Have you ever seen the movie Field of Dreams? It's a powerful story about an Iowa farmer named Ray Kinsella who builds a baseball diamond in the cornfield beside his farmhouse because he keeps hearing a voice that says "build it and he will come." Everyone thinks he's crazy, and part of him wonders if maybe he is. But still, he follows his heart and in the end, his long-passed father comes, along with thousands of people, by the carload.
I can personally relate to the movie...
First off, I'm pretty sure that more than a few people think I might be a little crazy too. Although we do some concerts here in our big barn and my wife and I even had a few small music festivals in our yard a decade or so ago, we've never undertaken anything like this at our farm before. From building the infrastructure and going way out on a limb financially to bring some of the greatest speakers, singers, and icons together in one weekend, this festival isn't something that's easy to make sense of on the surface.
And secondly, in the movie, the baseball diamond he built was about more than just a game. It was about people getting the opportunity to relive their childhood innocence. And so it is that way with our festival too. Yes, we're gonna get to learn how to grow our own food and become more self-sufficient, but more than that, it's the chance to connect with something inside of us that many of us have lost... with our history, and our roots... with the earth and with each other. It's more than just a festival filled with people teaching and singing.
Much more.
A few weeks ago, we had some fun in the backfield behind our farmhouse recreating the opening scene of Field of Dreams...
In the movie, as Ray walks through the corn, he hears "build it and he will come." For him, the 'he will come' was his father. But for us, our hope was that if we built the festival, maybe, just maybe, Kevin Costner would come be part of it.
Well... Mr. Costner and a number of other amazing educators and entertainers are gonna be here June 3rd and 4th. But we've mostly created this festival in hopes that you will come.
Come on your own, bring your family, or bring everyone. Here's how...
