Dear Friends of Riley's Farm:

Civil War Re-Enactment: Hold The Date! This coming April 29 we are expecting Civil War reenactors representing the 9th New York, 8th Alabama, 2nd Florida, 1st Louisiana Engineers, 5th New York Zouaves, 2nd Union Cavalry, 4th US Artillery Battery B, Co. E, 3rd Confederate ‘Hart’s’ Confederate Engineers, and the 1st Union Battalion Company D. We're also expecting appearances from President Lincoln and General U.S. Grant. You SAVE if you buy your tickets online ahead of time. Details ♦ Tickets

A living history story: I was talking to a reenactor who has been in the hobby for over 35 years. His band of soldiers bring enormous attention to detail and they have appeared in several major feature films over the years. "These days," he confessed, "major historic sites actually want us to appear without any of our weapons. No muskets. No cannon. No sabers. No bayonets." Years ago, when a government official proposed we teach children about American history without depicting battles, one of our bakery girls shot back, "Well, we didn't get our country by asking nicely."

Big Band Nights: It's 1946 in old Oak Glen. It can't POSSIBLY get any more "dreamy" than this: A real big band. The Harmony Sisters. Country Cooking. Dancing. Apple Blossoms. A 1940s Costume Contest (40s attire is encouraged but not required.) Details ♦ Tickets It's worth it just to stand around at the end of the evening and sing "God Bless America" together. (See video below)

The Emerald City Project: My recent emails have revealed a fighting spirit among our guests, both here in California and across the country. The most common response was "stand your ground." It seems to me, all across the land, there is an enormous demand for venues that celebrate the American story. Very few people, it turns out, want to see a gender-appropriating freak on their beer can, nor do they want to visit a Williamsburg, brimming with social-justice malcontents. They want real stories about real people, to be certain, but they want the whole story -- the losses AND the wins, the villains and the heroes.

Going forward, with the exception of apple-picking Saturdays, the farm will be moving towards an admission model the rest of the year. Provisionally entitled "American Adventures" or "American Stories," we will begin the experience by attempting to dramatically interpret the lives of 18th century Chesterfield, New Hampshire -- on a singularly dramatic day in August of 1777, when the town was bracing for the rumored arrival of Hessian mercenaries under the command of General Burgoyne. We hope to mix drama, comedy, and old world skills. If you would like a sneak peak at our planning process, you can read a little below. Even better, if you know people with expertise in these areas, and a flair for drama, drop us a line.

We're building an entirely new kind of attraction. Pray for us, and don't be afraid to join our kitchen cabinet. We need pastors, lawyers, engineers, investment bankers, in addition to the fiddlers, gardeners, and storytellers.

Make no small plans,

James Riley

Riley's Farm

RileysFarm.com

Follow us on..

MeWe - Instagram - TikTok

Guest Motivation/Value

I believe we have to provide our customers..

• A chance to engage: interact with first person interpreters and try their hand at old world crafts, skills, and rituals
• A sense of spectacle: art direction on all fronts -- clothing, props, buildings. The experience of a different, more colorful world is extremely important.
• Good food, drink, and a chance to relax sometime during the experience. The experience should allow for both the bold and the shy guest, the mere lurker and the active participant.
• The Sound of Music pay-off: Think about the Revolutionary War Adventure closing speech. A sense that God is on His throne and that our lives are dear to Him, that history speaks to us about life's purpose.

Skills and Challenges: Guest participation in history’s crafts and traditions, of course, is key. The scratch of a quill pen on rag paper or the mastery of a “footing-step” in 18th century dance represent the sort of immersive experience we need to provide. It’s also key to distinguishing us from the largely passive, if thrilling, theme park “ride.” You can remember the thrill of the Matterhorn, and that has its place, but it doesn’t require much of you. The challenges we create at Riley’s Farm should make you stretch a little, test your skill and intellect, and even stand the chance of becoming a lifelong interest. From a marketing standpoint, we want activities that people will tell their friends about. From an intellectual and spiritual perspective, we want to inspire the guest’s personal growth. Imagine a guest, in the distant future, writing the words, “My lifelong love affair with making paper began with a teenage visit to Riley’s Farm.” That would be “winning.” 

The list, so far..

9 Pins

Apothecary

Archery

Baking

Basket weaving

Battle strategy

Beekeeping

Black Powder Chemistry

Blacksmithing 

Block printing fabric

Book binding

Brandy distillery

Brick making

Broom making

Candle-Dipping

Calligraphy and sealing wax

Carpentry and joinery

Catechism  

Cheese making

Child rearing

Chocolate 18th Century Drinks

Cidering

Coin Stamping

Cooper/barrel making

Courtship and Marriage

Cryptography

Dog/Goat Carting 

Dairying

Debate  

Doll-Making

Dueling

Dying

Death 

Education

English Country Dance

Etiquette 

Fashion and/or Beauty

Fencing

Fire starting

Flintknapping

Food preservation 

Hand-stitching

Hair dressing

Harness maker

Hearth cooking vs. cooking over a fire or either or both

Herb drying - and uses of

History Heroes

Hunting and animal tracking

Knife/weapon sharpening

Laundry

Leverage 

Magistrate

Manual of Arms & Drilling:  

Map Making

Mead making

Metal work

Midwifery

Militia 

Milking

Milling

Millinery

Mulching and composting

Orienteering and Map Reading 

Plumping Mill

Paper-Making

Post & Beam Building:

Pottery

Printing press

Rope making

Saddler

Saying it the Old Way

Sermons of the 18th Century

Scything Wheat

Seasonal Farming: apple-pruning

Seasonal Farming: harvesting wheat

Seasonal Farming: keeping chickens

Self care/hygiene 

Shaving with a straight razor

Sheep Shearing

Shepherding A Flock of Sheep or Goats

Shingle making

Shoemaker

Silhouettes

Singing in Harmony 

Spinning

Spoon Whittling

Stone Cutting

Storytelling

Surgery 

Surveying

Soap-Making

Tailor vs Seamstress

Tea and Drinking Chocolate

Tomahawks

Weapons

Weaving

Wheelwright

Wig-making

Wood chopping 

Wooden Bowl Making

Wool Carding and washing