Talks, Workshops + Events
Churchtown Dairy was built both to inspire and educate about small-scale organic dairy farming and provide a public platform for exploring healthier alternatives to profit-driven food production and the harm it is doing to our environment. Our doors are open to all -farmers and gardeners, educators, learners, neighbors, artists, and social activists who seek solutions to the critical issues of our time. To those ends, Churchtown Dairy sponsors a variety of social and cultural events, educational workshops, and talks throughout the year. Some are specifically geared toward farmers, cheesemakers, gardeners, and eaters; some for meeting the neighbors and enjoying each other’s company, and others are intended to spark a spirited debate in service to building a healthier, sustainable future. To stay informed about upcoming events, please sign up for our newsletter, follow us on Instagram and Facebook and check our calendar on this website.
Churchtown offers private cheese tastings for groups that would like a bespoke experience at the farm. The perfect gathering for your weekend away with friends or get together for workplace colleagues. Private tastings are held in the Farm House and the offering includes Churchtown cheese with an array of our favorite accompaniments from the Hudson Valley. We also offer wine pairings at an additional cost. Reach out to grace@churchtowndairy.org for more information.
Weekly Farm Tour
Tour the farm with our Herd Manager and learn more about our care for the land, our herd management, medicinal gardens, and animal husbandry practices. Meet the cows, calves and pigs, and observe the milking. This free tour occurs every Saturday afternoon at 3:30pm. We will meet in front of the Farm Store! Register HERE.
Weekly Farm Tour
Tour the farm with our Herd Manager and learn more about our care for the land, our herd management, medicinal gardens, and animal husbandry practices. Meet the cows, calves and pigs, and observe the milking. This free tour occurs every Saturday afternoon at 3:30pm. We will meet in front of the Farm Store! Register HERE.
Monthly Book Club
Book Club meets on the last Wednesday of the month (unless otherwise noted) to discuss topics surrounding land, history, ecology, and community.
Barons : Money, Power, and the Corruption of America's Food Industry by Austin Frerick
Barons is the story of seven corporate titans, their rise to power, and the consequences for everyone else. Take Mike McCloskey, Chairman of Fair Oaks Farms. In a few short decades, he went from managing a modest dairy herd to running the Disneyland of agriculture, where school children ride trams through mechanized warehouses filled with tens of thousands of cows that never see the light of day. What was the key to his success? Hard work and exceptional business savvy? Maybe. But more than anything else, Mike benefitted from deregulation of the American food industry, a phenomenon that has consolidated wealth in the hands of select tycoons, and along the way, hollowed out the nation’s rural towns and local businesses.
Free tickets to this event are available here.
Please email caitlin@churchtowndairy.org with any Book Club questions or to be added to the Book Club mailing list.
Monthly Cheese Tasting
Please join us for a tasting of our award-winning cheeses as cheesemaker Grace Pullin leads a conversation about the creamery, tasting notes, and pairing suggestions.
Registration is limited (with safe and spacious seating). Register here.
Monthly Handwork Club
Our friend and collaborator Susan Chiappini will lead a monthly handwork get-together on the first Saturday of every month from 10am-12pm. We will work on sewing projects together and troubleshoot new techniques. There will be a Churchtown cheese board for attendees to enjoy as they work.
Participants need to bring their own handwork projects with all necessary tools and materials. Please RSVP for this free event via email: grace@churchtowndairy.org
Caroling to the Cows
A very special holiday tradition at Churchtown! Join us as we sing carols to the dairy herd from the haylofts above.
We recommend signing up to follow Churchtown's eventbrite so that you can be notified immediately when tickets become available for the event. Alerts from eventbrite are sent before tickets are marketed anywhere else. Tickets will be released in mid-November.
Holiday Market
Churchtown is celebrating the holiday season with our Annual Holiday Market. Join the festivities and shop for gifts from local makers and farmers in our community. We'll have warm drinks and treats to enjoy while you browse.
Caroling to the Cows
A very special holiday tradition at Churchtown! Join us as we sing carols to the dairy herd from the haylofts above.
