BRISTOL — All are welcome to New Leaf Organic farm in Bristol this Saturday and Sunday for a weekend full of Klezmer music, puppet shows, storytelling, spirituality, mindfulness and art workshops, adventure play, homesteading skills and earth-based art installations. This festival uniquely showcases the abundance, culture and skills of the farm-to-table culture of the New England homestead and offers people of all faiths and backgrounds to experience the seasonal depth of the cyclical Jewish calendar.
Sukkot on the Farm Harvest Festival offers a medley of workshops for all ages and encourages participants through interactive art, ceremony and song to celebrate both the changing nature of life and the abundance of each moment. The backdrop of this regional festival is peak foliage among a hand woven sukkah-the traditional harvest hut of the Jewish autumn pilgrimage — designed and woven by local craftspeople, students and volunteers.
“From this I concluded it is best for you to rejoice in what is and devote your life to goodness. This is the gift of reality: eat and drink and find work that pleasures your heart. Reality’s flow is endless, moment to moment nothing is added and nothing is taken away, and its sole purpose is to open you to wonder.” Ecclesiastes 3:11-3:14.
Sukkot on the farm inspires participants to harvest not just food but each precious moment in time. The program’s schedule moves fluidly between small and whole group activities through workshops, arts and crafts, self-guided art walks, a community drum circle and an eastern European boogie down dance party with acclaimed Klezmer band, the Yiddishkeit Klezmer Ensemble.
In the afternoon, homesteading skills like blacksmithing, horse and buggy rides, farm work and apple pressing will move to the beat of the music. Kids will be entertained with earth arts in the sukkah, talking hands puppet theatre and an adventure playground built by Middlebury college students.
On Saturday night, the hand woven shelter of peace will be aglow with candles, song and story, focused on sharing the ways people create meaning through their work and the relationships that fill our lives with purpose. Comedian and facilitator Jason Lorber will lead this interactive storytelling event followed by candlelit stories by inspiring politicians, professors and special guests. Stonecutter Spirits will serve up local cocktails and the Vermont astronomy club will be present by the bonfire for stargazing and awe. The cost is $10-15 per person on a sliding scale.
Starting at 12:30 p.m., overlooking peak foliage on Monkton’s Hogback range, the contagious sounds of the Yiddishkeit Klezmer Ensemble, led by world music extraordinaire Brian Bender will end our festival with dance and joy!
Sukkot on the Farm takes place at 4818 Bristol Road in Bristol and is sponsored by Living Tree Alliance, a spiritually inclusive, multigenerational cohousing community and nonprofit committed to exploring the rhythms of Jewish life in relationship to each other and in stewardship to the land through homesteading, education, celebration and service.
Tickets are $20 per person for Sunday’s activities. Discounts available for family and group rates. $12 for Saturday’s evening with drinks.
A complete schedule is online at livingtreealliance.com/sukkot.
Contact Living Tree Alliance program co-director at [email protected] or call 385-1039.