The event will take place at Rock Steady Farm, 41 Kaye Road, in Millerton, NY on Sunday, September 7th from 12pm-5pm*

*Rain date Sunday, September 7th from 12pm-5pm. If you cannot attend the rain date, you will be refunded.

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El BLOCK PARTY será en Rock Steady Farm en Millerton, NY el domingo, 7 de septiembre de las 12PM hasta las 5PM*

*Fecha de lluvia domingo, 7 de septiembre 12PM-5PM.

Ticket price* is sliding scale. Pre-registration is preferred, but we will also be selling tickets at the door. If you are wondering what you should pay, check out this helpful sliding scale link. Please bring extra funds for purchasing items by our vendors.

*All ticket proceeds go towards supporting queer Black and brown beginning farmers: Rock Steady Farm’s QTPOC farmer training program POLLINATE alumni, and Catalyst Collaborative Farm.

Register here!

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El precio de la entrada* es variable.  Se prefiere inscripción antes del evento, pero también puedes inscribir en la puerta del evento. Si usted se está preguntando lo que debe pagar, vea esteenlace útil sobre nuestra escala móvil de pago. Por favor, traiga dinero adicional si desea comprar comida y artículos disponible en nuestro mercado artesanal.

*Todos ingresos de las entradas van a apoyar granjerxs QTPOC: POLLINATE, una programa de formación de agricultores, y Catalyst Collaborative Farm.

Inscripción ahora!

COVID-19 Safety: Please stay home if you feel sick, suspect you have been exposed to COVID-19 within the past week, are recovering from COVID-19 and/or live/share indoor space with someone who currently has COVID-19 in order to minimize spread.

Please take a rapid test before attending the event. Proof of negative rapid test (taken within 24 hours) will be required to enter the event. We will have rapid tests available, and there will be a rapid testing tent set up next to our registration table to take your test if you do not have access to one before arrival. 

Masks are optional outdoors, but required in all indoor spaces for this event. Please bring your own mask (ideally N95 masks, we will have a limited amount available). We will have hand sanitizer available throughout the space.

Setting, terrain & accessibility:

• The event space will be outdoors on a grassy lawn, so please plan accordingly! Please keep in mind the weather for the day and dress appropriately. We recommend sturdy shoes as farm terrain is uneven, and may be uncomfortable to walk over.

• We will have two single-stall accessible port-a-potties available for restroom services.

• There are multiple areas with shade on the land where there will be a rest/destimulation area and bodywork offerings.

• We do have ticks in some areas on the farm! We encourage you to do a tick check when you get home. Some other preventative measures include: wearing light colored clothing, long sleeves and pants, or socks over pants.

• The farm is not currently wheelchair or mobility aid accessible.

• Parking will be about a half mile distance from the event space. Folks can be dropped off closer to the event space if needed to support comfortable entry.

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Notas de acceso:

Seguridad contra el COVID-19: Quédese en casa si se siente enfermo, sospecha que ha estado expuesto al COVID-19 durante la semana pasada, se está recuperando del COVID-19 y/o vive/comparte espacio interior con alguien que actualmente tiene COVID-19 para minimizar la propagación.

Realice una prueba rápida antes de asistir al evento. Se requerirá prueba de prueba rápida negativa (tomada dentro de 24 horas) para ingresar al evento. Tendremos pruebas rápidas disponibles, y habrá una tienda de prueba rápida establecida junto a nuestra tabla de registro para tomar su prueba si usted no tiene acceso a uno antes de la llegada.

Las máscaras son opcionales al aire libre, pero obligatorias en todos los espacios interiores para este evento. Traiga su propia mascarilla (idealmente mascarillas N95, tendremos una cantidad limitada disponible). Tendremos desinfectante de manos disponibles.

Entorno, terreno y accesibilidad:

• El espacio para eventos estará al aire libre sobre un césped, así que planifique en consecuencia. Tenga en cuenta el clima del día y vístase apropiadamente. Recomendamos calzado resistente ya que el terreno agrícola es irregular y puede resultar incómodo caminar.

