A few names to know before you come:

• Ashini J. Desai — co-founder and editor of Dandelion Revolution Press, PA-based poet and essayist whose work appears in journals and anthologies including Cities, River Poets Journal, and Yellow as Turmeric, Fragrant as Cloves.

• Natalya Bucuy — journalist, writer, and Dandelion Revolution Press editor based in Doylestown, PA, whose work centers memoir, non-fiction, and the truth of everyday human experience.

• Meg Groff — memoirist, short story writer, and longtime Bucks County family law attorney whose advocacy for survivors of domestic violence has shaped Pennsylvania law and policy.

Alongside them, community writers who signed up through the form will read their own poetry, essays, short fiction, memoir, and spoken word.

How the afternoon runs:

• 12:00 – 1:00: Doors open. Mingle, meet the writers, browse books from Dandelion Revolution Press, snacks and drinks.

• 1:00 – 3:00: Open mic readings begin.

A few notes if you’re coming:

• Free to attend. BYOB and potluck-style — bring something to share if you can.

• Signups to read are still open, and walk-in signups are welcome at the door.

• Books will be available for purchase directly from Dandelion Revolution Press Authors.

If you’ve been on the fence, this is the week to RSVP or forward this to the writer or reader in your life who would want to know.

143 Cedar Lane, Chester Springs, PA, 19343

See you Saturday.

We are excited to announce an event we’ve never seen before at Longview Farm — a free afternoon of literary readings centering women’s voices and stories.

Longview Farm and Dandelion Revolution Press are coming together to offer an opportunity for community writers to share their work and meet other creatives.

Dandelion Revolution Press is an independent publisher and online platform started by women writers from Pennsylvania. They feature stories of various genres in their downloadable literary journals and physical anthologies.

On Saturday, August 15th we will open the barn doors from 12 to 3pm for a reading and book sale event.

Join us for an open mic featuring a few writers from Dandelion Revolution Press alongside community members who wish to share their own work.

We’re inviting members of the community to participate in the open mic portion of the event. Poetry, personal essays, short fiction excerpts, memoir pieces, and spoken word are all welcome. Signups are open now, and walk-in RSVPs are welcome too.

The event will begin with time to mingle, meet participating writers, have some snacks and beverages, and browse books before transitioning into the open mic portion.

Whether you are a writer, fan of literature, or simply someone who enjoys meaningful conversations and creative expression, we’d love to see you there.

What to Expect

• Meet women writers

• Listen to poetry, essays, stories, etc.

• Sign up to read your own work

• Browse books and support independent writers/publishers

• Spend a summer afternoon at Longview Farm

• BYOB, potluck-style for food and snacks (bring something to share!)

If someone comes to mind who would enjoy this event, please feel free to share this information with them!

From My Eyes to Yours by multi-media artist Edna Santiago is a compelling exhibition that encompasses decades of her work. Santiago is an award-winning creative whose work spans mediums including painting, printmaking, and a range of other artistic pursuits. Several pieces in this exhibition have never been shown publicly before.

The Midshow Reception is coming up this Saturday, August 1st. Come meet Edna Santiago, hear her talk about the work and journey, and stay for two hours of live music from local jazz pianist Adam Faulk!

Here are a few things to keep in mind for the midshow reception:
→ Potluck-style (bring a snack or dish to share if you’d like)
→ Light snacks and non-alcoholic beverages provided by gallery
→ BYOB
→ 5:00pm to 8:00pm, rain or shine

In the meantime, enjoy some photos of Edna Santiago’s art — and come see them in person on Saturday!

For the past 16 years, inWorks LLC has supported the growth of local and national businesses, creative small businesses owners and artists, as well as the gallery and land at the farm that you know and love. Ilya founded inWorks LLC during a fundamental shift in the IT landscape; from wires in a service board to cloud technology. We are seeing that same shift happening now from cloud technology to artificial intelligence.

inWorks LLC uses artificial intelligence actively and deliberately in its daily operations, and that work extends to what we do here at the Longview farm.

As stewards of this land and as members of the Chester County community, we are opposed to large-scale data center development in our region. We are also supportive of responsible AI use. Those two positions are not in opposition.

What is happening in our community

Across Chester County and the entire United States, proposals to build large-scale data centers are generating significant community concern. In Downingtown and nearby municipalities, residents are showing up to meetings. Planning coalitions are fracturing. The conversation is loud and, in places, contentious.

If you live in this area, you have almost certainly heard about it. Local outlets like the West Chester Chronicle have been documenting the community response as it unfolds, and NBC Philadelphia has covered resident concerns about the proposed AI data center project in our region. The Chester County Planning Commission is maintaining a public resource on how these proposals are being evaluated at the county level, and Spotlight PA has been tracking the statewide legislative and environmental debate.

As people with a stake in this land and this community, and as an organization backed by 16 years of technology expertise, we believe we have a responsibility to say something with our unique perspective.We do not subscribe to anti-technology sentiments. But there is an important conversation to be had about how technology’s impact, and its benefit, get distributed — and who gets to decide.

Where we stand on AI

Longview Farm uses artificial intelligence in our work. We use it for operations, communications, land management planning, and organizational development. We have a Responsible AI use policy at inWorks LLC that we use when managing Longview Farm. We believe responsible AI adoption is required for organizations that want to operate with integrity.