We recommend signing up to follow Churchtown's eventbrite so that you can be notified immediately when tickets become available for the event. Alerts from eventbrite are sent before tickets are marketed anywhere else. Tickets will be released in mid-November.
Monthly Book Club
Book Club meets on the last Wednesday of the month (unless otherwise noted) to discuss topics surrounding land, history, ecology, and community.
An Enemy of The People by Henrik Ibsen
Dr. Stockmann has discovered that the new baths built in his town are infected with a deadly disease and instructs the town to repair or close the baths. The Mayor, who is Dr. Stockmann's brother, does not believe the report and refuses to close the baths because it will cause the financial ruin of the town. Dr. Stockmann tries to take his case to the people, but the mayor intercedes and explains to the people how much it will cost to repair the baths. He explains that the Doctor is always filled with wild, fanciful ideas. In a public meeting, he has his brother declared an enemy of the people. The doctor decides to leave the town, but at the last minute comes to the realization that he must stay and fight for the things he believes to be right.
Free tickets to this event are available here.
Please email caitlin@churchtowndairy.org with any Book Club questions or to be added to the Book Club mailing list.
Monthly Cheese Tasting
Please join us for a tasting of our award-winning cheeses as cheesemaker Grace Pullin leads a conversation about the creamery, tasting notes, and pairing suggestions.
Registration is limited (with safe and spacious seating). Register here.
Caroling to the Cows
A very special holiday tradition at Churchtown! Join us as we sing carols to the dairy herd from the haylofts above.
We recommend signing up to follow Churchtown's eventbrite so that you can be notified immediately when tickets become available for the event. Alerts from eventbrite are sent before tickets are marketed anywhere else. Tickets will be released in mid-November.
Caroling to the Cows
A very special holiday tradition at Churchtown! Join us as we sing carols to the dairy herd from the haylofts above.
We recommend signing up to follow Churchtown's eventbrite so that you can be notified immediately when tickets become available for the event. Alerts from eventbrite are sent before tickets are marketed anywhere else. Tickets will be released in mid-November.
Monthly Handwork Club
Our friend and collaborator Susan Chiappini will lead a monthly handwork get-together on the first Saturday of every month from 10am-12pm. We will work on sewing projects together and troubleshoot new techniques. There will be a Churchtown cheese board for attendees to enjoy as they work.
Participants need to bring their own handwork projects with all necessary tools and materials. Please RSVP for this free event via email: grace@churchtowndairy.org
Monthly Book Club
Book Club meets on the last Wednesday of the month (unless otherwise noted) to discuss topics surrounding land, history, ecology, and community.
January 29th, 7PM: Silent Spring Revolution by Douglas Brinkley:
In Silent Spring Revolution, Douglas Brinkley pays tribute to those who combated the mauling of the natural world in the Long Sixties: Rachel Carson (a marine biologist and author), David Brower (director of the Sierra Club), Barry Commoner (an environmental justice advocate), Coretta Scott King (an antinuclear activist), Stewart Udall (the secretary of the interior), William O. Douglas (Supreme Court justice), Cesar Chavez (a labor organizer), and other crusaders are profiled with verve and insight.
Free tickets to this event are available here.
Please email caitlin@churchtowndairy.org with any Book Club questions or to be added to the Book Club mailing list.
Weekly Farm Tour
Tour the farm with our Herd Manager and learn more about our care for the land, our herd management, medicinal gardens, and animal husbandry practices. Meet the cows, calves and pigs, and observe the milking. This free tour occurs every Saturday afternoon at 3:30pm. We will meet in front of the Farm Store! Register HERE.
Monthly Handwork Club
Our friend and collaborator Susan Chiappini will lead a monthly handwork get-together on the first Saturday of every month from 10am-12pm. We will work on sewing projects together and troubleshoot new techniques. There will be a Churchtown cheese board for attendees to enjoy as they work.
