Homegrown Happy Valley

For many in Happy Valley, Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center’s Maple Harvest Festival marks the real start of spring. This annual celebration of sap rising, which takes place this weekend, will once again herald the start of longer, warmer days.

The main attraction is the all-you-can-eat pancakes—well, actually, their syrup, but what’s one without the other?  Over two days about 10,000 pancakes are consumed, estimates Laurie McLaughlin, the festival organizer. For an additional fee, you can add local organic sausage to your plate;  it tastes just as good as the pancakes when doused with Pennsylvania maple syrup. The Penn State Sustainability Club provides the sausage, which is from Brenneman’s in Huntington, while the syrup comes from Wagner’s Maple Sugar Camp southeast of Pittsburgh.

As a recent transplant to Happy Valley, I’m having a great time getting acquainted with my new home and its bookstores,  libraries, coffee shops and farmers’ markets.

There’s a flip side to the exploration: replacing all those people who made life work for me back in Pittsburgh. I need a doctor, a dentist, an eye doctor, a vet for the dogs, and a mechanic. But, I have my priorities, and first on the list is replacing my wonderful hair stylist, Angela, who has kept me coiffed in high style for the past few years.

Guest blogger Carolyne Meehan–a mom, former English teacher, and supporter of all things local–finishes her diary of working on a local farm in exchange for fresh, local produce with Part Three: “When Life Happens — Literally.” If you’re just joining in now, check out Part 1 here or Part 2 here.

Guest blogger Reenie Kuhlman is co-founder of GoodPR, Inc., a communications consulting agency that helps businesses, organizations and people whose mission is to do something good for the world.  Reenie, a mother of two and a lover of all things local, details her experience planning an eco-friendly tailgate with food from Pittsburgh (her hometown) and State College (her favorite tailgating locale).

Time to trade the flip-flips and t-shirts for booties and sweatshirts—make those Nittany Lion sweatshirts. The best part about this weather is the electrified feeling in the air. In Happy Valley you can actually smell the leaves falling from the trees. And that means only one thing: Penn State football. 

Guest blogger Carolyne Meehan–a mom, former English teacher, and supporter of all things local–continues her diary of working on a local farm in exchange for fresh, local produce with Part Two: “You Know it’s Early When You Have to Wake The Farmer.” If you’re just joining in now, check out Part 1 here.

~Homegrown Happy Valley will be featuring guest bloggers during our Eat Local Challenge to allow others to share their experiences. This week Kristin Leitzel shares her passion for local food and why this week is the perfect time to get out and eat local.  Kristin is the Conference Program Coordinator for PASA, Centre County Buy Fresh Buy Local guru, and supporter of all things local.

There are two things I love more than (almost) anything. I love a fresh basil and tomato sandwich on Gemelli’s french country bread. I also love peaches. Well, blueberries, too. And fresh green beans are hard to beat. A good head of broccoli is a fine spectacle, come to think of it.

~Homegrown Happy Valley will be featuring guest bloggers during our Eat Local Challenge to allow others to share their experiences. This week Celeste Olmstead shares the secret to getting a big harvest out of a small space.  Celeste is a mom, former writer for Penn State, and supporter of all things local.