We are not anti-AI but we are pro-accountability. Technology itself is not a problem. AI, like any significant technological development, is an evolution — one with enormous potential to support conservation work, environmental research, and community resilience when applied thoughtfully. What concerns us is not the existence of the technology, but the infrastructure built to support it at scale, and the systems — or absence of systems — governing who bears its costs.

The data center conversation that we should be having

Data centers have become a focal point for anti-AI sentiment in our region. We understand why, and we believe this framing misses the deeper problem and risks misdirecting public energy away from the harder conversations that actually need to happen.

The questions worth asking are not simply “should data centers exist?” They are:

1. How do we distribute the costs and rewards of large-scale technology infrastructure across communities equitably?

2. The communities defeating data center proposals right now are the ones with the wealth, open land, and political organization to win those fights. Those projects then move toward communities with less of all three. The cost of data center growth lands hardest on people who already had the fewest tools to negotiate what gets built nearby. Who will stand up for them?

3. What does responsible land use look like in a county where open space is a shrinking commodity, conservation interests compete with housing needs, and large industrial footprints require decisions that cannot be undone?

4. How do existing regional planning structures — many of which were not designed for this scale of infrastructure — adapt in a way that preserves community voice rather than allowing it to be bypassed?

Historically, the communities that absorb industrial impact are not the same communities that capture commercial benefits. We should be careful not to build a system that privatizes the financial upside of AI infrastructure while socializing the environmental, utility, land-use, and community costs.

Our specific concerns

We are paying attention to the proposals currently being considered in Chester County, and to the broader pattern they represent. Specifically:

1. Zoning processes that allow industrial-scale infrastructure to be approved without conditional use review — particularly in or near residential areas — reduce the meaningful participation of the people most affected.

2. The fragmentation of regional planning coalitions in response to these pressures, rather than their strengthening, leaves individual municipalities more vulnerable to development they cannot manage alone.

3. Water and energy consumption at data center scale, in a region already navigating drought conditions and energy price instability, deserves honest public accounting.

We are calling for:

• Zoning and land use decisions at this scale should include mandatory community impact review, with meaningful participation from residents, not just procedural compliance.

• Regional planning structures should be strengthened, not abandoned, when difficult infrastructure decisions arise. A coalition that dissolves under pressure cannot protect the communities it was built to serve.

• AI use — by organizations and the infrastructure that supports it — should be governed. That means internal policies, public accountability, and honest disclosure of environmental footprints.

• The conversation about where data centers are built, and who absorbs their impact, must explicitly address environmental justice.

Our commitment

Longview Farm intends to participate in regional conversations about AI infrastructure, land use, and resource governance as advocates for the kind of stewardship that makes this land and this community worth protecting. We will continue to use AI in our own operations, responsibly and transparently. We will continue to hold ourselves to the same standard of accountability we are asking of others. And we will continue to show up to the conversations that matter, even when they are uncomfortable.

Follow the conversation

If you want to understand what’s happening in Chester County and Pennsylvania around data centers and AI infrastructure, these are the sources we’re paying attention to:

• West Chester Chronicle — local coverage of the community response to data center proposals in our area. If you follow one source on this, we’d recommend theirs.

• Chester County Planning Commission — Data Centers resource page — the county’s own public resource explaining how data center proposals are being evaluated, what the zoning considerations are, and where the process currently stands.

• NBC Philadelphia — coverage of resident concerns over a proposed AI data center — regional broadcast coverage of Chester County residents pushing back on a specific proposal.

• Spotlight PA — statewide reporting on the data center debate — coverage of how the legislature and state agencies are handling the environmental and infrastructure questions.

This is an ongoing area of coverage for Longview Farm. If you want to follow how this unfolds in Chester County — the meetings, the proposals, the decisions, and what stewardship looks like in practice — subscribe below. We’ll keep writing.

If you stepped outside in Chester Springs, Phoenixville, or anywhere in Chester County this morning and thought the sky looked wrong, you’re not imagining it. That haze is Canadian wildfire smoke, and it’s serious enough that the state has issued a formal warning.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has declared a statewide Code Red Air Quality Action Day for Thursday, July 16, 2026, because wildfire smoke from Canada and Minnesota is pushing into Pennsylvania and creating Code Red concentrations of PM2.5.

The same alert is in effect across New Jersey, and Delaware is under a Code Orange. The National Weather Service in Mount Holly says the smoke is expected to thin somewhat on Friday after it peaks Thursday night. 1

We’re also in the middle of a heat wave, which makes today doubly hard on lungs and hearts. Philadelphia and several surrounding counties remain under a heat advisory Thursday, with feels-like temperatures climbing to 100 degrees or more.2

We wanted to send a neighborly note about what’s actually in the air, who’s most at risk today, and what will help in the days to come.

What exactly is happening

This is not a one-off. Since 2023, the North Midwest and northeastern United States has felt the affects of seasonal Canadian wildfires. Forward-looking forecasts from the Government of Canada indicate above-normal temperatures for nearly all Canadian regions for June, July, and August. Drought conditions have persisted across Canada for several years, and Natural Resources Canada’s modeling shows fire danger building through July across Canada with British Columbia facing the highest and most sustained fire risk. Smoke from those fires travels thousands of miles on the jet stream and settles over the Mid-Atlantic when the winds line up. That’s what’s happening today.3

What’s in the smoke, and why being alert matters

Wildfire smoke is not ordinary summer haze. It’s a mixture of gases and particles primarily from the burning of trees and plants, and of these air pollutants, fine particulate matter — also called PM2.5 — is the biggest threat to your health.