• Tendremos dos orinales portátiles ADA para servicios sanitarios.

• Existen múltiples zonas de sombra en el terreno donde habrá zona de descanso/destimulación y ofrendas de carrocería.

• ¡Tenemos garrapatas en algunas áreas de la granja! Le recomendamos que haga una verificación cuando llegue a casa. Algunas otras medidas preventivas incluyen: usar ropa de colores claros, pantalones y mangas largas o calcetines sobre los pantalones.

• Actualmente, la granja no es accesible para sillas de ruedas ni dispositivos de movilidad.

• Estacionamiento estará a media milla a pie del evento. Las personas pueden ser dejadas más cerca del espacio del evento si es necesario para permitir una entrada cómoda.

2025 PERFORMANCE LINE UP

Demiyah

Demiyah Perez is a multidisciplinary artist, sonic storyteller, and co-founder of the Angelito Collective — a trans-led initiative rooted in radical visibility and liberation — based between Toronto and New York City. Her DJ sets are portals: immersive, genreless journeys that transcend the physical, inviting listeners into a world of boundless diasporic rhythm and liberated Black trans futurism.

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Mayon

Choya Mayon (fka BoneReader) is a club and groove music discjockey who builds sonic connections between several diasporic dance genres. Midwestern-born and New York-based, Mayon heavily borrows from this regions' respective, tonal origins and boldly mixes the club music born in the Midwest while contributing a global perspective. Citing influences such as Larry Levan and Jasmine Infiniti, and as an organizer of the Molasses Collective, Mayon traversed musical experimentation and cultural mutual aid organizing as compounding forces that would birth a selector and producer committed to drum-heavy, time-warping, vocal-backed rhythmic sets that complicate traditional "open-format." Recently, through their vinyl and wax collection, Mayon has explored an intergenerational sound as well - retrieving the soul, disco and house music of the 80s and 90s and sonically moving those roots through to more contemporary club and bass surfaces of the early 00s to present-day. Mayon's music and their cultural organizing has been featured in venues and radios across the globe including Nowadays, SmartBar, CCTV, and the Lot Radio.

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Spero  & Jordan 

Spero is a musician, independent educator, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Her love of West African rhythm has deeply influenced her musical tastes and style, blending traditional rhythms with soulful, ethereal melodies. Weaving luscious harmonies with rhythmic finger-style guitar, she creates a rich, contemplative atmosphere sure to move you to places of deeper feeling.

Jordan Taylor Hill is an artist and educator rooted in the powerful rhythms of West Africa, Cuba, and the larger diaspora. He’s studied in Guinea (Le Bagataye, ‘23, & ’18) and Cuba (CFNC ‘25), and has brought those traditions to 50+ schools and stages across New York. His work blends folkloric depth, original composition, and live drum-dance experiences that bring people together.

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Steph 

Beginning in the early 90s, Steph was often dancing in NYC clubs and later performing on stage with Afro Mosaic Soul, a group he co-founded. The transformative experience of a DJ taking listeners on a sonic journey deeply inspires me, as DJ Special, he aims to play music that feels both familiar and surprising.

Steph’s musical tastes are a blend of various influences: his grandfather's love for jazz, his parents' appreciation for Motown, funk, and disco, and the 80s pop and hip-hop, along with 90s R&B and House music that spans the decades. He’s truly excited to be playing at Rock Steady Farm again this year.

2025 VENDOR SPOTLIGHTS!

Take a look below to view our list of wonderful local vendors for the Farm Block Party! Click the links attached to learn more about each one <3

Autwine

Bamboo Blue Forest

Catalyst Collaborative Farm

Kyopo Yakbang

Matchmaker’s Garden

Mindful with jei

Mumbet’s Freedom Farm

Lazuli’s Ice Cream

Project Hiraeon

ScatteredForm

Serenity Solidarity

Solar Lunar

Sweet Thang

The Eve On

2025 WORKSHOPS

Black Farmers United Material Swap: 12pm

Join Black Farmers United – New York State Inc. (BFU-NYS) for Material Swap! Rooted in the concept of mutual aid, this event is an interactive space where growers can give and take seeds, tools, soils, and other materials for their grow operations. Don’t have an item to share? No problem! BFU-NYS will have plenty of free items available.

