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What began in 2021 with a handful of musicians playing on the back of a flatbed trailer has grown into an energetic festival inviting attendees to celebrate food, farming and community in Norwood.
This year the Juneberry Jams festival drew more than 1,500 attendees over its three Saturday concerts in June to Juneberry Ridge, beating last year’s record of 900 total attendees.
The festival continues to expand its reach drawing in residents of Stanly County as well as visitors from across the state including Charlotte and Greensboro. Overnight lodging also drew guests from further away including Winston-Salem, Boone and Raleigh.
The main musical acts featured returning folk rock band Ashes & Arrows from Asheville, classic rock ensemble The Beatles 4 Sale from Nashville, Tennessee, and funk rock band the Red NOT Chili Peppers, a tribute band hailing from California.
Each act was complemented by an original singer songwriter, including Ellie Morgan, Chelsea Locklear and Jake HaldenVang.
The festival this year attracted the largest groups Juneberry Ridge has hosted to-date.
In an effort to reduce single-use waste, reusable steel tumblers were included with drink purchases at this year’s festival. This gave guests a complimentary keepsake to bring back to refill at the next festival date while also saving on one-time use cups.
Guests were also invited to compost and recycle waste further reducing the event’s impact on landfills.
Growth in attendance is due in large part, organizers said, to the sustained support of event sponsors Uwharrie Bank, Kinetic and Visit Stanly. Additional sponsors this year included Precision Mechanical, Stokes Construction and Uwharrie Technology.
A new community village was also a big hit with attendees. In partnership with Uwharrie Bank, Juneberry Ridge assembled an impressive group of community village participants ranging from non-profits to artisans including local honey, handmade teas and many local businesses and crafts people. Five community organizations, GHA Autism Supports, Pfeiffer University, Stanly Adult Care, Stanly Arts Council and the Juneberry Education Foundation, formed the beginnings of a village experience that grew to 27 partner organizations. The team is looking forward to inviting even more local leaders to future events.
Juneberry Jams isn’t just an event to enjoy original music along with folk and rock classics, it’s also a place to learn about our food system and support homegrown solutions right here in Stanly County.
As a farm committed to growing food for health and nutrient density, that means the Juneberry Ridge chooses to explore ways to grow food that reduce or eliminate dependence on pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers and other chemicals that can lead to soil degradation, among many other negative health and ecological impacts.
The fireside chat series kicked off each festival with discussion about these practices led by Juneberry Chief Operations Officer Ashton Thompson and a luminary speaker. Jack Algiere, chief agoecology officer at Stone Barns Center, was the speaker for day one on June 1.
Algiere traveled in from Tarrytown, New York to learn and share knowledge with the Juneberry Ridge team before leading an insightful fireside chat that drew connections between farmers and musicians, both broadcasting waves of efforts out into the communities.
The chat was well attended by Jams festival goers that arrived early to learn more.
On June 8, Roger Dick, CEO of Uwharrie Bank, took up the microphone with Thompson. They spoke of supporting local farming and inviting more people to learn about the people power behind the food systems.
Uwharrie Bank was also a catalyst for creating the community village experience at the festival this year.
On June 22, Daniel Firth Griffith, author and educator with the Robinia Institute in Wingina, Virginia, capped off the festival speaker series. This was Griffith’s third year visiting Juneberry Ridge to teach an intensive certification course on holistic management which is part of a global standard for livestock and land management developed by the Savory Institute in Boulder, Colorado.
He challenged guests to consider how stressful conditions placed on animals and plants impact our own health.
Looking ahead, Juneberry Ridge has its sights on continued growth of its farm thought leadership program.
Next year’s program will mark the festival’s fifth anniversary and the farm has set dates for three Saturdays next summer on May 31, June 14 and June 28.
Juneberry also hosts a fall event that’s free to attend — Founder’s Day on Oct. 12. RSVP at www.juneberry.com/events.
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