Even if you breathe smoky air for only one day, it can affect your health.

According to the EPA, short-term wildfire smoke exposure can lead to headaches, eye irritation, coughing, wheezing, difficulty breathing, chest tightness, bronchitis, reduced lung function, asthma exacerbation, emergency department visits for respiratory conditions, heart failure exacerbation, heart attack, stroke, preterm birth, and premature death.4

Most healthy people recover quickly from wildfire smoke exposure and will not experience immediate severe or long-lasting health effects. However, some groups are at higher risk — including children, older adults, pregnant women, people with heart or lung disease, and people with higher exposures such as outdoor workers.

The American Lung Association adds that people who work outdoors, people who live or work near pollution sources, people with lower incomes, and people of color also face higher risk from poor air quality.5

You don’t have to smell smoke for it to be affecting you. On a day like today, PM2.5 is elevated even where the haze looks mild.

How to check the air where you are

• AirNow.gov — enter your ZIP code for the real-time Air Quality Index (AQI).

• AirNow Fire and Smoke Map — a joint EPA and U.S. Forest Service resource that shows fine particle pollution from wildfires and other sources.

• The free AirNow app — same data on your phone.

The color codes: Green is good air quality, Yellow means moderate, Orange represents unhealthy pollution levels for sensitive groups, and Red warns of unhealthy pollution levels for all. Pennsylvania is Red today.6

What actually protects you (and what doesn’t)

A bandana or cloth mask does not filter PM2.5. What does:

• A well-fitted N95 or NIOSH-approved respirator. The EPA recommends wearing a NIOSH-approved respirator, such as an N95, to protect your lungs from smoke if you need to go outside when smoke levels are high. Snug over the nose and mouth, no gaps. Surgical masks and cloth masks are not designed for this.

• Keeping indoor air cleaner. Keep indoor air as clean as possible through indoor air filtration. Use a high-efficiency filter rated MERV 13 or higher if your HVAC system can safely use one. You can also buy a portable air cleaner or make a do-it-yourself air cleaner. Create a cleaner air room at home for a cleaner indoor air environment.

• Setting AC to recirculate. The American Lung Association recommends setting air conditioners to recirculate to avoid pulling smoky outdoor air inside. Drivers are also encouraged to keep windows and vents closed and use the recirculate setting in their vehicles.

• Rescheduling outdoor exertion. During Code Red Air Quality Alerts all residents should consider limiting their outdoor activities, and sensitive groups such as children, elderly residents, and those with respiratory illnesses should avoid long or intense outdoor activities and consider moving activities indoors. Yard work, runs, long dog walks, and youth sports can wait for Saturday. Saturday is expected to bring showers and high temperatures only in the low 80s.

• Not adding to the problem. DEP is asking residents and businesses in Alert areas to voluntarily help reduce fine particulate matter by avoiding gas-powered lawn and garden equipment, reducing or eliminating fireplace and wood stove use, and avoiding the open burning of leaves, trash, and other materials.

• Checking on neighbors. Especially older neighbors, neighbors with young kids, neighbors who work outdoors, neighbors without central air, and anyone managing asthma or COPD. A text is enough.

If this was useful, forward it to one neighbor today — especially someone older, someone with young kids, someone who works outside, or someone managing a heart or lung condition. Public health information travels through the people who care about you, not through algorithms.

Stay inside where you can. Check the map. Wear the N95 when you have to be out. We’ll be watching the sky with you until the air clears.

The good news: We will be back in action on Wednesday, July 8th from 9AM - 1PM.

Sign up to be a Pollin-teer!

The upside of a heat wave

Here’s the thing about calling off a solarization workday because it’s too hot: the heat is exactly what we’re trying to harness. The first field has been sitting under plastic through every one of these 90-plus-degree days. In a way, this is exactly what we have asked for.

Solarization works by turning the top few inches of soil into an oven. Under white plastic, in full sun, the soil temperatures will climb well past what most weed seeds, root fragments, and soilborne pathogens can survive. A stretch of weather like the one we’re in right now — sustained heat, long daylight hours, no relief overnight — is genuinely ideal. The field we already covered is cooking down there in a way that a milder June and julysimply couldn’t have delivered.

Getting the next two sections under plastic on the 8th means they get the back half of July, all of August, and most of September working for us.

What’s still ahead of us

Portions of two sections, running along the edge toward Cedar Lane, still need to be solarized. On Wednesday July 8th, we spread, weight, and bury the perimeter on both.

We’ll start with a short safety briefing and walkthrough, then move to the fields. Water breaks are built into the rhythm of the day, and the barn will be open and cool for anyone who needs to step out of the sun.

We need your help!

If you’re new to Pollin-Teering and want to jump in, or returning and can't wait to get back out there, Wednesday is a great one to start with. The work is clear, the crew is friendly, and you’ll be able to see what you did before you leave.

If you have questions, email Jocelyn at jocelyn@inworks.llc. Otherwise, sign up below and we’ll send you what you need to know by Wednesday: what to wear, what to bring, where to park.

Sign up to be a Pollin-teer!

The featured artist, Edna Santiago, is an award-winning and multi-talented creative whose work spans painting and printmaking, alongside a wide range of other artistic pursuits.

Santiago is one of those endlessly curious individuals who resists being confined to a single medium—moving seamlessly from painting to creating functional lamps from plant materials, to performing as a singer in a jazz band.