Participants need to bring their own handwork projects with all necessary tools and materials. Please RSVP for this free event via email: grace@churchtowndairy.org
Weekly Farm Tour
Tour the farm with our Herd Manager and learn more about our care for the land, our herd management, medicinal gardens, and animal husbandry practices. Meet the cows, calves and pigs, and observe the milking. This free tour occurs every Saturday afternoon at 3:30pm. We will meet in front of the Farm Store! Register HERE.
Monthly Cheese Tasting
Please join us for a tasting of our award-winning cheeses as cheesemaker Grace Pullin leads a conversation about the creamery, tasting notes, and pairing suggestions.
Registration is limited (with safe and spacious seating). Register here.
Weekly Farm Tour
Tour the farm with our Herd Manager and learn more about our care for the land, our herd management, medicinal gardens, and animal husbandry practices. Meet the cows, calves and pigs, and observe the milking. This free tour occurs every Saturday afternoon at 3:30pm. We will meet in front of the Farm Store! Register HERE.
HRN and Young Farmers “Common Ground” Screening
Join HRN and Young Farmers for a fundraiser and screening of the film Common Ground, followed by a panel discussion featuring:
Leah Penniman (Soul Fire Farm)
Michelle A.T. Hughes (Young Farmers)
Chris Nickell (Finca Seremos)
Event Schedule:
4pm - Doors open: Enjoy a mixer and light refreshments with local farmers and Young Farmers team members. Food trucks will have meals available for purchase.
5pm - Take a seat and enjoy the film!
7pm - Panel discussion
Together, we are building power and shifting policies toward a brighter, more just future for U.S. Agriculture.
Let's come together and celebrate National Farmers Day by supporting the National Young Farmers Coalition and HRN. Seats are limited, get your ticket today!
Harvest Market
Celebrate the harvest season with us on October 12. We'll be gathering in the Round Barn for a community market featuring our favorite local makers and vendors. Participants will offer beautiful beeswax candles, local seasonal baked goods, special antiques and much more.
A sourdough pizza truck will be serving delicious wood fired pies for lunch and we'll have coffee + hot cider to keep you warm as you enjoy the afternoon at the farm.
Biodynamic Cheese and Wine Tasting
We're celebrating the turn of the season by gathering in the barn to enjoy Churchtown cheese paired with exquisite biodynamic wines from around the world. As we taste the selection, attendees will learn about this unqiue spirutal way of farming and the practices used on biodyamic dairies and vineyards. Perfect for cheese connosieurs, folks who are curious about wholistic farming, and those looking for a fun night out.
The seated tasting will include four pairings and assorted local accompaniments. The evening will conclude with a brief farm tour.
Tickets are available here.
Weekly Farm Tour
Tour the farm with our Herd Manager and learn more about our care for the land, our herd management, medicinal gardens, and animal husbandry practices. Meet the cows, calves and pigs, and observe the milking. This free tour occurs every Saturday afternoon at 3:30pm. We will meet in front of the Farm Store! Register HERE.
Monthly Handwork Club
Our friend and collaborator Susan Chiappini will lead a monthly handwork get-together on the first Saturday of every month from 10am-12pm. We will work on sewing projects together and troubleshoot new techniques. There will be a Churchtown cheese board for attendees to enjoy as they work.
Participants need to bring their own handwork projects with all necessary tools and materials. Please RSVP for this free event via email: grace@churchtowndairy.org
Garden Walks with Jean-David Derreumaux
Every Friday at 10 am from May 17 to October 18, 2024.
Enjoy a morning at Churchtown Dairy exploring the Healing Gardens with Jean-David Derreumaux, a biodynamic grower with over 25 years’ experience fostering the medicinal properties of plants and gardens.
The tour is free - donations welcome! Register HERE.
Weekly Farm Tour
Tour the farm with our Herd Manager and learn more about our care for the land, our herd management, medicinal gardens, and animal husbandry practices. Meet the cows, calves and pigs, and observe the milking. This free tour occurs every Saturday afternoon at 3:30pm. We will meet in front of the Farm Store! Register HERE.
Real Organic Project Conference - A World Movement
Join the Real Organic Project for an intimate, day-long gathering that features short, moving talks on the Main Stage from voices of the Organic Movement, as well as two sessions of focused breakout groups, a delicious lunch, and plenty of time to mingle and connect.
