3rd Annual Midwestern Farm-ily Reunion – Pecatonica, IL

You’re invited to our 3rd Annual Midwestern Farm-ily Reunion!

Date: September 21-22 (Saturday-Sunday)

Location: Hazzard Free Farms, 5111 Ahrens Road, Pectonica, IL 61063

If you haven’t been to farm-ily before, welcome! We’re excited that you found this event and look forward to building community with you. Please review our community guidelines prior to purchasing tickets. We want to ensure this event remains a safe and welcoming space for the BIPOC and queer farmer community.

Agenda:

1-4 pm Arrival, Welcoming, and Hangout

Come early to set up your campsite, play lawn games, and lounge by the creek! There will be light snacks and drink during the welcome hours.

All are invited to camp at Hazzard Free Farms. There will be walk-in tent camp sites available. There is no electricity available at campsites, but a phone charging area will be provided in the main barn.

4-6 pm Happy Hour

6-8 pm Dinner by Candid Fare

Dinner will be a delicious and interactive meal prepared and facilitated by the multi-talented Candid Fare. The meal will be completely sourced by farmers in the Northern IL region.

Late Night Music, Bonfire, and S’Mores

Bring your instruments and play with fellow farmers. Hopeful dancing to ensue and storytelling into the night.

Morning Pancakes and Coffee

And more lounging by the creek, of course!

A big thank you to Hazzard Free Farms, Candid Fare, and Andrea Olivares for partcipating in the event! If you would like to have your local products – dairy, grains, produce, flowers, desserts – featured please fill out this form!

Tickets:

Tickets include camping, participation in an interactive multi-course dinner, entirely local ingredients, dj set, and event space funds. At the core of this event has always been a priority to pay our farmers, chefs, artisits, and hosts fairly. As a grassroots, community-led organization, NIYF does our best to find additional funding for this event through grants and sponsorships. Unfortunately, we haven’t found a way to completly cover the costs of this event (yet!).

For that reason, we offer tickets on a sliding scale basis for participants. In previous years we’ve started the scale at $0. You’ll see this year that the scale starts at $20. We made this change because as this event has grown, the cost of putting it on has also grown. We are still offering free admission and travel stipends. We never want cost to be a barrier to joining us for this dinner. Please send us an email – northernillinoisyoungfarmers@gmail.com – or an anonymous text – 3144712461 – if you need a free ticket and/or travel stipend.

We have four suggested tiers of registration with an explanation of what each tier covers. As you consider what you’d like to pay, we encourage you to consider your own income, other personal supports (e.g., partners, family), debt, and any other factors that impact your financial access. Here’s a graphic that can help guide you in choosing a rate that feels right for you. Any profit remaining after costs are covered will go towards future community-based NIYF events. (Sliding scale language adapted from Queer Farmer Network – check them out!)

$20 – sliding scale for attendees who are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), low-income, student, have been significantly financially impacted by COVID, or are living with disability

$40 – sliding scale for attendees who can afford to pay this rate

$60 – the estimated cost of attendance based on budget projections for attendees who can afford to pay this rate

$100 & $150 – attendees who can afford to pay this rate and support others to attend this event

Additional Details:

T-Shirts: Andrea Olivares, an illustrator and cartoonist based in Chicago, has created fabulously fun t-shirts for this event. View the design below. T-shirts will be white with a black image and are printed locally at Warp Corps. Warp Corps is a collective of activists working to combat the epidemics of homelessness, substance use disorder, and mental health issues through harm reduction practices.

T-shirts are $20. Please include your size in the order form. Shirts are available for pickup at the event. We will not be shipping t-shirts this year.

Accessibility: The event space is accessible by car. The majority of the event will take place on grass. Campsites can be made available via car if required. The restroom is not ADA certified.

Covid is on the rise! Masking is one of the most effective ways to stop its spread. The majority of this event will take place outdoors as long as the weather cooperates. Outdoor spaces will be unmasked, but masking is highly encouraged in indoor spaces. Our rain plan is to have dinner inside the barn unmasked. Please test before attending farm-ily. If you are not feeling well or test positive, please stay home. Refunds can be provided. In taking these precautions of testing and masking, you’re helping create an accessible space for memebers of your community.

Travel: Hazzard Free Farm is best accessible by car. There isn’t a direct metro line from the city to Pecatonica. Additional information about carpooling will be sent to registrants. Travel stipends are available for BIPOC attendees.