While painting is her primary form of expression, her work reflects a broad exploration of subject matter and technique. She has experimented with methods such as reverse painting on glass, and her relationship with music deeply informs her visual practice. Movement, in particular, plays a central role in her work.

Born and raised in New York City, Santiago lived in her ancestral Puerto Rico for many years before settling in Philadelphia around 2019. Her work has been exhibited across multiple cities, including at the Woodmere Museum in Philadelphia and Galeria Obra Alegría in Puerto Rico.

In 2019, she also curated Nor Wind Nor Water at the Da Vinci Art Alliance in Philadelphia, a powerful exhibition supporting Puerto Rican artists in the wake of Hurricane Maria.

“I have all these different artists within me,” Santiago reflects—an idea that resonates throughout her expansive body of work.

In her life, she has experienced great loves and profound losses, and painting has always been a way for her to channel those emotions into something deeply felt and beautifully expressed.

We are thrilled to present Edna Santiago’s work at Longview Farm throughout July and August, including several pieces that have not been exhibited before.

Join us for the opening reception on Saturday, July 11th—our 2nd Saturday celebration this month only, as the gallery will be closed for Independence Day.

That’s one section down. We have two more to go, and we’d like your help getting them under plastic on Saturday, June 20.

Sign up to Pollin-Teer!

What got done, what’s left

It’s physical work, and the first weekend’s crew did it well. They laid plastic across the field closest to the woodlot, hauled stones to weight the edges, and buried the perimeter so the wind couldn’t lift it. By Sunday afternoon, that field was sealed.

The other two sections, running along the field edges toward Cedar Lane, still look like they did before we started. That’s what we’re tackling Saturday.

A quick recap for anyone joining us for the first time

Longview Farm received USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service grant funding this year to establish a native pollinator habitat along the field edges of the property: a long border of wildflowers and grasses that, once established, will support bees, butterflies, birds, and the broader ecological function of a working landscape.

Before we can seed it, we have to clear what’s already growing. The most ecologically sound way to do that, at this scale, is solarization. We lay heavy plastic over the treatment areas, weigh it down, and let three or four months of summer sun do the work. In the fall, we pull the plastic and seed the pollinator mix directly into the prepared ground. The seed overwinters, germinates in spring, and the habitat takes one to two seasons of careful management before it becomes mostly self-sustaining.

So Saturday is the same work as last weekend, on the next two fields.

What to expect on Saturday, June 20

We’ll be on the property from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. The first 30 to 45 minutes is a safety briefing and walkthrough of the work. After that, about three hours of hands-on spreading, weighting, and burying edges, with water breaks built in. We start early to stay ahead of the afternoon heat.

Sign up to Pollin-Teer!

Why this work matters

Federal conservation funding for projects like this isn’t something that comes around every year, and the cycle that made this project possible isn’t guaranteed to be there in the same form next time. The chance to put habitat into the ground at this scale, with this kind of technical and financial support behind it, is real right now.

If you have questions, email Jocelyn at jocelyn@inworks.llc. Otherwise, sign up below and we’ll send you what you need to know by Friday: what to wear, what to bring, where to park.

Six people got the first field done. With a few more of us on Saturday, we finish the rest.

Sign up to Pollin-Teer!

If you've already signed up to volunteer with us, please take a minute to confirm your day:

Sign up to confirm your volunteer days

If you have not signed up but would like to join, you can sign up in the same place!

Federal conservation funding for projects like this doesn’t always come around. When it does, the responsible thing is to use it well.

Longview Farm is a recipient of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation grant funding this year, which means we have support, both financial and technical, to establish a native plant border along the field edges of the property.

The first weekend of physical work is June 13 and 14. We’d like to invite anyone who wants to put hands on it to come help.

What we’re building

The pollinator habitat will be a long border of native wildflowers and grasses running along the field edges, planted into ground we’ve prepared specifically for it. Once it’s established, it’ll be one of the liveliest corners of the property: the kind of habitat that brings back bees, butterflies, and birds, and creates cover for the smaller wildlife that depends on the structure native plants provide. From a distance, in late summer of its second year, it should look like a long ribbon of color along the edge of mown field.

It’s also useful land. A native pollinator border supports the crops we grow, the orchards in the surrounding area, and the broader ecological function of a working landscape. Habitat loss has been one of the quieter drivers of pollinator decline in this region, and small farms restoring habitat at the edges of working fields are part of how that gets reversed.

Why next weekend looks like plastic

This is the part that surprises people. Before you can seed a pollinator habitat, you have to clear what’s already growing: the existing weeds, grasses, and seed bank that would otherwise outcompete native seedlings. The most ecologically sound way to do that, at this scale, is solarization. We lay heavy plastic over the treatment areas, weigh it down, and let the summer sun do the work. The plastic sits for three to four months, and the ground underneath becomes a clean bed.

In the fall, we’ll come back, pull the plastic, and seed the pollinator mix directly into the prepared ground. The seed overwinters, germinates in spring, and then takes one to two seasons of careful management before the habitat becomes mostly self-sustaining.

So the work next weekend isn’t glamorous. It’s spreading plastic, weighing it down with stones from the fieldstone border, and burying the edges. It’s the kind of work that doesn’t look like much in the moment but sets up every season that follows.

