Break out your Dickensian attire and join us for Dickens on the Delaware! An annual celebration of all things Dickens! Journey with us throughout the streets of Callicoon, NY, while we portray various characters from his famous novels and short stories.

We are honored to be a part of the International Human Rights Art Festival again at The Tank in NYC. A new Farm Arts Collective performance based on the life of a 19th century gender non-conforming pioneer Lucy Ann Joseph Israel Lobdell. Directed by Mimi McGurl with contributed story and texts from the Farm Arts Collective Ensemble, author William Klaber, and historical texts by L.A. Lobdell and others. The original musical performance is in development with Jess Beveridge, Tannis Kowalchuk, Doug Rogers, Pam Arnold, Annie Hat & John Roth.

Lucy Ann Joseph Israel Lobdell lived an extraordinary life by any measure.  In 1855, Lobdell published a personal narrative as The Female Hunter of Delaware and Sullivan Counties. In this depiction of an unconventional life, Lobdell struggles to fit in as a daughter, sister, wife, and mother. Ultimately, they challenge the rigid expectations of what it meant to be a man or a woman in this era. We know from the historical record that Lobdell lived much of their life as a man, facing classic frontier hardships, witnessing the violent displacement of Native Americans, and feeling the consequences of a brutal Civil War. Traveling from the Catskills to Pennsylvania, and as far as the Minnesota Territories, they were run out of town more than once, jailed for vagrancy, and even tried in court unsuccessfully for impersonating a man. We also know Lobdell found love and a sense of spirituality, living for several years as a Reverend and as the husband of Marie Perry. In 1879, Lobdell’s brother successfully filed for guardianship of his sister’s estate and had her declared a lunatic. Now committed to the Willard Asylum for the Insane, in one of the earliest case studies on “Sexual Perversion,” Lobdell describes themself as “a man in all that the name implies.” Debates on what this means have continued ever since. 

Get ready to go wholesale!

Join Cornell Cooperative Extension at Willow Wisp Organic Farm to learn about grading, labeling, packaging, and food safety processes to sell products wholesale.

Owner and operator of Willow Wisp Organic Farm, Greg Swartz & CCE Ag Production Program Manager, Michelle Proscia will explain how to prepare your farm and products to sell wholesale with an emphasis on food safety standards with time for questions. This workshop will also include a wash-and-pack barn tour! 

Following the tour & presentation, stay for networking time with food & drinks provided by Willow Wisp Organic Farm.

More about the speakers:

Greg Swartz has been farming in the Upper Delaware River for 23 years. He has apprenticed on several local farms including Wild Roots Farm, Apple Pond Farm, and Gorynski Ornery Farm. Greg started Willow Wisp farm with Tannis Kowalchuk and leads overall operations on the farm. Greg’s strives to grow high-quality food, improve the farm ecosystem, and employ as many people as possible to show that farming can be and should be the key to economic development in our region. Willow Wisp Farm is a 25-acre farm and NOFA-NY certified Organic, growing vegetables, herbs, and cut flowers.

Michelle Proscia has been an agriculture educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension Sullivan County since 2013. Michelle grew up in Pennsylvania and attended Delaware Valley College in Doylestown, PA where she earned a BS in large animal science. In her role at CCE Sullivan, Michelle delivers educational workshops, and offers training and technical assistance to farmers, producers, and consumers in the areas of agricultural production practices, farm and food safety, and farm management practices.

Michelle is a certified Beef Quality Assurance trainer, Produce Safety Alliance Trainer, Licensed NYS Pesticide Technician, and FAMACHA trainer.

https://sullivancce.org/staff/michelle-proscia

This program is co-hosted by the Farm Arts Collective and supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture award #2022-06508, through the American Rescue Plan. Cornell Cooperative Extension Sullivan County provides equal program and employment opportunities. Contact the office to request accommodations.

Lucy Joseph, A Staged Reading

A new Farm Arts Collective performance based on the life of a 19th century gender non-conforming pioneer Lucy Ann Joseph Israel Lobdell. Directed by Mimi McGurl with contributed story and texts from the Farm Arts Collective Ensemble, author William Klaber, and historical texts by L.A. Lobdell and others. The original musical performance is in development with Jess Beveridge, Tannis Kowalchuk, Doug Rogers, Pam Arnold, Annie Hat, John Roth & Mark Dunau.

