Grow and Eat present a clear connection to our foundational work in the cycle of nourishment and stewardship, but where does MAKE come in?

The answer is in experience. That is, we endeavor to make experiences and opportunities for our Village to reflect, celebrate, and dream. We cannot hope to recreate culture without harnessing the most exciting, inspiring, and attractive elements of culture. Things like making art, playing games, telling stories, and simply having fun together nourish our hearts to continue the work, stoking the fire of our commitment to the earth and to each other.

When you arrive at Milpa Music Fest, our newest interpretation of a traditional fall harvest festival, you’ll be surrounded by the authentic colors and textures of our bioregional autumn, as well as the aromas of roasting corn and stewing beans, spiked with aromatic peppers, chiles, and herbs, all harvested from our farm and freshly prepared by our culinary team. You’ll see displays of local art and craft inspired by our bioregional food movement, as well as our familiar offerings like the Eco-Tots play space, the Fermentation Lab, and our Seed and Soil Lab offering special opportunities to play, learn, and make your own seasonally inspired projects. But of course, the centerpiece of the experience will be the two stages featuring musical acts that share and embody our passion for an abundant future.

We’ve drawn on our network of friends and supporters to curate a lineup of 12 musical acts from within a 40-mile radius who express our hyper-local ethos through their regionally rooted sounds. From nostalgic beach pop to riffs on world music, from acoustic jams to electronic loops, the music at Milpa Music Fest is all about creating a kaleidoscope of sound that expresses the intertwined diversity of our Village and of the milpa itself.  

In many ways, this one-of-a-kind music festival is easier to describe in terms of what it’s not. Picture the average county fair or mainstream music festival—now think of the exact opposite. Where you might find fried Twinkies and gallon-sized Icees, you’ll instead find handmade veggie tacos, locally brewed beer and kombucha, and a make-your-own tea bar. Instead of fighting to be first in line for carbon-emitting rides or win disposable mass-produced “prizes” at a game stall, you’ll join with your neighbors in creating the natural alchemy of fermentation and stringing marigold blooms into a traditional cempasuchil garland. Where family and friend groups typically splinter apart to chase their individual interests, you and your tribe will run wild together in our fields and dance to the infectious beats and inclusive sounds inspired by our regenerative movement.

More than anything, Milpa Music Fest is intended to nourish our Village with a fresh, joyful expression of the vision that binds us together. It’s a modern twist on an ancient tradition: bringing together everyone who shares our land, our resources, our values, and our hopes for the future to celebrate and deepen our interdependence. Grow and Eat is how we survive as a Village, but Make is how we thrive. A movement needs joy, inspiration to grow and expand beyond the bounds of our little 28-acre farm. Inspiration is how our movement catches fire.

Details

Dates:

Saturday, November 12th @ 3pm-9pm

Sunday, November 13th @ 1pm-7pm

Prices:

Children (5-12) – $20/ticket

Adults (13 and older) – $45/ticket

Children under 5 enter free

Activities include:

• Live Music 

• • 12 bands from throughout our bioregion playing on 2 stages throughout the day

• Kids’ Activities

• • Arts and crafts, fort building, mini jam circle and more in our Eco-Tots natural play space

• Farm Food and Drinks

• • Handmade tacos celebrating the Milpa crops prepared from our regenerative organic produce by The Ecology Center culinary team, as well as craft beer, kombucha, and other libations from our local partners

• Storytelling and Farm Tour

• • Explore the autumn beauty of our Regenerative Organic Certified farm while hearing the story of how the Three Sisters (the milpa) came to be from our educators

• Seed Swap

• • Learn from our farmers about the benefits and techniques of preserving seed from your most successful garden crops; bring along your own seeds to trade with your neighbors

• Garland Making

• • Participate in the ancient global tradition of crafting marigold garlands that offer radiant beauty and soulful aroma throughout the dark winter month

• Tea Infusion Bar

• • Learn about the many benefits of plant medicine while concocting your own herbal tea infusion under the guidance of our farmers

• Fermentation Demo 

• Join our fermentation director Irving to marvel at what happens when microscopic life forms work their magic on our regenerative organic produce

Get tickets here!