Two days, your hands welcome

The volunteer weekend is Saturday, June 13 and Sunday, June 14, from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM each day. We start early to stay ahead of the afternoon heat.

The first 30 to 45 minutes is a safety briefing and walkthrough of the work, and then about three hours of hands-on work with water breaks built in.

Anyone on Sunday is welcome to stay for a small potluck from 2:00 to 5:00 PM, during Gallery hours. Bring something to share if you’d like, but it’s not required. A good meal in the shade after the morning’s work feels like the right way to close out the day.

If you’d like to come, please fill out the short sign-up form here:

Sign up to confirm your volunteer days

We’ll follow up with everything you need to know, what to wear, what to bring, weather notes, by mid-week.

Why this matters now

The federal programs that support pollinator habitat establishment on small working landscapes don’t survive every administration, and the funding cycle that made this project possible isn’t guaranteed to be there in the same form next year. The work is real, the partnership is real, and the chance to get this kind of habitat into the ground at this scale doesn’t always come around. We’re grateful for it, and we’d like as many people as possible to be part of it while it’s here.

Whether you’re showing up for a few hours, the whole morning, or both days, the habitat will be better for it. And so will what comes next.

This exhibition presents a retrospective of the late Evelyn Cleopatra Facison, an artist and gallery owner whose career unfolded across multiple mediums, names, and roles. The 2D works on view were created by Evelyn under various surnames associated with different periods of her life.

Primary source materials included in the exhibition document Evelyn’s activity as both an artist and a cultural organizer in Philadelphia and beyond. Legal records from 1968 confirm her operation of Facison’s Art Gallery in Philadelphia, establishing her place among the earliest Black women to own and operate an art gallery in the city.

Contemporary newspaper and magazine coverage trace her exhibitions, public recognition, and visibility across civilian and military contexts, including features at Fort Monmouth in New Jersey.

The exhibition is presented with the assistance of Evelyn’s son, Alfred Newell Bradley Jr., who has contributed original woodworking elements. The artwork, archival documents, and present‑day collaboration form a living record of an artistic life—one that is remembered through fragments, but whose impact continues to resonate.

You’re invited to the Midshow Reception on Saturday (June 6th) from 5pm to 8pm. There will be an artist Q&A with Alfred and another of Evelyn’s relatives. After, we will enjoy live acoustic music outside!

We hope to see you there. Family-friendly event, BYOB.

Gallery Coordinator leah@visitlongviewfarm.com

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What we’re planting

A pollinator habitat is a planted patch of native flowering species, chosen so that something is in bloom from spring through frost.

Over time, this patch will become a small, dense, working ecosystem in the middle of our property — a place where the land is doing something for the wider region, one bloom at a time.

A well-designed pollinator habitat does more than feed bees. The flowers feed butterflies, moths, hummingbirds, and the songbirds that depend on the insects above. The leaves and stems become host plants for caterpillars and nesting material for ground-nesting bees — and there are far more species of those in our region than most people realize.

Pennsylvania alone is home to hundreds of native bee species, most of them solitary ground-nesters that look almost nothing like the European honeybee that gets all the press. A working habitat feeds the pollinators we know by name and the dozens of small species we rarely see, the ones that quietly hold the rest of the food web together.

Why this matters, here and now

Native pollinator populations across North America have been in steady decline, and habitat loss is the largest driver. Lawns, pavement, and monoculture farmland don’t feed insects. Each patch of restored habitat is a stepping stone — a place pollinators can refuel as they move across the landscape.

A property like Longview Farm, planted with intention, becomes part of a network of habitat patches stitched together across Chester County and the broader Pennsylvania Piedmont. It’s one of the most direct ecological contributions a piece of land like this can make.

An invitation to volunteer

We’d love to share the first day of this work with people from our community, and we’re putting out a call for volunteers to help with the workday in mid-June.

Workdays at Longview tend to feel like a good weekend spent with people who care about the same things. We’ll provide water, snacks, gloves if you need them, and clear instructions. You bring yourself, closed-toe shoes, and an openness to spending a day with people you may not know yet.

The form below will let us know who’s interested and which days work for you. As soon as supplies are here, we’ll send everyone who signed up the workday details — what to bring, where to park, and what to expect when you arrive.

Sign Up to Volunteer

If you have questions in the meantime, you can email Jocelyn at jocelyn@inworks.llc.

Longview is the kind of place that gets built slowly — by a lot of different hands, over a lot of seasons. We’re three years into shaping it as a community space, and this pollinator habitat is the piece of that work the land will keep doing on its own, long after planting day is over. There’s something good about putting things into the ground that will outlast all of us — and we’re grateful for the people who keep showing up to help us build this place, season by season.

We hope you’ll be one of them.

Our third exhibition of the year is a particularly meaningful one, and you are invited to the opening reception this Saturday!

For this exhibition, Alfred Newell Bradley Jr. presents a personal collection of paintings by his late mother, Evelyn Cleopatra Facison. For the first time, Alfred’s own wood creations will be exhibited alongside his mother’s artwork, bringing their creative practices into direct conversation within the gallery space.

Together, these works tell a family story—one rooted in creativity, resilience, and legacy.

Evelyn Cleopatra Facison was a formidable presence in the mid-twentieth century: an entrepreneur, artist, and mother whose life and career were multifaceted.

She began her professional life as a clerk typist and went on to become a manager within the U.S. Army Signal Corps—where she lived in Korea for a time. Alongside her professional career, Evelyn cultivated a creative practice, grounded in formal training and sustained by a commitment to the arts. She studied at the Flesher Art Memorial in Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and under painter Humbert Lincoln Howard.