Speakers include farmers, journalists, and policy experts, such as: Eliot Coleman, Paul Holmbeck, Emily Oakley, Nora Taleb, Paul Muller, Tim Wise, Linley Dixon and Dave Chapman.
More information and tickets are available here.
Garden Walks with Jean-David Derreumaux
Every Friday at 10 am from May 17 to October 18, 2024.
Enjoy a morning at Churchtown Dairy exploring the Healing Gardens with Jean-David Derreumaux, a biodynamic grower with over 25 years’ experience fostering the medicinal properties of plants and gardens.
The tour is free - donations welcome! Register HERE.
Monthly Book Club
Book Club meets on the last Wednesday of the month (unless otherwise noted) to discuss topics surrounding land, history, ecology, and community.
Eating Tomorrow: Agribusiness, Family Farmers, and the Battle for the Future of Food By Timothy A. Wise
Few challenges are more daunting than feeding a global population projected to reach 9.7 billion in 2050―at a time when climate change is making it increasingly difficult to successfully grow crops. In response, corporate and philanthropic leaders have called for major investments in industrial agriculture, including genetically modified seed technologies. Reporting from Africa, Mexico, India, and the United States, Timothy A. Wise's Eating Tomorrow discovers how in country after country agribusiness and its well-heeled philanthropic promoters have hijacked food policies to feed corporate interests.
Free tickets to this event are available here.
Please email caitlin@churchtowndairy.org with any Book Club questions or to be added to the Book Club mailing list.
Weekly Farm Tour
Tour the farm with our Herd Manager and learn more about our care for the land, our herd management, medicinal gardens, and animal husbandry practices. Meet the cows, calves and pigs, and observe the milking. This free tour occurs every Saturday afternoon at 3:30pm. We will meet in front of the Farm Store! Register HERE.
Living Foods: Jam and Canning Workshop
Join us in the farm kitchen for a fun and informative afternoon as we learn how to make and preserve strawberry jam. Susan Chiappini of Montgomery Place Orchard will lead the group through best practices in selecting and preparing your fruit, using low sugar recipes, gathering necessary kitchen supplies and more. The principles and techniques learned will easily apply to most home canning of other fruit jams as well as tomatoes.
Susan is certified through the Cornell Cooperative Extension to teach home canning and makes thousands of jars of jam yearly in her work as the farm kitchen supervisor at MPO.
Coffee, herbal tea from the gardens and a Churchtown cheese board will be served for attendees to enjoy as we learn.
Tickets are available here.
Garden Walks with Jean-David Derreumaux
Every Friday at 10 am from May 17 to October 18, 2024.
Enjoy a morning at Churchtown Dairy exploring the Healing Gardens with Jean-David Derreumaux, a biodynamic grower with over 25 years’ experience fostering the medicinal properties of plants and gardens.
The tour is free - donations welcome! Register HERE.
Monthly Cheese Tasting
Please join us for a tasting of our award-winning cheeses as cheesemaker Grace Pullin leads a conversation about the creamery, tasting notes, and pairing suggestions.
Registration is limited (with safe and spacious seating). Register here.
Weekly Farm Tour
Tour the farm with our Herd Manager and learn more about our care for the land, our herd management, medicinal gardens, and animal husbandry practices. Meet the cows, calves and pigs, and observe the milking. This free tour occurs every Saturday afternoon at 3:30pm. We will meet in front of the Farm Store! Register HERE.
Garden Walks with Jean-David Derreumaux
Every Friday at 10 am from May 17 to October 18, 2024.
Enjoy a morning at Churchtown Dairy exploring the Healing Gardens with Jean-David Derreumaux, a biodynamic grower with over 25 years’ experience fostering the medicinal properties of plants and gardens.
The tour is free - donations welcome! Register HERE.
Bread & Puppet: The Beginning After the End of Humanity Circus
The circus is coming! The circus is coming!
