There may be no better way to observe the summer solstice than with a locally grown snack in one hand and a local glass of wine or beer in the other.

Tait Farm’s summer solstice celebration, from 1 to 4 p.m. on June 18 at 179 Tait Road in Centre Hall, will provide just that.

The free-to-attend event will feature snacks and beverages from the Elk Creek Cafe and Aleworks, Harrison’s Wine Grill, Otto’s Pub and Brewery, Mount Nittany Winery and Tait Farm Foods. Optional donations will benefit the Centre County Farmland Trust.

“What we’re trying to do is create a level of awareness of how much farmland is being lost to development in the county,” said Tait Farm marketing director Karen Myford. “There’s no ‘Buy fresh, buy local’ movement if you don’t have local farms.”

Besides eating and drinking, attendees can also take a hayride around the farm and watch artists from the Art Alliance of Central Pennsylvania create their interpretations of agricultural life. There will also be an arts and crafts booth for kids.

All of the art created at the celebration will be sold at the end of the day to benefit the farmland trust, Myford said. Volunteers from the ClearWater Conservancy, WPSU’s Local Food Journey website and Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture will also have booths set up to share information about “how local residents can sustain the farms, food and art in our region.”

The Centre County Farmland Trust works to put in place conservation easements on local farmland to ensure it is permanently preserved for agricultural purposes, regardless of future ownership.

According to the 2007 Census of Agriculture, between 2002 and 2007, Centre County lost 67 farms totaling 16,670 acres, which averages to a daily loss of nine acres a day over the same five year period.

Open for business

A few months ago, two local entrepreneurs frustrated with the rules and exclusivity of the existing business groups in State College branched out and started their own.

Sue Seybert, a business coach, and Erika Isler, a life coach, met less than a year ago as a result of their nascent businesses. In conversation, they both quickly came to the realization they shared a similar desire to make State College’s networking opportunities more accessible to newly minted entrepreneurs.

The result is Open-Positive Business Empowered by Community, a new networking group that, since St. Patrick’s day, has met at 12:30 p.m. on the third Tuesday of every month in the borough municipal building.

“Other networking groups in this area can be very clique-y and competitive. To me that’s one of the things that I think is holding us back from having a more dynamic and diverse business community,” Seybert said. “I would love to sew the seeds of more collaboration — which is not to say we sit around and sing kumbaya — but we can make this community even stronger by being more open.”

There are no quotas or attendance requirements, and meetings are kept to an hour, co-founder Isler said.

“The meetings are meant to be fun and informative, and to give you a chance to meet other people you might not otherwise get to meet,” Isler said.

They also effectively function as a do-it-yourself clinic for the local entrepreneur, with healthy doses of advice dolloped out to those who ask for it.

“Networking is a way to share ideas and get help. Instead of going it alone, there are so many great business people in our community who are very successful and have figured out how to get things done here,” Seybert said. “The community we're starting I think can provide a lot of answers, resources, and help for people who want to establish and grow their business here.”

Golf guide updated

With golf season in full swing, it might be a good idea to check out the online Central Pennsylvania Golf Guide, which has been updated to include most courses in Centre County and the surrounding area. The website, www.centralpagolfguide.com, now provides information for more than 50 regional golf courses, retailers and practice facilities in Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Centre, Clearfield, Fulton, Huntingdon, Mifflin and Somerset counties. It also has the inside scoop on course discounts and specials, according to the site’s creator, Jeff Sechler.

“I wanted to get a little more in depth, and provide more information than what you’re going to find on one of those national sites,” Sechler said. “I’ll give you the best, current information available on local courses.”

Cliff White can be reached at 235-3928.