Working under the surname “Facison,” she later opened her own art gallery in Philadelphia, where she coordinated and hosted a number of exhibitions—creating space for artists and contributing actively to the rich cultural life of the city.

Now, decades later, her son Alfred carries that legacy forward. His wood creations—carefully constructed with quality materials—stand beside Evelyn’s paintings not only as individual works, but as echoes of shared values.

This exhibition offers an opportunity to witness how artistic inheritance can take many forms, unfolding across generations. We are grateful to share this family narrative with our community and to honor Evelyn’s life through this exhibition.

Please join us for the opening reception of “Art and Legacy” on Saturday, May 2nd from 5–8pm!

*RSVP here so that we know how many people to expect.

Gallery Coordinator | leah@visitlongviewfarm.com

For those who might not know, Longview Farm owner Jessi Stead is also the founder of Playthings Studio—a kinetic jewelry brand. She will be showing her collection in the gallery during the CC studio tour on Saturday, May 16th and Sunday, May 17th.

“Playthings Studio is a brand with a mission to replace distractions one playful jewelry design at a time. Fidget spinners disrupt focus and garner unwanted attention—they aren’t for every occasion, woman, adult, or professional. Playthings Studio solves this problem with kinetic fidget jewelry that keeps the relief of fidgeting while getting attention for the right reasons: art, beauty, and expression.”

Each piece features moving parts designed for tactile play, paired with minimalist metal essentials and eye-catching geometric forms.

As the artist behind Playthings Studio, Jessi Stead’s process is innovation through investigation—exploring how parts fit together until a design emerges that never existed before.

There are 172 artists and 59 studios participating in the Chester County Studio Tour! Visit their Meet the Artists page for detailed information.

Longview Farm is registered as Studio #10. If you are planning to partake in the studio tour festivities, please add us as a stop on your journey! While you’re in the area, head over to Warwick Furnace Farm (Studio #1) to see Claire Rosen’s studio, Nilanjan Bhowmik (Studio #14), and Muse Artisan Boutique (Studio #9).

Check out this guide if you need help planning your weekend. There are also downloadable maps with studio numbers here!

Hope to see you there.

Gallery Coordinator leah@visitlongviewfarm.com

Well, we are celebrating the halfway point of the exhibition this coming Saturday (April 4th) at 5pm! This mid-show reception, in particular, will be very special.

There will be an artist talk and Q&A followed by music. But not just any music—the music of the artist himself. Leroy used to DJ and occasionally still makes beats/artful sounds when he has the time, so we could not miss the opportunity to request a performance.

And I have a feeling there will be impromptu dancing—so please come out and join us! From 5pm to 8pm. Bring your kids, bring your family, bring your friends.

Artwork Spotlight

While I have you here, I want to highlight a couple of Leroy’s works as part of the artwork spotlights series that we do for each exhibition. There will be more artwork spotlights throughout April.

Fun fact to chew on: Leroy builds and stretches his own canvas!

The Brink (2025)

Medium | Oil on Canvas | Dimensions | 16 x 14 x 1.4

The artist’s description:

“In his book Hyperobjects, Timothy Morton discusses human ecology at the end of the world. The reality of the situation unfortunately means we are at the literal brink. While this precipice isn’t perceived to be one with a vision of hope at the end, like those before, we do still have the power to change things. Simply giving up is not how humans made it to this point.

We have knowledge those before us did not have, combined with the wisdom from observing their experiences. That is the power needed for a breakthrough.”

New World Water (2025)

Medium | Oil on Canvas | Dimensions | 36 x 48 x 1.5

The artist’s description:

“There are places were TB’s common as TV / Cause foreign-based companies go and get greedy / The type of cats who pollute the whole shore line / Have it purified, sell it for a dollar twenty-five.

Still entirely relevant, this painting was inspired by a 1999 song by hip-hop artist Mos Def (Yasiin Bey).”

Artwork spotlights are just small pieces of the whole picture. Come on out to LVF for viewing of all 30 works.

On Saturday, Leroy David Nunery III will talk a bit about his art and process; there will be opportunity to ask him questions or make observational comments about the exhibition.

Hope to see you then!

Text: Gallery Coordinator leah@visitlongviewfarm.com

A week ago, we had the opening reception for Hyperobjects—a solo exhibition by Leroy David Nunery III. We are thrilled to host this body of work as Leroy’s first official solo exhibition. Not only is he an abstract painter, but also a teacher, sculptor, and occasional musician.

Hyperobjects is a collection of abstract works created by the artist in 2025 and 2026. The artist names two primary inspirations: Timothy Morton’s Hyperobjects: Philosophy and Ecology after the End of the World, and the Afrofuturistic perspectives of Sun Ra and his Arkestra.

Here are some images from the opening reception!

“Some of these works may be thought of as glimpses of moments in a frenetic time, a present somehow neatly captured. The present in its current form, like the past, may not always make sense to everyone. What matters now more than ever though, is how we all imagine and see the future…”

You can view the exhibition at Longview Farm on Sundays in March and April from Noon to 3pm. Leroy’s art is available to view and purchase online here.

If you missed the opening, we are having a midshow reception on April 4th! Leroy used to DJ and make his own music, so he has agreed to be the performer for his mid-show reception—in his words: “I will make some artful noises in the space.”

