Tickets on Sale August 1st for the 19th Annual York County Pawpaw Festival

Celebrate the wild and uncommon: local food, art and nature at the 2023 York County Pawpaw Festival, presented by the Horn Farm Center and Explore York, on September 23 & 24, 2023 from 10 am-3 pm at the Horn Farm Center, 4945 Horn Road, York, PA 17406. Tickets go on sale August 1, 2023 at hornfarmcenter.org/pawpawfest.

The 19th Annual York County Pawpaw Festival is an outdoor, family-friendly event that brings together local food vendors, artisans, native plant nurseries, and educational nonprofits in a celebration of the wild and uncommon in scenic York County, Pennsylvania. 

The centerpiece of the festival is the pawpaw: the largest edible fruit native to the Eastern United States, growing naturally right here in York County’s bountiful Susquehanna Riverlands! Similar in taste to tropical fruits, the pawpaw is a unique, nutritious, and ecologically significant delicacy that ripens for a short period of time from mid-September to mid-October.

In addition to sales of pawpaw fruit and pawpaw-inspired items, this year’s Pawpaw Festival features new educational experiences, including pawpaw talks and free, family-friendly tours, orchard walks, and outdoor programs on the Horn Farm Center’s regenerative landscape. For a full list of vendors and programs, visit hornfarmcenter.org/pawpawfest.

The 2023 Pawpaw Festival is a ticketed event. Online sales begin August 1, 2023 while supplies last. All proceeds support regenerative land stewardship and educational programs at the Horn Farm Center. 

Ticket options include:

  • $5.00 General Pass includes one-day admission to the Pawpaw Festival 
  • $15.00 Premium Pass includes one-day admission, a t-shirt designed by a local artist, and entry into a door prize drawing for Horn Farm Center class vouchers. Premium pass tickets will only be available until 5pm EST on September 8, 2023.

The event will be held rain or shine. All pawpaw fruits, trees, produce, and vendor products will be available while supplies last. Given the natural limitations of pawpaw supplies, fruit availability for purchase is likely but not guaranteed. 

Also new this year, Horn Farm Center has partnered with John Wright Restaurant, 234 N Front St, Wrightsville, PA 17368, to offer Horn Farm’s Pawpaw Experience, a wild and uncommon culinary adventure on Friday, September 22, 2023, the evening before the Festival. The Pawpaw Experience at John Wright Restaurant will feature a 3-course pawpaw-themed dinner with two drink pairings -  all while overlooking York County’s iconic riverfront in Wrightsville! Tickets and more information about the event will be announced in August. 

The 2023 York County Pawpaw Festival is part of York County Watershed Week in partnership with the Watershed Alliance of York. Learn more at watershedallianceofyork.org/watershed-week.

The Horn Farm Center is grateful to a growing list of sponsoring local businesses who believe in our mission to foster ecological learning through community partnership, land stewardship, and hands-on experiences.

  • Explore York (yorkpa.org) 
  • Hayman Studio
  • John Wright Restaurant
  • Atlas Rubber Stamp & Printing
  • Rutters Children’s Charities
  • 7group
  • Holla Spirits 

For more information, please call Alexis Campbell at 717-757-6441 or email executivedirector@hornfarmcenter.org.

About the Horn Farm Center for Agricultural Education

The Horn Farm Center fosters ecological learning through community partnership, land stewardship, and hands-on experiences. Born out of the successful effort to save the farm from industrial development in 2000 and established as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation in 2004, the Horn Farm Center is committed to restoring ecological health to both the fields and semi-wild spaces on the farm while teaching and demonstrating regenerative practices to our community. providing nutritious food to our community. Our programs encourage others to learn to do the same. Learn more at hornfarmcenter.org. 

About the York County Pawpaw Festival 

The York County Pawpaw Festival was founded by Richard and Judy Bono in 2004 as a Slow Food dinner held at a local York restaurant. The 5-course meal featured everything pawpaw! A small group of about 49 people attended this first event. Over the years the event grew as Judy and Dick held more tastings and dinners in York Central Market. Eventually, the event became so popular that the York County Pawpaw Festival moved to the Horn Farm Center in 2014. Since then, the event has served as a fundraiser, supporting the organization’s mission. Dick and Judy are long-time supporters and former board members of the Horn Farm Center. The Horn Farm Center is also home to Dick Bono’s pawpaw orchard, which has over 48 trees representing 20 different cultivated varieties. 

About Explore York

Explore York’s mission is to maximize tourism expenditures and their economic impact in York County, PA, through comprehensive tourism sales and marketing programs. Explore York’s vision is for a county where tourism is recognized for the value of its economic impact and its role in raising the profile of York County as a sought-after destination. For more information on Explore York or the York County Destination Brand, 
call 1-888-858-9675 or visit YorkPA.org.