Lucy Ann Joseph Israel Lobdell lived an extraordinary life by any measure.  In 1855, Lobdell published a personal narrative as The Female Hunter of Delaware and Sullivan Counties. In this depiction of an unconventional life, Lobdell struggles to fit in as a daughter, sister, wife, and mother. Ultimately, they challenge the rigid expectations of what it meant to be a man or a woman in this era. We know from the historical record that Lobdell lived much of their life as a man, facing classic frontier hardships, witnessing the violent displacement of Native Americans, and feeling the consequences of a brutal Civil War. Traveling from the Catskills to Pennsylvania, and as far as the Minnesota Territories, they were run out of town more than once, jailed for vagrancy, and even tried in court unsuccessfully for impersonating a man. We also know Lobdell found love and a sense of spirituality, living for several years as a Reverend and as the husband of Marie Perry. In 1879, Lobdell’s brother successfully filed for guardianship of his sister’s estate and had her declared a lunatic. Now committed to the Willard Asylum for the Insane, in one of the earliest case studies on “Sexual Perversion,” Lobdell describes themself as “a man in all that the name implies.” Debates on what this means have continued ever since.     

Join us in the Willow Wisp Organic Farm kitchen & learn how to make 2 delicious soups with step-by-step guidance from Souperstar Tannis Kowalchuk.

Each participant will learn the basics of soup making and will chop, dice, and cook an organic chicken ginger soup & a mix vegetable lentil with farm-fresh ingredients that will be provided from Willow Wisp Organic Farm.

Please bring your favorite chopping knife and 2 containers to take the soups home to share with your family & friends.

Limited seats are available for this intimate, hands-on cooking demo! Reserve your spot now!

Join us at The Callicoon Movie Theater for a multimedia performance of the last five years of Dream on the Farm. Live music will be played from the past 5 shows while video clips from these performances play on the big screen!

Don’t miss out on this special performance!

Alice in ScienceLand - A science spin on Alice in Wonderland for all ages

A young science student named Alice falls asleep while studying for a science exam. Suddenly, a white rabbit appears and assumes the role of her tutor. White Rabbit takes Alice on a magical journey to meet a host of characters that include Cilly, a singing microbe on a compost pile, a mysterious dancing Fungus, a sickly Atmosphere, and the stormy Hydrosphere. At each encounter she learns new scientific information from an environmental perspective. Alice returns home ready to take her test. A fast-paced, music performance for children ages 5-12 that delivers science & art in an entertaining manner. Performers: Pam Arnold (Foley), Jess Beveridge (Alice), Ginny Hack (Fungus), Annie Hat (Cilly), Tannis Kowalchuk (White Rabbit), Doug Rogers (Atmo). Following each performance there will be a Q & A with retired NASA scientist, Elaine Matthews. 

Flower Workshop

The day begins with coffee at the barn followed by a led tour by Willow Wisp flower farmers, Tannis Kowalchuk and Jess Beveridge. The attendees will visit the annual and perennial flower fields and learn best practices in growing cut flowers, our favorite varieties, and tips on post-harvest methods.  Participants should bring their own clippers (provided if unavailable). Each participant will select and cut their own flowers from an acre of over 35 varieties of annuals and perennials. The workshop group will then return to the barn for an arranging session with instructions on flower design choices that consider color, shape, texture, and stem placement to build a dynamic and gorgeous arrangement. Participants take home their flower designs. 

Flower Workshop

The day begins with coffee at the barn followed by a led tour by Willow Wisp flower farmers, Tannis Kowalchuk and Jess Beveridge. The attendees will visit the annual and perennial flower fields and learn best practices in growing cut flowers, our favorite varieties, and tips on post-harvest methods.  Participants should bring their own clippers (provided if unavailable). Each participant will select and cut their own flowers from an acre of over 35 varieties of annuals and perennials. The workshop group will then return to the barn for an arranging session with instructions on flower design choices that consider color, shape, texture, and stem placement to build a dynamic and gorgeous arrangement. Participants take home their flower designs. 

Family Farm Day

Join us on Willow Wisp Organic Farm for our FREE annual Family Farm Day!  Bring the whole family and learn more about organic farming, join a led tour of our greenhouses, vegetable and flower fields. See how Willow Wisp Organic Farm continues the agricultural legacy in a region with a long history of farming. Group tours at 1 pm, 2 pm, 3 pm. The day will also include Performances, Face Painting by Foxglow Face Painting, Games, Cooking Demos and other fun events for the whole family. Remember to wear those farm boots!

Lenape Horticulture & Ethnobotany

Clan Mother Shelley DePaul presents an expansive workshop on her research and knowledge of Lenape horticulture, conservation landscaping, and medicinal plant practices. Shelley De Paul sits on the Council of the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania as Clan Mother, Keeper of Language and Treaty Signer Liaison. Shelley has published Three books: Conversations in the Lenape Language, Ethnobotany of the Lenape People and Other Eastern Tribes Book One: Herbs and Flowers and Book Two: Trees, Nuts, and Berries.  As treaty-signers with the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania, Farm Arts Collective and Willow Wisp Organic Farm are pleased to welcome Clan Mother Shelley back to the farm in friendship and solidarity with the tribe’s important work.