An artist playing music during their exhibition is a first—you don’t want to miss it! Mark your calendars for April 4th.

In the meantime, stay sane.

Text and photography: Gallery Coordinator leah@visitlongviewfarm.com

We are delighted to announce our second solo exhibition of 2026: “Hyperobjects” by Leroy David Nunery III.

Leroy David Nunery III is a multi-talented individual—painter, sculptor, teacher, musician—whose work merges gestural mark‑making with atmospheric color fields to create abstractions that shift between motion, tension, and perception.

He holds a B.A. in Sociology from University of Pennsylvania and an M.F.A. from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA). Before returning to his studio practice, Leroy spent fifteen years in the corporate world working as a graphic designer and web developer.

He has exhibited at PAFA, as well as Moody Jones Gallery (Glenside, PA). Additionally, he participated in the Men, Masculinity, and Love exhibition (2025) at Camden FireWorks (Camden, NJ), and was featured in the PXV Art Mag Issue No.7. His work “Opticks” is featured in the permanent holdings at PAFA.

Leroy David Nunery III creates compositions that feel both spontaneous and intentional. His palette shifts from muted neutrals to vibrant purples and heat‑soaked oranges, while his forms dissolve and reassemble across the canvas like traces of thought or memory.

The apparent randomness of my abstractions is subconsciously influenced by my daily life. We often dream of realities that are considered “unrealistic” despite the information being fed to us from entirely real experiences and scenarios.

“Hyperobjects” draws inspiration from Nunery’s graduate research—particularly the writings of Timothy Morton, who has a book titled the same way. For Nunery, this word/title encompasses themes of space and time, coexistence, and the shifting nature of human perception.

We are so pleased to display a collection of Leroy David Nunery III’s paintings and sculptures for the months of March and April. Join us to celebrate this art and art.

Opening Reception | Saturday, March 7th | 5pm-8pm

Light refreshments will be served; BYOB encouraged; family-friendly event.

Text: Gallery Coordinator | leah@visitlongviewfarm.com

It’s time for the mid-show celebration of “The Silence Between,” a solo exhibition by Iranian visual artist Moones Zeydabadi. There will be live acoustic music in the gallery during this reception.

We’re looking forward to celebrating this moving body of work and the talented artist behind the collection!

Here are some images from the opening reception on January 3rd:

This work is available to view and purchase on our Gallery Shop or in-person.

As usual, the time of the Midshow Reception on February 7th is from 5pm to 8pm and there will be light refreshments involved (BYOB)! In case you are new here, we are a family-friendly, inclusive space.

Hope to see you there! Tell your friends & neighbors!

Text & Photography: Leah, Gallery Coordinator

Thank you so much for gathering on Sunday. It was encouraging to meet likeminded individuals in Chester County who do not agree with what is happening in this country. We weren’t sure if anyone besides our inner circle would show up, and then you all did!

Thank you to for posting in the Indivisible Facebook group and offering his property as a space for collective grieving and mutual care. Thank you to Patrick Seyler for leading the vigil.

Thank you for bringing yourselves out on a Sunday afternoon, for lighting a candle in honor of Renee Good, and for being vulnerable with the group.

We’d like to stay in touch!

As discussed, there is a Facebook group that we’ll use moving forward to communicate and/or plan future gatherings around social justice and political discourse. It is a private group, so those who attended the vigil on Sunday will receive an invitation to their email shortly.

If you didn’t attend the vigil but are interested in this kind of community, please comment below.

Stay sane, everyone. See you soon.

I wanted to take a moment to thank you all for being part of our community here at Longview Farm. Whether you attended one event in the past 1.5 years or every event, whether you were one of our artists, visitors, or sponsors, you play a role in shaping our story. We are so grateful for that.

From gallery exhibitions to first-time workshops, let’s take a look back at highlights from 2025!

January | Hannah Zartman’s Solo Exhibition

In January and February, we hosted our first exhibition of 2025 titled “Toward a Tender Place.” The artist, Hannah Zartman, is a West Chester University alumnus who specializes in relief printing processes and was our youngest exhibiting artist to date!

February | Artist Talk & WCU Collab

We organized an Artist Talk for the closing day of Hannah Zartman’s exhibition. We partnered with Dr. Lisa Huebner, professor at West Chester University and Director of The Women’s & Gender Studies Collection. A recording of Hannah’s artist talk is available to watch here.

March | Raven George’s Solo Exhibition

On the 1st Saturday in March, we celebrated the opening of “Wildflower Joy,” a solo exhibition by Trenton-based artist Raven George. Inspired by the landscapes of her childhood, the intricacy of human experiences, and spirituality, George’s art reflects on shared vulnerability.

April | Artist Talk on Earth Day

On April 26th, we celebrated two things: Raven George’s artist talk and Earth Day. Raven George gave a beautiful talk, and the audience embraced her with gentleness. A recording of Raven’s artist talk is available here.

We then commenced our 1st Annual Earth Day Celebration with sessions of yoga and qigong, followed by communal music-making, and concluding with a stroll around the property.

May | Shayna Parker’s Solo Exhibition

May brought our 3rd exhibition of the year: “Pushing Up Daisies” by Shayna Parker. Shayna’s paintings are chromatic and whimsy, combining abstract elements with realism. She utilizes color blocking and layering to create depth through dynamic composition.

