{"id":2385,"date":"2025-10-13T14:44:41","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T19:44:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/?p=2385"},"modified":"2025-10-13T14:44:41","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T19:44:41","slug":"cider-and-sunset-a-fall-event-worth-slowing-down-for","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/2025\/10\/13\/cider-and-sunset-a-fall-event-worth-slowing-down-for\/","title":{"rendered":"Cider and Sunset: A Fall Event Worth Slowing Down For"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Photo provided by: Rachel Rost-Allen<\/b>)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\n

There’s a calm that comes with fall evenings on campus\u2013brisk, unhurried, and soft. You can hear leaves gently raking the sidewalk and smell that first crisp air of fall. For a moment, life is peaceful. On Oct. 14, 4-7:30 p.m., JCCC\u2019s Open Petal Farm will open its gates for Cider and Sunset\u2013a free community event that grasps everything we love about autumn: good people, good food, and that simple feeling of connection. Grab your friends and a light jacket and get ready for an awe-inspiring, golden evening.<\/p>\n

Instead of rushing between classes or phone calls, visitors can wander rows of fruits and vegetables, cider in hand, while the light slips below the horizon. There will be free snacks, games, and farm tours, plus some readily available produce for purchase from our farm stands. All families are welcome to come, and so are the curious\u2013anyone who wants to see what a community looks like when it’s homegrown.<\/p>\n

Farm manager, Claire Zimmerman<\/b>, says that\u2019s exactly the point.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis event is about getting people involved in our food system,\u201d Zimmerman said. \u201cCider and Sunset is a big week of local food and produce, so we\u2019re trying to get people to just come and taste it\u2013try something new, because it\u2019s so delicious.\u201d<\/p>\n

The farm sits quietly on the west side of campus, marked \u201cOPF\u201d on the map. Parking in the Police Academy is free and close enough that you can smell the soil right as you step out of your car.<\/p>\n

For Rachel Rost-Allen<\/b>, Sustainability Education and Engagement Coordinator, the event is a gentle reminder that the beautiful four acres of farm deserves more eyes\u2013and footsteps.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really trying to raise awareness that we have a farm,\u201d Rost-Allen said. \u201cThere is so much potential here for students and community members who might not even realize what\u2019s growing right in their backyard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond cider and gold sunsets, the evening also shines a light on JCCC\u2019s Sustainable Agriculture program, which offers tons of scholarships and hands-on learning for students eager to work in food systems that nourish both people and the planet.<\/p>\n

At its core, the night isn\u2019t about programs or promotions. It\u2019s about connection\u2013the kind that happens when conversations drift between rows of greens and laughter slashes through the wind. So, if your Tuesday evening is open, head west and let the day wind down with you. Take a walk, taste something grown locally, and watch as the sky blazes with colors before it fades to dark. You might go home with a pumpkin or two, but most likely, you\u2019ll leave with that rare feeling that you were exactly where you needed to be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There’s a calm that comes with fall evenings on campus\u2013brisk, unhurried, and soft. You can hear leaves gently raking the sidewalk and smell that first crisp air of fall. For a moment, life is peaceful. On Oct. 14, 4-7:30 p.m., JCCC\u2019s Open Petal Farm will open its gates for Cider and Sunset\u2013a free community event that grasps everything we love about autumn: good people, good food, and that simple feeling of connection. Grab your friends and a light jacket and get ready for an awe-inspiring, golden evening.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":2386,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[318],"class_list":["post-2385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life"],"author_meta":{"display_name":"Saul Epstein","author_link":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/author\/sepstein\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/files\/2025\/10\/Farm-Tour-2-2024.jpg","coauthors":[{"link":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/author\/eleyna-vazquez\/","display_name":"Eleyna Vazquez"}],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["Life<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Life<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"1","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 11 months ago","modified":"Updated 11 months ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on October 13, 2025","modified":"Updated on October 13, 2025"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on October 13, 2025 2:44 pm","modified":"Updated on October 13, 2025 2:44 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"authors":[{"term_id":318,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"eleyna-vazquez","display_name":"Eleyna Vazquez","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","author_category":"","first_name":"","last_name":"","user_url":"","job_title":"","description":""}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/files\/2025\/10\/Farm-Tour-2-2024.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2385"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2385\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2387,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2385\/revisions\/2387"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2385"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.jccc.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=2385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}