Farm Journal  ·  May 22, 2026

Memorial Day, Interns, and the Festival Countdown

There's a moment every summer that feels like a starting line.

For most people, it's Memorial Day weekend. The first cookout. The first trip to the lake. The moment you stop saying "when it warms up" and start actually doing the things.

On the farm, Memorial Day is something else entirely. It's the weekend I look at the lavender fields and think, okay. It's time. Summer is here whether we're ready or not.

And this year, "ready or not" has taken on a whole new meaning.

The interns arrived. Things got real.

This week, our summer interns joined the Farmstead 1868 team, and I'll tell you, nothing snaps you out of planning mode faster than having actual humans show up and look to you for direction.

They walked the lavender rows. They asked good questions. They looked at the fields the way I did back when this was all just an experiment, with curiosity and a little bit of awe. And watching that happen reminded me, again, why we built this. The farm has a way of doing that. Of pulling you back to the beginning just when you need it most.

The energy shifted this week. Fuller. Louder. More purposeful. That quiet hum of "we're getting there" got a lot louder. We are getting there. Fast.

The press release is out, and summer is officially announced.

We sent our official 2026 festival announcement out into the world this week. [Read the full press release here.] Seeing it all in black and white, every detail, every piece we've been assembling since January, made it feel suddenly, wonderfully real.

I studied bioengineering before I became a farmer, and the science of lavender and its effect on the nervous system has fascinated me ever since. There is real, meaningful research on scent, stress, and wellbeing, and this festival is built around that idea. Not just a pretty field to photograph. An experience that actually makes you feel something. Slower. Calmer. More connected.

That's what we're building toward. Every vendor, every workshop, every detail.

This is the weekend to make your summer plans.

Memorial Day is traditionally when people map out their summer, the trips, the visits, the things they want to make sure actually happen before September sneaks up on everyone. I know how quickly July fills up.

Here's everything you need

When

Saturday and Sunday, July 11 and 12, 2026

Hours

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily

Where

4690 Shephards Rd., Cazenovia, New York

Admission

$20 one-day admission, includes u-pick lavender bundle. $30 VIP pass for two-day admission plus u-pick experience. Children under 10 are free. Parking $5 per day.

Advance purchase is strongly recommended.

Get your tickets

So if there's one thing I'd ask you to do this long weekend, it's this: put July 11th or 12th, or both, on the calendar right now. Before the summer swallows it.

We expect to sell out. I mean that genuinely, not as a marketing line. Last year we had guests arrive without tickets to a full house, and that's a disappointment I want to help you avoid.

Here's everything you need:

Saturday & Sunday, July 11, 12, 2026

10 a.m. 4 p.m. daily

4690 Shephards Rd., Cazenovia, New York

$20 one-day admission (includes u-pick lavender bundle) $30 VIP pass for two-day admission + u-pick experience. Children under 10 are free | Parking $5/day

Get your tickets here

Advance purchase is strongly recommended.

Over the coming weeks we'll be pulling back the curtain on festival prep, the fields coming into bloom, the workshops, the vendors, the music. Follow along on Instagram and Facebook.