Trails & Tales is a great way to get the family outside in the summer. With a children’s story and kid-friendly nature walk, you’ll meet other families with littles who love to enjoy the outdoors together.

We will walk about 1 mile of the Powerhouse Loop Trail, taking breaks to read books from the Thompson Falls Public Library.
The trail is primarily dirt, and stroller friendly.

Outhouses are located at the Park and a short way down the trail. Drinking water is also located at the Park. The walk typically takes around an hour.

NOTE: Located in the Mountain time zone at 10 a.m. (9 a..m. Pacific)

Join us for Aster After Hours, an evening gathering designed to bring our community together around good food, local art, music, conversation, and the simple joy of spending time outdoors. Wander through the gardens with a drink in hand, listen to music drifting through the nursery, share a meal from local food trucks, and discover a rotating collection of artists, makers, growers, and vendors from around our region.

This is more than an event. It is a place to slow down, reconnect, and enjoy the people and creativity that make this community special.

Whether you come to meet friends, bring the family, browse the vendors, or simply sit among the flowers and take in the evening, there is a place for you here.

Expect:

• Local food trucks

• Beer, wine, and refreshing beverages

• Live Music

• Artisans, food makers, and garden vendors

• Open gardens and gathering spaces

• A welcoming atmosphere for all ages

Come stay awhile. Wander the gardens. Meet your neighbors. Celebrate summer with us at Aster.

Learn from the talented wire bender, Weezil. Using recycled materials, students will bend and twist copper to make this beautiful bracelet. All tools and materials are provided.

Cost: $35

Trails & Tales is a great way to get the family outside in the summer. With a children’s story and kid-friendly nature walk, you’ll meet other families with littles who love to enjoy the outdoors together.

We will walk about 1 mile of the Powerhouse Loop Trail, taking breaks to read books from the Thompson Falls Public Library.
The trail is primarily dirt, and stroller friendly.

Outhouses are located at the Park and a short way down the trail. Drinking water is also located at the Park. The walk typically takes around an hour.

NOTE: Located in the Mountain time zone at 10 a.m. (9 a..m. Pacific)

Compost tea is a low-cost, high effective way to improve plant vigor and garden health.  At this workshop, you will learn how to easily and affordably make a home brewer from a trash can or 5-gallon bucket!

One of the best ways to support vibrant, resilient soil is through a simple, living brew made by steeping high quality compost, along with other natural components, in water that is highly oxygenated in a vortex shape for ~19 hours.  This controlled brewing process multiplies the diverse community of beneficial microorganisms. The result is microbe-filled liquid that you can apply as a drench or foliar spray.  

How it Helps Soil and Plants:

• Breaks down organic matter: excelerates decomposition of leaves, compost and other organic matter in your soil

• Boosts Nutrient Availability: microbes unlock and deliver more nutrients to plants, leading to stronger growth from a full spectrum of nutrition.

• Builds Soil Vitality:  Introduces a thriving microbial population that adds diverse beneficial life to tired or compact soils, improving structure, water retention, and overall biological acitivity.

• Promotes Balance & Disease Resistance:  Oxygen-loving (aerobic) microbes outcompete less desirable organisms, reducing issues from fungus and other non-beneficial microbes.

Aster Garden will brew a batch of Compost Tea that workshop participants can take home. 

BYO bucket!

Workshop taught by Paul Mahara of Spokane Organics

Learn the basics of carving functional and beautiful wooden spoons. Instruction will be given in how-to source and select the best woods for carving, how to safely use a knife, gouge and/or hook knife and how to rough out, carve and finish a spoon.
No prior experience required.

Cost: $35

Learn about Idaho's native plants and test your knowledge while competing to win plant prizes!
Door prizes will be given to all who show up to play!

Summer Wednesdays at Aster are always a win!

Make a handmade natural broom, great for cleaning cobwebs from tall ceilings. Wrap one layer of broom corn onto a long light stick, then weave the stems and sew the brush part. This style of broom uses the same skills as making a sweeper broom but is much easier and quicker to make. Moderate hand and arm strength is required.

Cost: $40

Join us as we launch what could become one of the Panhandle's most unique community growing projects.

During this engaging evening, you'll:

• Discover the fascinating history of North America's forgotten fruit.

• Learn why pawpaws once played an important role in American life, and why they're making a comeback.

• Hear how a community-led citizen science project could help establish pawpaw trees across the Panhandle and simple ways you can support this!

• Explore other unique and delicious fruits that can thrive in our northern climate.

Have you ever heard of a pawpaw?

It's the largest fruit native to North America, and our only native custard fruit. Rich, creamy, tropical, and fragrant, a ripe pawpaw has been compared to a blend of banana, mango, and vanilla custard. It's delicious fresh and equally at home in breads, pies, muffins, ice cream, sorbets, fruit leather, even beer and mead. Once you taste one, you're hooked.

Pawpaws were abundant across the American landscape.  Lewis & Clark referenced their importance as a food source. For centuries, pawpaws nourished Indigenous communities, early explorers, and settlers. Today, they're making a comeback, and local seed and plant breeder Joseph Zarr believes the Idaho Panhandle could become part of their next chapter.

Over the past four years, Joseph has been growing and selecting northern-hardy pawpaws that can survive and thrive in our climate. Now he's ready to officially launch the Panhandle Pawpaw Project, a citizen-powered effort to establish breeding populations of pawpaw trees across our region and bring this remarkable fruit back into our modern food system. 

Whether you're a foodie, gardener, fruit grower, food forest enthusiast, plant nerd, history buff, or simply love discovering something new, this promises to be a fun and fascinating evening.

Spend a day making a broom that you can use daily and pass on to your kids someday. This one-of-a-kind broom will be ready for years of service in your home or to give to that special person in your life. Moderate hand and arm strength required.

Cost: $60

Feast in the Forest is a celebration of gratitude for the amazing support of our donors. This invitational gala takes place under the boughs of the cedars and twinkling evening lights on the land our donors helped protect. Guests savor forest-themed cuisine and cocktails crafted and sourced locally.

Our major fundraiser of the year, it is our pleasure to host a casual-formal event consisting of live music, delightful mingling, and a multiple-course meal served on a table winding through the woods.

If you are interested in receiving an invitation, contact us for pricing and details for the 2026 Feast in the Forest.

Join us for Aster After Hours, an evening gathering designed to bring our community together around good food, local art, music, conversation, and the simple joy of spending time outdoors. Wander through the gardens with a drink in hand, listen to music drifting through the nursery, share a meal from local food trucks, and discover a rotating collection of artists, makers, growers, and vendors from around our region.

This is more than an event. It is a place to slow down, reconnect, and enjoy the people and creativity that make this community special.

Whether you come to meet friends, bring the family, browse the vendors, or simply sit among the flowers and take in the evening, there is a place for you here.

Expect:

• Local food trucks

• Beer, wine, and refreshing beverages

• Live Music

• Artisans, food makers, and garden vendors

• Open gardens and gathering spaces

• A welcoming atmosphere for all ages

Come stay awhile. Wander the gardens. Meet your neighbors. Celebrate summer with us at Aster.

Don’t let the name fool you - this is a family friendly event.

The Pine Street Woods access road doesn’t plow and sand itself. This annual block party-style fundraising event supports the partnership between KLT, POP, and SNC that makes your community forest trails accessible all year round.

Bring your pocket change for plowing and get ready for a good time for a good cause. Check back for details as the event date draws nearer.