Family Farmacy: Solstice Stories

A cozy, hands-on celebration of the winter solstice, honoring the longest night and the slow returning of the sun.

As winter settles in, and on this day of the longest night of the year, many cultures around the world turn to candles, warm teas, and storytelling as symbols of the promise of returning light. Join us in exploring the meaning of the solstice, crafting hand-poured beeswax candles, blending herbal teas, and sharing seasonal tales through our own puppetmaking.

Together, we’ll learn simple candle-making and decorating techniques, blend botanicals and scents that support winter wellness, prepare a soothing solstice tea, and create shadow puppets to tell our own solstice story.

Growing family wellness through plants and play.

Note: We very generously interpret family here at the greenhouse. We know that welcoming everyone of all ages makes us storng and vibrant. Elders, children, youth, young adults–everyone is welcome and appreciated. We know that caregivers come in many forms–chosen family, birth family, those who need the love of family are all welcome.

Workshops are rain or shine.

Accessibility: Our kitchen/classroom space is wheelchair accessible. With prior planning, we can add a few small mats onto the pebbled ground of greenhouse to make a small wheel-chair accessible path. Our learning garden has grass paths, and the entrance is through a gate with a small, raised entrance. Our tables can be lowered/raised, and we have several backless benches or stools. Our kitchen is in regular use, and while we try to cook without peanuts, much of our cookware is shared and we cannot guarantee a nut-free environment. We have a first aid kit, and the closest AED is in another building several yards away. Drinking water is made available in refillable pitchers.

When inside the greenhouse and kitchen we will open our double-doors and windows to vent the space and encourage masking and social distancing when in more closed-in spaces.

Our closest bathrooms are a building away, about a one-minute walk. A gender neutral bathroom is also available, and this is accessible by key which you can request from staff. We are not a scent-free zone, and because herbalism classes take place here, cannot guarantee that the site will be clear of any essential oil smells. If you have needs not addressed here, please reach out to Mallory Craig at [email protected].

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Host or Publisher The Horticultural Society of New York