The Cooperage Project

The Cooperage Project is a community-building nonprofit based out of a historic barrel making factory on rural Honesdale’s Main Street. From our inception as a farmers market and performance stage to our current role as a community hub and leader of high quality, free or low-cost programming for all ages, we have always been guided by the idea that strong communities are built upon strong relationships. The mission of The Cooperage Project is to offer a range of instructive and entertaining activities that will engage, challenge, and enlighten. Through a variety of programs, we will inspire people of all ages to both embrace diversity and celebrate shared experience in order to create a deeper sense of community. Since 2012, The Cooperage Project has been a vibrant hub where people of all ages, incomes, and abilities can meet, learn, seek resources, and have fun together. Our programs are offered in the general areas of Food, Youth, and Arts + Culture. Initially, the bulk of our programming revolved around concerts and dances, workshops, farmers’ markets, youth programs, theater productions, and open mic nights. Since March 2020, we have embraced our role as a responsive community hub and currently emphasize building a robust sustainable food system, providing innovative and relevant youth programs, and developing new programs that create spaces of belonging for marginalized and underserved groups, such as our LGBTQ+ friends, families, and neighbors. We continue to host a variety of performances each month, as well. The Cooperage Project lives beyond our walls in the ideas and relationships we’ve built through a decade of collaboration with municipal government, school districts, libraries, non-profits, businesses, and community members. We are proud to say that nearly every program or event we provide is created with one or more partners -- aligning with our vision to build a strong, healthy, and collaborative community, for everyone.