Farm Arts Collective presents, ‘Johnny Appleseed: An Historical Fantasia’

Farm Arts Collective presents, “Johnny Appleseed: An Historical Fantasia” as its Dream on the Farm program, a roving theater experience across Willow Wisp Organic Farm in Damascus, Pa. Performances run through Aug. 9, Thursdays to Sundays.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and audience are invited to wander through the Museum of Curious History, an “old timey” side show of historical and mythical exhibits and artifacts installed in the Farm Arts Collective Agri-Cultural Center. The show begins at 7 p.m. and will be performed outdoors. This is the seventh production in the Dream on the Series, a decade long site-specific eco- theatre series that invites audiences to walk the 25 acre farmland and experience an original play, created and performed by the ensemble.

“Johnny Appleseed: An Historical Fantasia” is directed by Farm Arts Collective artistic director, Tannis Kowalchuk in collaboration with Farm Arts Collective, a local ensemble of actors, writers, designers, farmers, and musicians.

The performance, appropriate for all ages, explores the life and times of Johnny Appleseed. Born John Chapman in Massachusetts in 1774, Chapman went on to walk thousands of miles across America planting apple orchards to sell to expanding pioneer towns across New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. He also propagated thousands of unique apple varieties, many that are lost today due to commercial breeding of stable and transportable grocery store varieties.

Farm Arts Collective is located at 38 Hickory Lane, Damascus, Pa. Phone number box office 570-798-9530.