2013 Events
Click here to view the calendar in PDF format.
May
8, 15, 22: Programs for Preschoolers - Offered on Wednesdays in May, 9:00 – 10:30 a.m. Each program features a different farm theme with a story, special visit to the farm, hands-on activity, and snack. Designed for children ages 3 and up. Fee and preregistration required.
25 & 26: Cheese & Dairy Celebration - Celebrate Vermont's distinctive dairy heritage during a weekend of sampling delicious Vermont cheeses and meeting local cheese makers; dairy education programs, making cheese, ice cream, and butter. Vermont cheesemakers can download the registration forms here.
29: Programs for Preschoolers - Offered on Wednesdays in May, 9:00 – 10:30 a.m. Each program features a different farm theme with a story, special visit to the farm, hands-on activity, and snack. Designed for children ages 3 and up. Fee and preregistration required.
June
2, 9, 16, 23, & 30: Ice Cream Sundays - June is Dairy Month! Lend a hand making and sampling delicious ice cream while learning the history and science of this dairy treat.
24 - 28: Junior Farm Vet Camp - This 5-day program for ages 10 - 15, will introduce students to the physiology and basic care of large farm animals, under the guidance of a veterinarian. Fee and preregistration required.
July
2, 9, 16, 23, & 30: Time Travel Tuesdays - Experience late 19th century chores and pastimes in the farmhouse firsthand, and stay as long as you like. There's plenty of work and fun for every age! Every Tuesday through August 20.
3, 10, 17, 23, & 31: Wagon Ride Wednesdays - Horse-drawn wagon rides featured each Wednesday from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Each Wednesday through September 25.
4: Old Vermont 4th - A patriotic family celebration featuring the reading of the Declaration of Independence, historic debates, wagon rides, making 1890 flags, spelling bees, the egg toss, and lots more.
12, 19, & 26: Foodways Fridays - Discover how we use seasonal vegetable and herbs from our heirloom garden in historic recipes. Different take-home recipes each week! Each Friday through October 18.
15 - 19: Junior Farm Vet Camp - This 5-day program for ages 10 - 15, will introduce students to the physiology and basic care of large farm animals, under the guidance of a veterinarian. Fee and preregistration required.
21: National Ice Cream Day - Help make and sample four flavors of ice cream as we celebrate the great American dessert. Horse-drawn wagon rides.
27: Hay Day - Spend a summer day with us in the farm fields, where you'll see traditional haying techniques, including cutting, raking, and tedding with the farm's draft horses and equipment. Quench your thirst with a sample of switchel, the haymaker's drink. Especially for families: penny-in-the-haystack, making scarecrows, puppets, & clothespin horses; horse-drawn wagon rides, farm programs, and activities.
August
1 - September 22: 27th Annual Quilt Exhibition - This highly-anticipated juried exhibition of more than 50 quilts made exclusively in Windsor County will celebrate 27 years of quilting excellence at the Billings Farm. Quilting demonstrations, programs, and activities for children and adults.
2, 9, 16, 23, & 30: Foodways Fridays - Discover how we use seasonal vegetable and herbs from our heirloom garden in historic recipes. Different take-home recipes each week! Each Friday through October 18.
3: Heritage Chicken Day - We'll feature a variety of breeds of chickens to see their similarities and differences, plus baby chicks. Fun facts about chickens and eggs, plus the egg toss and games.
6, 13, & 20: Time Travel Tuesdays - Experience late 19th century chores and pastimes in the farmhouse firsthand, and stay as long as you like. There's plenty of work and fun for every age!
7, 14, 21, & 28: Wagon Ride Wednesdays - Horse-drawn wagon rides featured each Wednesday from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Each Wednesday through September 25.
11: Antique Tractor Day - Tractors made between 1930 and the 1960s will be displayed by the proud and talented folks who restored them. The tractor parade at 1:00 p.m. includes restoration details and historical information. Tractor-drawn wagon rides and tractor activities for children, including the popular tractor sandbox. Plan to purchase lunch from the Pomfret-Teago Volunteer Fire Department – all proceeds benefit the department.