June | Second Artist Talk

In June, we continued our artist talk series with Shayna Parker. During these talks, artists were given free range to discuss whatever they desired without being guided by a facilitator. A recording of Shayna’s artist talk is available here.

Nocino Crafting Workshop

Then, at the end of June, we started our Nocino Crafting workshop—the first for Longview Farm! We harvested walnuts around the property and put them in jars to marinate with grain alcohol, cloves, cinnamon, coffee beans, lemon peel, and all spice.

July | Intergenerational Exhibition

This was the first time we had three generations of artists in the same exhibition. Not just any artists, but women of the same family—Kiya Nicole, Miho Kahn & Eiko Kahn. Encapsulating a hundred cumulative years of work, this was the first time their work had been shown together in a gallery. “Kami” was a very special show that we were honored to display.

Plein-Air Painting Workshop

Also in July, artist Alexis Bocelli led an outdoor painting workshop on the farm! The result was an acrylic landscape painting, capturing the cool blues of a hazy summer evening. Thank you to for getting plenty of amazing footage of the artist in action.

September | Triple Vision

In September, we welcomed our 2nd group exhibition: “Triple Vision” by abstract artists Barbara Shelly, Denise Sedor & Laurie Lamont Murray. This was a special show celebrating friends and colleagues—the artists have known each other for over a decade.

Celebration Fest

The 2nd Annual Celebration Fest was in September, welcoming friends and family to the farm for an afternoon of live music, potluck, and an Oak-planting ceremony dedicated to Ilya Lehrman’s late grandmother.

October | Final Artist Talk

October brought our 2025 artist talk series to a close, concluding with the artists of “Triple Vision.” Shelly, Sedor, and Murray discussed their respective backgrounds as artists and humans, guided primarily by the audience’s questions.

November | 2nd Annual Holiday Exhibit

In November, our 2nd Annual Holiday Exhibit opened. We partnered with 3 arts organizations—Chester County Art Association, Aston Mills Arts, and Haverford Guild of Craftsmen—to display select works of 30 artists. This number also included exhibiting artists of Longview Gallery. It was a successful show!

Black Friday Market

We planned a small art market on Black Friday to encourage our community to shop locally this season and support small businesses and artists. Four vendors set up booths inside the gallery. Visitors could shop from vendors and/or the Holiday Exhibit.

Mayan Fire Ceremony

Our friend and colleague, Patrick Seyler, planned a Mayan Fire Ceremony in November to initiate the Mayan calendar year. Shaman Harold E. Smith led a sacred sound initiation with various instruments and Mayan spiritual guide Genaro Jacinto led the transformative fire ritual.

December | Winter Gathering

To honor the Winter Solstice and close out the year, we hosted a small potluck gathering on December 19th, led by Patrick Seyler, to express gratitude for 2025 and set intentions for 2026. The candle formation represents the sun in the middle and the 12 months around it.

If you stayed until now, thanks for reading about our year!

Our team has many ideas for Longview Farm’s future, and we look forward to making those visions reality. At the very least, we hope our property is a safe, inclusive, and welcoming space to all.

Join us in 2026 for new exhibitions, gatherings, and workshops. Starting January 3rd: gallery opening reception for “The Silence Between” from 5pm to 8pm. See you there!

Text: Leah Harper

Photography: Aaron Brown, Leah Harper, Patrick Seyler

For those who don’t know, Ricky Eller and I started a workshop series earlier this year focused on crafting nocino (black walnut liqueur) from scratch using sustainable ingredients and walnuts harvested on Longview Farm’s property.

We harvested the walnuts on June 22nd—the weekend of the Summer Solstice—as the Italian traditions and folklore recommend. We strained the various batches one month later, then left them to age for six months.

This was our first time conducting this homesteading experiment, so we didn’t know what to expect. The nocino mixtures were ready for bottling this past Sunday on the Winter Solstice.

In addition to bottling, we had a taste of each batch. Some varieties have notes of cinnamon and coffee, while others have notes of orange and all spice.

This is our first official Longview Farm product made with resources from the property which is very exciting! It’ll be shared with friends and family.

This nutty liqueur with herbal undertones is a great wintertime drink. As a digestif, the traditional Italian way to enjoy nocino is sipping it out of a small glass—perhaps paired with a dessert.

However, there are also some interesting cocktail recipes to enjoy.

Nocino Manhattan

A complex and slightly bitter twist on a classic.

• 2 oz Brandy

• 1 oz Nocino/Walnut Liqueur

• 2 dashes Black Walnut Bitters

Stir ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry.

Nut Bunny

An original cocktail with autumnal forests on the mind.

• 1 1/4 oz bourbon

• 1/2 oz nocino/walnut liqueur

• 1/2 oz lemon juice

• 3 dashes walnut bitters

• Rosemary or lemon peel for garnish

Combine all ingredients with ice and shake. Strain into an old fashioned over ice. Garnish with rosemary or lemon peel.

Nocino Alexander

A decadent and slightly retro winter treat.

• 2 oz spiced rum

• 1 oz nocino/walnut liqueur

• 3/4 oz cream

• 1/4 oz simple syrup

• 1 pinch cinnamon or grated nutmeg for garnish

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with cinnamon or grated nutmeg.

Now that we have a trial run under our belts, we plan to repeat this nocino-crafting workshop in 2026! Stay tuned for details in the new year.

Happy Holidays!

Text: Leah Harper

Photography: Aaron Brown and Leah Harper