Milwaukie’s second annual Chestnut Festival offers a wonderfully unusual way to spend a fall Saturday: gathering beneath mature trees, learning how a neighborhood food forest works and tasting the harvest that gives the celebration its name.

The free event runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, October 17, at Yamane-Bose Food Forest, 11902 SE Beckman Avenue, and organizers say the gathering will happen rain or shine.

The one-acre site holds six towering sweet chestnut trees along with an assortment of fruit trees and shrubs, turning a former piece of open ground into a living demonstration of community-scale food production.

Visitors can help collect chestnuts, see how the nuts are handled after they fall and share freshly roasted samples while talking with people who care for the landscape through the seasons.

This is not a polished commercial farm attraction, and that is part of its charm: the afternoon is designed around learning, participation and the satisfying work of bringing an edible landscape through harvest.

The festival is organized by the Oregon Sustainable Agriculture Land Trust and Portland Food Forest Initiative, two groups that connect land stewardship with practical ways to grow food close to home.

For families, the appeal is simple and tactile, because children can see spiny chestnut burrs, compare what falls from different trees and understand that an autumn snack begins long before it reaches a kitchen.

Adults interested in gardening can pick up ideas about perennial crops, orchard care and volunteer-powered spaces without sitting through a formal class or committing to a long workshop.

The bigger story is what the site makes possible: a neighborhood gathering place where food, ecology and public participation overlap instead of being treated as separate subjects.

Expect an outdoor, working landscape rather than a paved festival ground, so sturdy shoes, a rain layer and clothes that can handle damp leaves or soil will make the visit more comfortable.

Anyone with mobility questions should review the current event information before leaving, since natural surfaces and fall weather can change how easily portions of the property are reached.

Bringing a reusable mug or water bottle is a sensible choice, and a small tote can be useful if organizers offer take-home materials or information about future volunteer days.

Because the gathering is free, it works well as the centerpiece of a low-cost weekend outing, with time afterward for lunch, coffee or a walk through another part of Milwaukie.

Newcomers should not worry about arriving with chestnut expertise, because the festival is built for curious neighbors as much as experienced growers, and questions are very much part of the day.

Chestnuts have a short, memorable fall season, which gives the event a more grounded feeling than a generic autumn celebration and connects the calendar directly to what the trees are producing.

The most rewarding approach is to arrive ready to participate, listen and linger rather than treating the food forest as a quick photo stop between other errands.

Check the official event page shortly before heading out for any weather notes, access updates or last-minute schedule changes, then give yourself enough time to enjoy the harvest at an unhurried pace.