September
1: Labor & Leisure Day - Work and fun on the farm! Wagon rides, building a split rail fence, ice cream making, and laundry – using a washboard and wringer.
4, 11, 18, & 25: Wagon Ride Wednesdays - Horse-drawn wagon rides featured each Wednesday from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
6, 13, 20, & 27: Foodways Fridays - Discover how we use seasonal vegetable and herbs from our heirloom garden in historic recipes. Different take-home recipes each week! Each Friday through October 18.
7, 14, 21, & 28: Traditional Craft Saturdays - Explore traditional crafts and learn more about their history, process, and use from experienced crafters.
7th: Hand Hewn Timber demonstration with David Gray, South Royalton, VT
14th: Rug Braiding with Delsie Hoyt, St. Johnsbury, VT
21st: Natural Dying of Wool with Kristin Husher, Williston, VT
28th: Tinsmithing with John Peterson, Otter Creek Tinware, Brandon, VT
October
5 & 6: Pumpkin & Apple Celebration - Hands-on programs will 
highlight these two essential fall crops, including apple tasting, cider pressing, pumpkin bowling, apples-on-a-string, making pumpkin & apple ice cream, cooking apple butter in the farmhouse, and wagon rides.
12 & 13: Harvest Weekend - Join us for a traditional Vermont harvest celebration with a husking bee and barn dance; cider pressing, harvesting root vegetables, “putting food by,” and more; spiced cider and homemade doughnuts.
19 & 20: Autumn Wagon Ride Weekend - Narrated horse-drawn wagon rides around the Billings' fields during the height of fall foliage; farm programs and activities.
27: A Family Halloween - Halloween fun for all ages! Doughnuts-on-a-string, pumpkin carving, Halloween tales, wagon rides, and lots more. Costume parades at 12:00 and 2:00 p.m. Children in costume admitted free when accompanied by an adult.
November
2 & 3; 9 & 10; 16 & 17; 23 & 24: Wagon Ride Weekends – Take a horse-drawn wagon ride and enjoy the dairy farm, farmhouse, and farm life exhibits during late fall – when the brilliance of foliage has softened and the weather is still pleasant; daily programs and activities. 10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
29, 30, & Dec. 1: Thanksgiving Weekend – The tradition of celebratory feasts for a bountiful harvest spans cultures, continents, and millennia. Discover how Thanksgiving was observed in the 1890 Farm House at the Billings Farm – preparations, menu, and entertainment – and the critical and demanding work of harvesting crops each fall. The “History of Thanksgiving” programs will be presented in the parlor; cider pressing and harvest and food preservation activities for every age. Enjoy a horse-drawn wagon ride and a homemade treat. Last weekend of the season to visit the farm life exhibits. 10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
December
13, 14, & 15: Wassail Weekend – You'll be welcomed to tour the festively decorated 1890 Farm House; make a historic ornament as a 
memento of your visit. Sunday: horse-drawn sleigh or wagon rides (weather permitting). 10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
7 & 8; 21 - Jan. 1, (excluding Christmas Day): Christmas at the Farm – Learn how Christmas was celebrated in late 19th century Woodstock in the farmhouse and linger in the cozy kitchen as treats are baked in the woodstove. Holiday programs and making historic ornaments. Don't miss a winter visit to the farm. Dec. 26-Jan. 1 – horse-drawn sleigh or wagon rides (weather permitting). 10:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
2014 Winter Events
January & February Weekends - Visit the Jersey herd, draft horses, oxen, and sheep – inside for the winter – and tour the restored and furnished 1890 Farm House. A Place in the Land, our Academy Award®-nominee film is shown on the hour in the theater. 10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Sleigh Ride Weekend: January 18 - 20 Horse-drawn sleigh rides, jack jumper sledding; dairy farm and restored farmhouse; in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Weekend showing of a film. 10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Sleigh Ride Week: February 15 - 23 Sleigh rides, sledding with jack jumpers; tour the dairy farm and farmhouse; programs and hands-on activities; presidential cookie favorites and spiced cider. 10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
