FAQs

Hilltop Farm is at 1616 Mapleton Avenue, Suffield, CT 06078. We're about 25 minutes from downtown Hartford and 30 minutes from Springfield, MA — easy from I-91 (exit 47W or 47E) and Bradley International Airport.

Parking is on-site and free. For events with heavier attendance (Farm Fest, HalloweenFest, Oktoberfest), follow the volunteer directors and signs — parking moves to the front pasture.

The grounds, walking trails, and outdoor spaces are open to the public from dawn to dusk daily, year-round, unless a private event is in progress.

The Creamery and the Big White Barn keep their own seasonal hours — the Creamery typically operates from late spring through early fall. Check the Creamery page for current days and times before driving out.

Office hours are by appointment. Email info@fofah.org to set one up.

No. The grounds and trails are free and open to the public. Some events (such as the Bald Eagle Golf Tournament or ticketed concerts) have a registration fee — that's noted on each event's page.

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, we rely on donations and memberships to keep it that way.

Leashed, well-behaved dogs are welcome on the grounds and trails. Please pick up after your dog and keep them on a leash — we share the property with nesting bald eagles and other wildlife, and dogs off-leash spook them.

Dogs are not permitted inside the Big White Barn or at most ticketed events (service animals always excepted). When in doubt, check the specific event page or call ahead.

Often, yes — especially in the colder months when leaves are off the trees. There's a viewing scope on the wetlands bridge that gives you a steady look at the nest from a safe distance.

During nesting season (February through mid-July), hiking is prohibited in the area directly in front of the nest in coordination with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). Posted signs mark the boundary.

Read more on our Saved By An Eagle page.

The Big White Barn has accessible bathrooms and ground-floor access. The driveway, main lawn, and the area around the Creamery are level and walkable.

The walking trails are unpaved and can be uneven, with some grade. We're always working on improvements; if you have specific accessibility questions for an event you're planning to attend, email us at info@fofah.org ahead of time and we'll do our best to accommodate.

We host events through most of the year — Farm Fest, the Bluegrass Festival, the Vintage Car Show, Old Time Base Ball, Annual Open House, Oktoberfest, the Craft Fair, the FOFAH Concert Series, HalloweenFest, the Indian Motorcycle Rally, and the Bald Eagle Golf Tournament.

See the full list with current dates on our All Events page.

Each event page has its own ticketing details. Some events are free and open to the public; others (concerts, the golf tournament) sell tickets through Eventbrite or our own registration forms. Look for the “Buy Tickets” or “Register” button on the individual event page.

Members get advance notice and, for some events, member pricing. Become a member to be the first to know.

Refund terms are posted with each event. As a general rule, ticket purchases are non-refundable, but they're often transferable — send a friend in your place and email us their name.

If we have to cancel or reschedule (weather, force majeure), we'll email registrants with a rescheduled date, a credit toward a future event, or a refund. Full terms live in our Terms of Use.

Most of our events go on rain or shine — the Big White Barn and large outdoor tents give us shelter for almost anything. For events that are outdoor-only, the event page will say so and we'll email registrants with the call no later than the morning of.

If we have to reschedule, your registration carries forward to the new date.

Click the “Get Reminder!” button on any event page and we'll email you a week before. If you have an account, you can manage reminders from your dashboard. Reminders are separate from our newsletter — you can have one without the other.

We offer three membership categories — Individual/Family, Business/Corporate, and Photographer. Pricing for each is listed on the signup page for that category. Most members give at the Individual/Family level.

Choose a category on the Become A Member page to see current rates and what's included.

Yes. The Friends of the Farm at Hilltop, Inc. is an IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN 81‑0595608). Membership contributions and donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.

We send an emailed receipt at the time of payment and a year-end summary in January. Talk to your tax advisor about your specific situation.

Beyond the satisfaction of supporting a working community farm, members receive:

• Advance notice and member pricing on select ticketed events
• Our quarterly member newsletter
• Recognition in our donor materials (you can opt out anytime)
• For Photographer members: scheduled commercial access to the grounds and barn
• For Business/Corporate members: sponsorship and recognition opportunities

Specific benefits by tier are on each tier's signup page.

Yes. On the membership signup form, choose “Pay by Check” to generate a printable form. Mail it with your check (payable to Friends of the Farm at Hilltop) to:

Friends of the Farm at Hilltop
1616 Mapleton Avenue
Suffield, CT 06078

Memberships run by calendar year. We send a renewal reminder by email in late autumn for the following year, and you can renew anytime from your member dashboard. Renewals don't auto-charge — we'll always ask first.

Straight into the farm. We're an all-volunteer organization — no paid staff — so your donation pays for things like barn maintenance, the grounds, educational programs, conservation work with the USDA and Connecticut DEEP, and keeping community events free and open to all.

When you donate you can designate your gift to Where Needed Most, Gardens & Grounds, Educational Programs & Events, or History & Preservation.