Proceeds from this workshop will go to The Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania.

Cover Crops with Greg Swartz

Join farmer Greg Swartz of Willow Wisp Organic Farm for a farm tour and intensive workshop surrounding Cover Crops: varieties, benefits, methods of use, and the goals of soil health. If you are a farmer or gradener thinking of cover cropping your land or garden, this workshop is for you and it is FREE!

PLEASE RSVP BELOW so we know who is coming and how to tailor the workshop for best results— let us know your experience/knowledge of cover crops and your interest in coming to the class.

Food and refreshments will be provided.    

“As farmers, we take the long view that while growing food, we should always be improving our soil, increasing the farm’s biodiversity (above ground and below), and contributing to our community. We do this by using cover crops, crop rotation, and creating insect and wildlife habitat. We use no pesticides, herbicides, or synthetic fertilizers and we are Certified Organic by NOFA-NY Certified Organic, LLC.”  

Greg Swartz leads overall operations on Willow Wisp Organic Farm. He has been farming in the Upper Delaware River Valley since 2000. After seven years as an apprentice on local farms including Wild Roots Farm, Apple Pond Farm, and Gorzynski Ornery Farm, he and Tannis Kowalchuk bought their first farm. In the first couple of years of building the farm, Greg was the Executive Director of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY). He then returned to full-time farming and hasn’t slept much since. In 2015 Willow Wisp Organic Farm moved to the banks of the Delaware River. This new farm has allowed a tripling in production. Greg’s goals are to grow high-quality food, improve the farm ecosystem, and employ as many people as possible to show that farming can be and should be the key to economic development in our region.

THIS WORKSHOP HAS BEEN CANCELED! SORRY FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE THIS MAY CAUSE!

Entangled Harmonies: Exploring the ecologies around us through biosonification and environmental music-making

In this workshop, interdisciplinary artist and musician Willow Gatewood will guide participants in biosonification --the basics of recording biodata from plants and turning it into music.  Explore how art and technology act as a portal to connecting with the ecosystems in which we entangle. * Participants are asked to bring a laptop or phone (and adapter for a USB if needed) if they have one. Spares are available but limited.  In the fields of Willow Wisp Organic Farm, participants will make field recordings with objects and plants to create instruments and music. Participants will leave with a song and guide for further exploration.  Willow Gatewood is an environmental scientist, interdisciplinary artist, and musician from endless hills and secluded forests of rural Virginia. Grounded in research, their practice includes recycled and bio-based visual art, words, sound, and biosonification (turning processes within living organisms into music and sound). To find out more about their art, visit https://willowgatewood.com or instagram, @willowg_music.

We are thrilled to be a part of this years Deep Water Literary Festival. We will be sharing an excerpt from Lucy Joseph, A new Farm Arts Collective performance in development in 2024, based on the life of local historical figure, Lucy Ann Joseph Israel Lobdell. Directed by Mimi McGirl with contributed story and texts from novelist Bill Klaber (The Rebellion of Miss Lucy Ann Lobdell), L.A. Lobdell (The Female Hunter of Delaware and Sullivan Counties), and other historical texts, the original musical performance is in development with Jess Beveridge, Tannis Kowalchuk, Doug Rogers, and Pam Arnold.

This segment of the festival entitled “The Queer Woods” brings up the questions What does it mean to be in a natural environment? What grows, what lives, what thrives in the space of uncultivated wildness? Queer spaces are most often conceived of as built environments; the bookstore, the club, a neighborhood full of rainbow flags. This talk proposes that forests, woodland meadows, and maybe even a large backyard have been there too, offering those of us who never quite fit in a place for self-discovery and acceptance. One part tree science lecture, one part queer literary history, and finally, this will be a meditation on the wilderness as a celebration of diverse humanity and its infinite possibilities. 

The program will include a short film by Cassandra Rogers and a reading by Jess Beveridge of the Farm Arts Collective.

Annual Juneteenth Celebration

Farm Arts Collective will present its 3rd annual Juneteenth Celebration, a national holiday that marks the end of slavery in the United States. Curated and performed by an ensemble of local black artists, musicians, writers, educators, and activists, the FREE community event features headline performances of Oliver King’s rendition of poetry by Langston Hughes, a collective conversation with historian and journalist Janus Adams, and a reading by Tassa Faronii. Participants include Adrienne Jensen, Robin Grey Wolf, Ashtyn Buckley, and more. The event will also feature a spread of soul food made with recipes from the participants’ families and prepared by the Farm Arts Collective chef team.

Science Cabaret: An Evening of Neuroscience and Performance

Farm Arts Collective presents an evening of science talks and performances on mental health, neuroscience and innovative treatment.  Kicking off the 2024 season in its new Agri-Cultural Center on Willow Wisp Organic Farm, the evening intersects innovative scientists with innovative artists in a remarkable evening of call and response between the disciplines.

