CAMDEN — This summer, Dooryard Farm invites the community to gather around and celebrate the flavors of the season with At the Dooryard Table, a new series of cooking demonstrations, tastings and conversation. Each session will feature fresh produce right off the farm as well as agricultural products from Dooryard’s community of local food makers.

Held every other Saturday in July and August at Dooryard Farm's farmstand at 238 Mechanic Street in Camden, the series will be hosted by longtime food educator, cook, and writer Frank Mentesana. Each session explores a different moment in the growing season, offering practical cooking ideas, stories from local producers, and tastings inspired by the week's harvest.

"We want these gatherings to be an invitation to gather around the table and share ideas," says Marina Sideris, Dooryard’s co-owner, in a news release. "The focus is on simple techniques, seasonal ingredients, and the joy of connecting with people over food."

Each event runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m..

2026 Summer Schedule

July 11 – Summer's Arrival
Cooking with summer’s first vegetables - summer squash, fennel, chicories & greens

July 25 – Fresh From the Fields
Featuring fresh beans (romano, fava, bush), cucumbers, and more

August 8 – Sun-Ripened
Cooking with nightshades (eggplant, tomatoes)

August 22 – Late Summer Table
Finally! Long-awaited favorites like sweet & hot peppers. 

Collaborators will include Heiwa Tofu, Red Kettle Kimchi, Ewing Fruit Co., Sewall Orchard, and more.  Guests will leave with seasonal inspiration, recipes, tasting samples, and a deeper connection to the farm and makers that make Midcoast Maine's food community so vibrant.

The series is open to the public.

For additional information and other 2026 events, visitDooryard's events page or follow @dooryardfarmer on Instagram.

About Dooryard Farm

Dooryard Farm is a small family-run farm serving Midcoast Maine. Their produce can be found at the Dooryard Farmstand and in local restaurants and markets. Founded in 2013 by Cooper Funk and Marina Sideris, they grow a diversity of vegetable crops and flowers using low-till and no-till practices. The farm is proudly certified organic by MOFGA and the Real Organic Project, and dedicated to an ecological approach to agriculture, where the primary goal is building and maintaining soil health and fertility.

Since 2022, after purchasing a neighboring dahlia operation, Endless Summer Flower Farm, Dooryard Farm has also been home to Dooryard Dahlias.  Dooryard’s dahlia field features over 80 varieties and thousands of plants and is open to visitors in August and September.  Dahlia lovers can purchase potted plants in late spring and early summer; bouquets and blooms in late summer; and tubers in winter and early spring. 

The Dooryard Farmstand, located at 238 Mechanic Street in Camden, connects the community with locally grown produce, flowers, and specialty foods from a network of Maine farmers and producers.  Open seasonally from May-November, the farmstand features Dooryard’s own produce alongside many other local agricultural products including specialty fruits and vegetables, fresh bread, eggs, yogurt, mushrooms, tofu, kimchi, miso, vinegars, hot sauces, tea blends, milled grains, dry beans, fresh flowers, and much more.