Yes. FOFAH is a 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN 81‑0595608). Donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. You'll receive an emailed receipt right after donating.

Yes. Card payments are processed by Authorize.Net, a major third-party processor. We don't store your card number, CVV, or banking details on our servers — only a transaction reference for our records.

All pages that handle personal information use HTTPS. See our Privacy Policy for the full picture.

Yes. The donation form has a Tribute Gift section where you can donate “in honor of” or “in memory of” someone. We'll send a card-style email to a recipient you specify, letting them know a gift was made — without disclosing the amount.

Yes to all three. For checks, choose Pay by Check on the donation form to generate a printable mail-in slip, or mail a check directly to Friends of the Farm at Hilltop, P.O. Box 372, Suffield, CT 06078.

For stock transfers, donor-advised fund grants, IRA qualified charitable distributions, or planned gifts, please email info@fofah.org and we'll connect you with the right person.

Many do. Search your employer's matching gift portal for our legal name — The Friends of The Farm at Hilltop, Inc. — or use our EIN 81‑0595608. If you need a W-9 or documentation for the match, email info@fofah.org and we'll send it over.

All kinds. The most-needed roles are:

• Buildings & grounds: mowing, painting, light repairs, general upkeep
• Gardening: planting, weeding, and maintaining the community gardens and flower beds
• Events: setup, greeting, parking direction, and cleanup at festivals
• Construction: hands-on help with restoration projects on the outbuildings
• Professional skills: marketing, event planning, finance, IT, photography, social media

Sign up on our Volunteer page and tell us what interests you — a coordinator will follow up.

No. Most volunteer help is event-by-event or project-by-project. Some volunteers come for a single Saturday workday in the spring; others help out for years on a committee. Whatever you can give — an hour, a day, a season — we'll find a way to use it well.

Yes — we love hosting team service days. Companies have come out to build fences, paint outbuildings, clear trails, and help prep for big events. Email info@fofah.org with a rough date and group size and we'll plan a project that fits.

Yes. We host high-school and college volunteers regularly and are happy to sign forms documenting hours. Volunteers under 18 need a parent or guardian's permission and may need adult supervision depending on the task. Contact us before signing up so we can match you with appropriate work.

Yes. Hilltop Farm hosts weddings, corporate retreats, milestone celebrations, and private parties — indoors in the 1914 barn, outdoors on the lawn, or both.

Bookings, pricing, and tour scheduling are handled on our dedicated events site: eventsathilltop.com.

The 1914 Big White Barn seats up to 175 guests for a formal dinner, or up to 300 guests for a standing reception. The Lawn (a 16,000-square-foot outdoor space) can hold a tented event for 350+ seated guests. The Barnyard and Exhibition Hall is suited for smaller, more intimate gatherings.

We have a list of caterers, florists, photographers, and planners we've worked with happily and can recommend — but you're not required to use them. The barn has a caterer's prep area, a bar, and accessible bathrooms; outside catering is welcome.

Visit eventsathilltop.com for the current vendor list.

Yes, with a licensed bar service. Connecticut requires a permit for serving alcohol at private events on the property. Our wedding coordinator can walk you through the requirements and recommend bartenders we've worked with.

Personal photography on the public grounds is fine. Commercial photo shoots, including engagement, family, and senior portraits, require a Photographer membership or a single-session permit so we can coordinate with other events on the property.

See the Photographer Membership page for details.

Year-round, we run Community Gardens, Dandelion Explorers (kids' nature program), Sunday Morning Yoga, Dog Obedience Classes, and Audubon Bird Walks. Some are seasonal, some run year-round — the Programs page has the latest schedules and registration links.

Plots are first-come, first-served and tend to fill quickly each spring. Sign up through the Community Gardens page. If plots are full, get on the waitlist — we're often able to place late signups when others can't continue mid-season.

Yes. Programs for children, including Dandelion Explorers, are run by background-checked volunteers and require a signed permission slip from a parent or guardian. Younger children may need a parent to remain on-site — the program description will tell you.

No. You can donate, register for most events, and sign up for the newsletter without creating an account. Members — and people who want to manage event reminders or update their preferences — benefit from having one.

On the Sign In screen, enter your email and click Email Me A Sign-In Link. We'll email you a one-time link that signs you in — no password needed. Once you're in, you can set a new password from your dashboard if you'd like.

Every email we send has an unsubscribe link, and signed-in members can fine-tune which categories they receive (newsletter, event alerts, volunteer updates) from the dashboard. Transactional emails — donation receipts, membership confirmations, password resets — come regardless of preferences because they relate to your account.

No. We don't sell, rent, or trade donor or member information. We share information only with service providers who help us operate (like Authorize.Net for payments and our email delivery service), or when legally required.

Full details are in our Privacy Policy.

Email info@fofah.org from the address on the account and we'll close it. We'll delete or anonymize your personal information except for records we have to keep for accounting and tax reasons (donation records, typically retained for seven years).