawpaw."

Some highlights for the 2026 Wild & Uncommon Weekend include a pawpaw cooking class, interpretive hikes and kid-friendly watershed education on the river, he said.

"Like the Pawpaw Festival, many of these events require tickets to be purchased in advance," he added.

The Pawpaw Festival originated in 2004 and was created by Dick and Judy Bono, local food enthusiasts and longtime supporters of the Horn Farm.

"Shortly after establishing a pawpaw orchard here in 2012, the Bonos relocated the festival to the farm, where it has since evolved into one of the Horn Farm's most popular annual events," Leahy said.

The festival and the weekend of events fit nicely with the Horn Farm's vision, he said.

"Our mission as an organization is to foster connections with the land while helping people build skills for local living. This informs our goals for the Pawpaw Festival," he remarked. "Tasting pawpaw fruit, drinks and other goods is just one part of the experience; overall, we hope that people leave with a deeper sense of appreciation for the natural world and inspiration to take action in supporting local ecosystems."

Tickets for the Pawpaw Festival must be purchased online in advance; there are no day-of ticket sales. General admission tickets include off-site parking and a shuttle service to the festival, but limited quantities of parking passes to park at the Horn Farm are available for an added fee. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit https://hornfarmcenter.org/pawpawfest. For questions, contact education@hornfarmcenter.org or call 717-757-6441.