Making Herbal Fruit Shrubs with Yesfolk Tonics: 1pm-2pm

In this workshop and conversation we will be demonstrating the preparation of an infused vinegar with seasonal fruit, herbs and honey using a folk intuitive method. Drinking vinegars, shrubs and oxymels are traditional methods for herbal infusions and fruit preservation with origins connected to present day SWANA region. Shrubs can be used as exciting ingredients for mocktails, tonics, cocktails, salad dressings, desserts and more. This demo will be tasty! :)

Relating to the Elements with Nazanin: 2pm - 3:15pm

As we uncover ancestral ways of managing our health, it is supportive to our bodies to feed food that is nourishing to the body. However, every body has different needs and it can be overwhelming to navigate what energetics we can cultivate for our well being. This workshop will introduce the concept of energetics to support our goals, and share an approach to intuitive eating that is beyond diet culture. Referencing Ayurvedic, Chinese, and Islamic medicinal systems we will learn about what these traditions said about the five elements and how these principles can be explored in cooking.

Forage Walk with Hyunhee and Dre: 3pm - 5pm

Join Hyunhee and Dre for a plant walk to get acquainted with the plants and fungi who grow and thrive uncultivated on the land. We'll get to know what they look like, where they like to grow, who they like to be around, and how we might partner with them.

Capoeira Angola with Tagan: 3:30pm - 5:00pm

We will do movements slowly that mimic animal movements, and create a dialogue through movement. We will learn how to play with each other. We learn a lot when we play with people as we are given an opportunity to see what arises. And the work we do on our own helps us to be more fully present when with others.

2025 Bodyworkers & Healers

The yurt at the Watershed will be transformed into a healing space for the Farm Block Party led by Suanny and the wonderful folks of Casa Finca. Read below to get to know your healers!

Suanny Upegui, Founder of Casa Finca, Curandera, Land steward, Community Organizer/weaver; Afro Colombiana and Indigena; Born in the lands of Embera Dobida territory. Been sharing sacred medicine and working with plants for the past 12 years. Passionate about bringing people together, embracing culture and an advocate of liberation of the mind body and spirit.

Suanny will be offering traditional Indigenous limpias (cleansings) mixed with reiki at the Farm Block Party!

Taganyahu is a licensed acupuncturist and the founder of Yaad Wellness in Catskill, NY.  In 2016, Tagan co-created Lefferts Community Acupuncture with colleagues in New York City.  Tagan also practices acupuncture in conjunction with Columbia County Mental Health Associates and with MINKA, a Brooklyn-based healing collective.  He is a graduate of Tri-State College of Acupuncture and has trained with Kiiko Matsumoto, Ross Rosen, Famous, Andrew Nugent-Head and others. 

Tagan will be offering acupuncture and leading the Capoeira Angola workshop!

Forrest Lahens is an energetic and compassionate therapist who has been practicing the art of massage therapy for over 20 years. In this time, he has worked for various day spas, built a private practice and participated in corporate chair massage events throughout New York city. Forrest’s style of bodywork incorporates the ancient acupressure technique of shiatsu as well as the long and short strokes of Swedish massage. He has masterfully developed a full body massage that combines compression, light stretches and range of motion that targets all the joints of the body. His style offers integrative bodywork that promotes the physical and emotional well-being of his clients.

Forrest will be offering massage at the Farm Block Party!

This gathering is intended for everyone in our urban and rural farm communities to come together to eat, play, enjoy performances and support local vendors & community organizations.

We anticipate welcoming 200+ guests and engaging 30+ vendors and partners. Our combined projects’ newsletter reach is 3,600 and our social media reach engages 30,000 accounts and 17,000 followers. Sponsoring our event is a fantastic way to not only support a great cause but also gain new interest for your business or project.  

For more information please look over our Sponsorship Tiers and Offerings. Please make your contribution using this link.

All donations are tax deductible.