People attending the 2024 Wyoming Bee College participate in a workshop. The upcoming UW Extension Homesteading Rendezvous will include a presentation about the basics of beekeeping. (UW Photo)
On Saturday, Sept. 6, University of Wyoming Extension will lead a Homesteading Rendezvous. The unique event will offer educational workshops for anyone interested in producing more goods at home, particularly food items.
The conference begins at 8 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. It will take place at the Clay Pathfinder building on the Laramie County Community College campus, located at 1400 E. College Drive in Cheyenne.
The event will cover four broad subjects: livestock, food preservation, growing plants and canning. Participants may attend up to six workshops on topics from beekeeping to making boxelder syrup to saving seeds.
“Homesteading by definition is a lifestyle of self-sufficiency,” says Hannah Mills, Laramie County horticulture program coordinator and co-organizer of the event. “It takes grit to live in Wyoming, and learning skills of food preservation or livestock husbandry with community is a great way to find joy where we live.”
At 12:15 p.m., keynote speaker Hudson Hill will discuss how to successfully produce food in Wyoming, drawing on his decades of experience with homesteading, agriculture and research.
To view a full schedule of events and to register, visit https://wyoextension.org/laramiecounty/homestead-rendezvous/. The cost is $30, or $45 to attend a hands-on canning session. Lunch is included in the registration fee. Interested parties should pre-register for the event, as space is limited.
In the hands-on canning sessions, participants will practice boiling water and pressure canning during a three-hour workshop. Attendees will receive expert advice and go home with the canned goods they create during the workshop.
Interested attendees must register for the morning or the afternoon canning session when they register for the conference. Up to 12 participants may attend each canning session.
A vendor fair featuring local businesses will take place throughout the event. Vendors will showcase kitchen supplies, food items and other products that may be used in homesteading activities.
The conference features a raffle. A 13-foot-wide geodesic dome greenhouse, valued at $2,500, will be disassembled and raffled off at the end of the event. To receive the geodome, the raffle winner must be present.
The Homesteading Rendezvous is funded by a USDA Wyoming Department of Agriculture specialty crop grant. Mills collaborated with fellow extension colleagues Sara Fleenor, Jedidiah Hewlett, Brenna Litynski, Abby Perry, Amy Smith and Jennifer Thompson to organize the conference.
Email Mills at hmorneau@uwyo.edu or call (307) 633-4480 with questions.
About University of Wyoming Extension
UW Extension serves Wyoming communities by helping residents apply university research and resources to practical problems. Since 1914, UW Extension has provided educational programs and tools to the state’s 23 counties and the Wind River Indian Reservation. From 4-H programming and pesticide safety education to food preservation and nutrition courses, UW Extension upholds the university’s land-grant mission by offering learning opportunities for people of all ages.
UW Extension staff members help Wyoming residents boost agricultural production; care for lawns and gardens; cultivate future leaders; support individual and community well-being; and develop thriving businesses. To learn more, visit www.uwyo.edu/uwe or call (307) 766-5124.