We are thrilled to present, with Time & Space Ltd., the legendary Bread & Puppet: The Beginning After the End of Humanity Circus. Bread & Puppet Theater will be making a one-night-only stop during their Northeastern United States Summer Tour to present The Beginning After the End of Humanity Circus, a brand new show in the tradition of the iconic Bread & Puppet Circuses that began at Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont in 1970. As usual, the show will draw on traditional circus tropes and familiar Bread & Puppet iconography to draw attention to the urgent issues of the day. Stilt dancers, paper maché beasts of all sizes and a riotous brass band make a raucous, colorful spectacle of protest and celebration.
Director Peter Schumann describes the show as featuring, “tigers teaching the congress of cowards how to jump over billionaires and acquire the courage to not pay for the atrocities of the latest genocide; the proverbial sheep of the system refusing to be sheep and committing revolution against the system; and the blue horses of the peace and harmony terrorists of the Northeast Kingdom breaking through the wall of threatening clouds that hide the truth from the population and then galloping over the ruins of the truth industry.”
After the show Bread & Puppet will serve its famous sourdough rye bread with aioli, and Bread & Puppet’s “Cheap Art” – books, posters, postcards, pamphlets and banners from the Bread & Puppet Press – will be for sale.
Rain or Shine! This event is outside, on the front lawn, weather permitting. Bring a blanket to sit on and a picnic too. A limited number of folding chairs will be available. In the event of rain the performance will take place in the Round Barn.
Advance Tickets (recommended) available here.
TSL Members & Students $20 • Non-members $22.50 • Children 12 years and under $10
Note: Online Ticket sales will automatically shut off about 1 hour before the event starts.
More information about TSL is available at TimeandSpace.org.
*No one will be turned away for lack of funds. We mean it. At most shows, we are able to accommodate anyone who lack funds. Please email breadandpuppetreservations@gmail.com for assistance. See you at the show!
ABOUT BREAD AND PUPPET THEATER
The Bread and Puppet Theater is an internationally celebrated company that champions a visually rich, street-theater brand of performance art filled with music, dance and slapstick. Believing that theater is a basic necessity like bread, the company frequently brings its work to the streets for those who may not otherwise go to the theater. Its shows are political and spectacular, with puppets often on stilts, wearing huge masks with expressive faces, singing, dancing and playing music.
Bread and Puppet is recognized throughout the world and has won distinction at international theater festivals in Italy, Poland, Colombia, and Yugoslavia, beginning with their break-out performances at the 1968 Nancy Festival in France. Notable awards include the Erasmus Prize of Amsterdam, 4 Obies, the Puppeteers of America’s President Award, and the Vermont Governor’s Award. Bread and Puppet is constantly active, performing at its farm in Glover, VT, and in local churches, schools and parades. It regularly tours Europe, Canada, and the United States and has recently visited El Salvador, Haiti, Russia, and Korea.
Founded in 1963 by Peter Schumann on New York City’s Lower East Side, the theater has been based in the North East Kingdom of Vermont since the early 1970s and is one of the oldest, nonprofit, self-supporting theatrical companies in the country.
More information at BreadandPuppet.org
Weekly Farm Tour
Tour the farm with our Herd Manager and learn more about our care for the land, our herd management, medicinal gardens, and animal husbandry practices. Meet the cows, calves and pigs, and observe the milking. This free tour occurs every Saturday afternoon at 3:30pm. We will meet in front of the Farm Store! Register HERE.
Garden Walks with Jean-David Derreumaux
Every Friday at 10 am from May 17 to October 18, 2024.
Enjoy a morning at Churchtown Dairy exploring the Healing Gardens with Jean-David Derreumaux, a biodynamic grower with over 25 years’ experience fostering the medicinal properties of plants and gardens.
The tour is free - donations welcome! Register HERE.
Monthly Handwork Club
We are excited to announce a new monthly club at the dairy.
Our friend and collaborator Susan Chiappini will lead a monthly handwork get-together on the first Wednesday of every month from 6-8pm. We will work on sewing projects together and troubleshoot new techniques. Depending on the day’s weather the club will meet either in the farm store or out in the medicinal garden. There will be a Churchtown cheese board for attendees to enjoy as they work.