Science Cabaret will be presented in a festive cabaret setting and hosted by Tannis Kowalchuk, Artistic Director of Farm Arts Collective, and Dr. Allison Waters, neuroscientist, and Director of The Waters Lab at Mt. Sinai.

Four neuroscientists from Waters Lab will each present their most cutting-edge research in neurotechnology and mental health treatment. Presentations will take the form of a “flash talk” in the style of science communication popularized by TED. 

The presenting scientists talks will cover: 

Developing brain implants to treat depression; the role of embodiment and disembodiment in the antidepressant effect of ketamine trips; ultrasonic waves to interrupt ruminative thinking in depression; what it's like for a neurosurgeon to implant devices in peoples’ brains.

Each scientist will be paired with one performer who will use the flash talk as inspiration for the creation of a new performance piece.  Following each of the scientists’ talk, the artist(s) will present their creative response. Presenting artists include: Erin Dudley (movement artist), Jonathan Charles Fox (storyteller/actor) Kazzrie Jaxen (composer/jazz musician), Manon Manavit (interdisciplinary artist/curator) Doug Rogers (composer/actor), Will Sellenraad (jazz guitarist/improviser)

Community members are invited to attend this once-in-a-lifetime theatre and science event and the first show at the new barn-theatre at Farm Arts Collective.  The performance experience will also include, farm fresh food, refreshments, and a reception with the artists and scientists following the presentations. 

You are invited to our Ribbon-Cutting and Open House on Sunday, June 2nd from 3 PM-6 PM. Come see our new barn on Willow Wisp Organic Farm.

This long-anticipated day will include a ribbon-cutting, land acknowledgment and blessing by Chief Gentlemoon of the Lenape Nation of PA, farm-fresh rhubarb pies, delicious soup, live music, entertainment, visual art and refreshments by Here and Now Brewing Company, Beach Lake Bakery, and Willow Wisp Organic Farm.

Community members are invited to drop by to say hello, see the new barn, and learn more about Farm Arts Collective’s capital campaign to support the build-out of our education and performance space, including the purchase of flexible audience seating, stage curtains, a ceiling grid, and state-of-the-art light, sound, and projection systems.

This event is free and no reservation is required.

Click here to learn more about our Capital Campaign! 

Looking forward to seeing you!

Alice In ScienceLand - A fun, musical, natural sciences spin on ALICE IN WONDERLAND

A young science student named Alice falls asleep while studying for a science exam. Suddenly, a white rabbit appears and assumes the role of her tutor. White Rabbit takes Alice on a magical journey to meet a host of characters that include Cilly, a singing microbe on a compost pile, a mysterious dancing Fungus, a sickly Atmosphere, and the stormy Hydrosphere. At each encounter she learns new scientific information from an environmental perspective. Alice returns home ready to take her test. A fast-paced, music performance for children ages 5-12 that delivers science & art in an entertaining manner. Performers: Pam Arnold (Foley), Jess Beveridge (Alice), Ginny Hack (Fungus), Annie Hat (Cilly), Tannis Kowalchuk (White Rabbit), Doug Rogers (Atmo). Following each performance there will be a Q & A with retired NASA scientist, Elaine Matthews. 

Tannis will be performing a scene from ‘Decompositions’ as a part of National Sawdust in Brooklyn, NY.

NationalSawdust+ digs deep into its For Nature exploration with COMPOST!, an evening of mixed fare with music, theater, and conversation devoted to the process of decomposition and cultivation.

Multi-instrumentalist, song leader, composer, instrument designer, and committed composter Mark Stewart brings his Pete Seeger-meets-John Cage sensibility to bear, while theater artist Tannis Kowalchuk (co-founder of Willow Wisp Organic Farm and artistic director of Farm Arts Collective) performs a scene from her dynamic new solo show, Decompositions, which draws a parallel between the process of living, aging, and dying, and the transformation taking place in a compost pile on the stage.

New York Times food writer Melissa Clark shares musings on biodegradation and moderates an engrossing discussion with farmers and activists in this nourishing NS+ evening, hosted by series curator Elena Park.

The event is part of NS+’s continuing For Nature series, three programs exploring the interplay and collision between the natural and human worlds, featuring artists and musicians, scientists, and activists working to preserve and restore the environment. For Nature is made possible by the generous support of Kathryn and Emmanuel Morlet and the Westcustogo Foundation. 

‘Decompositions’ is an original song-filled, multimedia performance that digs into birth, death, farming, art, decay (aging) and transformation.

Written and performed by Tannis Kowalchuk, “Decompositions” is created in collaboration with director Mimi McGurl, songs by Rima Fand, beats and soundscapes by Janhavi Pakrashi, music by the Farm Arts Collective, technical director is Jess Beveridge.