Destination ChesCo: Camphill Village Kimberton Hills

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Kimberton
Camphill Cafe serves lunch throughout the week. (Image via Rachel Stevenson)

Last month, I attended the wedding of a close friend and her now-husband at Camphill Village Kimberton Hills in Kimberton, PA, five minutes south of Phoenixville on Pughtown Road.

The couple – both lovers of organic food, community gardens, and farming – opted to have the event outside, surrounded by friends, family, and colleagues.

Out of curiosity, I had visited the Camphill Village website to learn more about the wedding venue prior to the big day. “Camphill Village Kimberton Hills is a dynamic farming, gardening, and handcrafting intentional community that includes adults with developmental disabilities,” the website read.

I had also learned from community members that Camphill Village is one-of-three Camphill Communities in Chester County. While Camphill Village Kimberton Hills assists adults, Camphill Special School provides K-12 education and Camphill Soltane offers a college-like experience for young people as they manage their transition into adulthood.

In downtown Phoenixville, one can find the Soltane Coffee Shop and Soltane Store on Bridge Street. Both shops employee adults with developmental disabilities and financially support Camphill Soltane programs.

Based on the above information, I wasn’t sure what to expect at the wedding. For some reason, I visualized an outdoor picnic, a casually dressed bride and her husband, and one hundred tree-hugging gardeners sitting in a circle, hand-in-hand, surrounding the couple in song as they exchanged vows.

I was wrong. It turns out that Camphill Village Kimberton Hills is uniquely beautiful, and the wedding was semi-formal, spiritual, and one-of-a-kind.

The colors of the venue were stunning. Outdoor gardens were filled with vibrant purple and yellow wildflowers, the street to the cafe was lined with brightly painted pink and blue buildings, and black cows and orange chickens greeted us near the entrance.

While the wedding featured a pig roast and a potluck offering, during the week, visitors can visit the Camphill Cafe, “run by an able crew of Kimberton Hills residents and managed by Hilla Haut, who has many years of experience in creative whole foods cooking,” for a tasty lunch. The menu features primarily vegetarian specials all prepared by residents and volunteers.

Camphill Kimberton is also the perfect venue for weddings and events.

I’ve driven back to Camphill Kimberton twice this weekend to snap a few photos of the chickens along Pughtown Road feeding in their coop. And I hope to visit the cafe soon.

If you haven’t had a chance to visit the cafe, or attend an event at Camphill Kimberton, please visit their website.

Also make sure to support Camphill Kimberton’s  programs by giving to CVKH.

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