Participants need to bring their own handwork projects with all necessary tools and materials. Please RSVP for this free event via email: grace@churchtowndairy.org
Weekly Farm Tour
Tour the farm with our Herd Manager and learn more about our care for the land, our herd management, medicinal gardens, and animal husbandry practices. Meet the cows, calves and pigs, and observe the milking. This free tour occurs every Saturday afternoon at 3:30pm. We will meet in front of the Farm Store! Register HERE.
Garden Walks with Jean-David Derreumaux
Every Friday at 10 am from May 17 to October 18, 2024.
Enjoy a morning at Churchtown Dairy exploring the Healing Gardens with Jean-David Derreumaux, a biodynamic grower with over 25 years’ experience fostering the medicinal properties of plants and gardens.
The tour is free - donations welcome! Register HERE.
Monthly Book Club
Book Club meets on the last Wednesday of the month (unless otherwise noted) to discuss topics surrounding land, history, ecology, and community.
Join us for a discussion with Judith Schwartz, author of “The Reindeer Chronicles”.
Award-winning science journalist Judith D. Schwartz takes us first to China’s Loess Plateau, where a landmark project has successfully restored a blighted region the size of Belgium, lifting millions of people out of poverty. She journeys on to Norway, where a young indigenous reindeer herder challenges the most powerful orthodoxies of conservation—and his own government. And in the Middle East, she follows the visionary work of an ambitious young American as he attempts to re-engineer the desert ecosystem, using plants as his most sophisticated technology.
Free tickets to this event are available here.
Performance: Twelfth Night
Welcome to Columbia County Players' Production of "Twelfth Night, or What You Will"!
Join us for a night of laughter, love, and mistaken identities as we bring one of Shakespeare's most beloved comedies to life in the unique and intimate setting of the Round Barn at Churchtown Dairy. Whether you're a Shakespeare enthusiast or a newcomer to his works, this performance is perfect for a date night, family outing, or an evening with friends.
Event Details:
Dates: Thursday, August 22, 2024 - Sunday, August 25, 2024
Doors Open: 7:00 PM
Show Starts: 7:30 PM
Ticket Price: Free. Get them here.
Set within the Round Barn, this production promises to be a magical evening. Watch as the talented cast navigates the whimsical world of Illyria, where shipwrecks, disguises, and unrequited love lead to humorous and heartfelt moments. Don't miss out on this one-of-a-kind theatrical experience that combines the charm of Shakespeare with the beauty of a rural setting. Secure your tickets now and prepare for an unforgettable night with "Twelfth Night, or What You Will."
We are very excited to announce that Friday, August 23rd will be our first Hudson Community Night! We'll be celebrating our community with free ice cream, fun, and free bus transportation from Hudson. We can't wait to see you there!
For more information email info@columbiacountyplayers.com
Performance: Twelfth Night
Welcome to Columbia County Players' Production of "Twelfth Night, or What You Will"!
Join us for a night of laughter, love, and mistaken identities as we bring one of Shakespeare's most beloved comedies to life in the unique and intimate setting of the Round Barn at Churchtown Dairy. Whether you're a Shakespeare enthusiast or a newcomer to his works, this performance is perfect for a date night, family outing, or an evening with friends.
Event Details:
Dates: Thursday, August 22, 2024 - Sunday, August 25, 2024
Doors Open: 7:00 PM
Show Starts: 7:30 PM
Ticket Price: Free. Get them here.
Set within the Round Barn, this production promises to be a magical evening. Watch as the talented cast navigates the whimsical world of Illyria, where shipwrecks, disguises, and unrequited love lead to humorous and heartfelt moments. Don't miss out on this one-of-a-kind theatrical experience that combines the charm of Shakespeare with the beauty of a rural setting. Secure your tickets now and prepare for an unforgettable night with "Twelfth Night, or What You Will."
We are very excited to announce that Friday, August 23rd will be our first Hudson Community Night! We'll be celebrating our community with free ice cream, fun, and free bus transportation from Hudson. We can't wait to see you there!
For more information email info@columbiacountyplayers.com