April 6, 2024 – Spring Growers Meeting

Join us for a great day of educational presentations, food, and shared enthusiasm for the American chestnut. RSVP today!

Where: Allen Theatre, 36 E. Main St. Annville, PA 17003 — Google Map
When: Saturday, April 6 (8:30 AM to 2:30 PM)

Speakers and Presentations
Program Schedule (tentative)

 

Tickets: $25 All tickets include coffee, breakfast snacks, and lunch catered by the Backstage Cafe. Student Discount:  RSVP and pay $15 with current ID

To attend please
Purchase your ticket in our online store
or RSVP by April 3rd.
To RSVP, Complete this short form: https://forms.gle/SQUUKPPvLbBYuGPPA
or
Contact our office:  mail@patacf.org | 814-863-7192


 

NUT DISTRIBUTION: We will be distributing wild American seed nuts at the meeting, but there are limited supplies. If you would like to join the queue for nuts please email Noah Vincent at nev5073@psu.edu

ABOUT THE ALLEN THEATRE

Seeking Volunteers for Outreach Event

2024 Outreach Opportunities
Volunteer to help us reach out and build support for our restoration mission! Check out the list below and email Jean if you can help or if you just have questions. Some of these events are new but several are regular events!  mail@patacf.org |814-863-7191
 
 
4/19/2024
EcoAction Earth Day at PSU | University Park, PA 
Focus is to educate PSU students about the environment and conservation.
 Outdoors on the Hub Lawn  (11 am – 5 pm)
Penn State Students and Alumni would be a great fit here!
 
4/27/2024
Core Creek Park Earth Day |  Langhorne, PA 
   Community event to celebrate earth day and educate the public.
Outdoors at Core Creek Park (11 am – 2 pm)
 
Native plant sale with focus on conservation education.
Outdoors at Overlook Park (8 am – 1 pm)
 
4/28/2024
Twelfth Wild Earth Fest | Mountainside, NJ
Trailside Nature and Wildlife Center (11 am – 5:00 pm) 
 
5/4/2024
Central PA Native Plant Fest  | State College, PA
Native plant sale with focus on conservation education.
Outdoors at Millbrook Marsh (10 am to 3 pm)
 
5/24/2024
Environmental Day | Hanover, PA
Student activity day with focus on conservation.
Outdoors at Hanover Middle School (9:00 am to 11:30 pm)
 
6/8- 6/9 2024
ECO Event at Codorus State Park | Hanover, PA
Codorus State Park (SAT-11:00 am to 6:00 pm) and SUN-11:00 am to 5:00 pm)
 

6/15/2024
Backyard Landowners Conference | Williamsport, PA

Pennsylvania College of Technology (10 am – 2:00 pm)
 
6/15/2024
Duncannon AT Festival |  Duncannon, PA
Street Festival (10 am – 4:00 pm)
 
 
8/13- 8/25
Ag Progress Days | Pennsylvania Furnace, PA
 Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center at Rock Springs 
August 13, Tuesday 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
August 14, Wednesday 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
August 15 Thursday 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
    
10/27-29/2024 
Autumn Lights Festival | West Milford, NJ      
More details coming soon!
 
  • April is for Earth Day!

TACF Chestnut Chat

Coming up …

Evolution of Castanea and Cryphonectria

Join us February 16, 2024, from 11:30AM – 1:00PM (EPT), for the next LIVE Chestnut Chat. In this edition, Joanna Malukiewicz will discuss the interplay in the evolution of Castanea and the chestnut blight fungus (Cryphonectria parasitica). Listen in to learn about the fascinating history of ancient natural hybridization among chestnut species across East Asia, Europe, and North America, and whether or not hybridization has played any role in the relative blight resistance or susceptibility of the extant chestnut species.

Register here!

Volunteer Workdays 2024:

Get All-In, On Restoring the American chestnut Tree!

Sign up to join hands-on volunteer work at Penn State University. Contact our Orchard Manager to sign up to be kept in the loop on upcoming volunteer days.

Noah Vincent, PSU Orchard Manager
 484-725-4044 | nev5073@psu.edu

Targeted American Chestnut Conservation Missions

In order to help achieve our wild American conservation objectives, Chapter Board Member, Lake Graboski is setting up targeted “American Chestnut Conservation Missions”. Each mission will identify areas of special interest to our breeding program. We encourage individual hikers and local conservation groups to join these missions to help search for American chestnuts. 

Mission #1: Southwestern PA (Issued 6/3/2022)

Mission #2 Southern New Jersey

Returning to the Historic Allen Theatre

We are excited to return to the Allen Theatre in Annville, PA for our 2024 Spring Growers Meeting. We met here 2 years ago as we came out of the isolation of the pandemic and it was a delight. Located at 36 East Main Street in Annville, the theatre was originally known as the Hippodrome in the early 1900s. Later known as the Aster theater the story of this small-town theater on Main Street is similar to the stories of many of its kind. Small and serving a rural community it operated as a second-run theatre, declining in the ’60s and ’70s with the rise of malls and shopping centers it was forced to close down in the ’80s.

That could have been the end of this story but in the early nineties, the fates smiled on Annville and its closed-down theatre. A local grandmother, Mary Jane Hicks (1915-2006) won the Pennsylvania State Lottery and funded the restoration of the theatre and adjoining café under the direction of her son Skip. The theatre was reopened as the Allen Theatre on September 21, 1995, in memory of Skip’s father, Allen Hicks who had passed away in 1981. The Allen Theatre provides a nostalgic experience with all the perks of a modern facility including a cool cafe and very comfy seating. 

Annville is one of those charming small towns that dot the rural landscape of Pennsylvania. Located in Lebanon County, east of Hershey, PA, and north of Lancaster, PA. It is home to Lebanon Valley College. Parking is free and we will be providing a map to help with that.

PARKING: Free public parking is available.