Admission is $5 per person and free for Glidden Homestead members. Admission includes the lecture, a bowl of soup, and guided tours of the historic Glidden Homestead.

Cliffe’s talk will introduce audiences to the pawpaw, North America’s largest native fruit and a tree uniquely suited to the Midwest climate and landscape. Often overlooked despite its deep regional roots, the pawpaw is gaining renewed attention for its ecological, agricultural, and community-building potential.

“This program reflects what Soup-er Sunday is all about — bringing people together around history, place, and new ideas,” said Jessi Haish LaRue, Glidden Homestead Executive Director. “By exploring pawpaws and their role in the Midwest, we’re connecting our historic site to living traditions, environmental stewardship, and the future of community-based education.”

The lecture will also highlight growing local efforts to expand pawpaw awareness and cultivation. In 2024, Cliffe planted pawpaw seeds on the Glidden Homestead campus, laying the groundwork for future educational programs and community plantings. The Soup-er Sunday event will explore new opportunities for involvement through the Pawpaw Festival, the newly formed Pawpaw Foundation, and collaborations with universities and regional partners focused on research, funding, and expanded plantings.

Soup-er Sunday programs support the J.F. Glidden Homestead & Historical Center, a DeKalb not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving the historic Glidden home and barn, both listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

For more information, call 815-756-7904, visit www.gliddenhomestead.org, or email jessi@gliddenhomestead.org.