Urban Triage Harvest Festival

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courtesy Urban Triage

Attendees at the 2025 Urban Triage Harvest Fest.

Urban Triage Harvest Fest

Urban Triage hosts its fifth annual fall celebration, with music (including Cigarette Break Band and DJ Pain 1), spoken word, circus arts and magic performances, kids' activities, free food (including fresh vegetables to take home), and more. The day celebrates the nonprofit’s agriculture education and community food support programs, and takes place at the urban farm space at the Farley Center; a shuttle to the farm is available every half-hour starting at 2:30 p.m. from the Urban Triage office, 2312 S Park St.; find shuttle sign-up and more info at urbantriage.org. Note, the fest was rescheduled to Sept. 27 due to heavy rain last weekend (and has moved from a Saturday to a Sunday).

Sept. 19 update: Due to heavy overnight rainfall and the resulting conditions at the event site, Urban Triage has rescheduled its 5th Annual Harvest Festival from today, Saturday, Sept. 19, to Sunday, Sept. 27, from 3–8pm. All planned activities will continue on the new date.

media release: We are thrilled to announce the 5th Annual Urban Harvest Festival September 5, 2026, as we transform our farm at the Farley Center for Peace, Justice, and Sustainability from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. into a vibrant celebration of food justice and community power!

This year’s theme, “More Than a Harvest: Black Soil, Bold Futures,” celebrates five incredible years of agricultural achievements and transformative community impact. Together, we will honor the dedication of our community partners, volunteers, donors, and supporters who help advance food access, agriculture, family well-being, and economic empowerment for vulnerable families throughout our community.

Free Shuttle Service

We provide complimentary shuttle services to and from our farm location! Our shuttles are fully wheelchair-accessible and designed to accommodate all accessibility needs. Golf carts available throughout the festival grounds. We strongly encourage you to reserve your spot, as the farm is located about 15 minutes from Park Street.

To reserve your shuttle: sign up here or email [email protected].

Festival Highlights & Entertainment

Don’t miss Urban Triage’s Harvest Festival! This community event is open to everyone of all ages, and everything is free!

Amazing Entertainment:

• Live band performances & DJ sets that'll get you moving

• Mind-blowing magic shows

• Traditional African drummers

• Breathtaking stilt walkers & aerialist performances

• Heart-stopping tightrope acts

Family Fun Galore:

• Face painting for all ages

• Bouncy houses for endless energy

• Special children's activities

Delicious Treats:

• Fresh popcorn & cotton candy

• Authentic soul food

• Complimentary wine and beer for adults

• Free pumpkins & fresh organic produce to take home

And so much more!

The warmth, inclusivity, and pure joy of our festival creates an atmosphere where everyone belongs. From ADA parking with attendants to nonstop entertainment, every detail is designed to celebrate our community's strength and resilience.

Make a Difference

Your support makes this celebration possible!

Consider making a donation to help us continue creating these transformative community experiences.

Donate Today.

National Black Business Month and National Farmers Market Week, observed August 2–8, intersect at Urban Triage through a Black-led agriculture model connecting food production, community food access, business development, hemp education, and economic opportunity.

Since launching its agriculture work in 2020, Urban Triage has trained approximately 92 participants, supported approximately six agriculture- and hemp-related business launches, and grown and distributed more than 10,000 pounds of organically produced food.

“Black people do not lack talent, ideas, or the ability to build successful businesses. What has been denied is equal access to land, capital, infrastructure, training, and markets,” said Brandi Grayson, founder and CEO of Urban Triage. “Urban Triage is building that infrastructure from the ground up by growing food, training entrepreneurs, launching businesses, and keeping resources circulating in the community. This is not charity. This is what food sovereignty looks like in practice: ownership, economic power, and the ability to build generational wealth.”

Urban Triage’s Supporting Healthy Agriculture initiative introduces participants to farming, gardening, organic food production, and agricultural business development. Participants receive classroom instruction, hands-on growing experience, and practical support while reconnecting with agricultural knowledge and traditions. Graduates leave prepared to grow food, establish gardens, explore agricultural careers, and begin developing businesses within the local food system.

Urban Triage grows most of its produce on certified organic farmland at the Linda and Gene Farley Center for Peace, Justice, and Sustainability. The organization also operates multiple community gardens and provides free produce and free access to community-supported agriculture at several distribution sites serving individuals and families experiencing food insecurity. Produce grown through Urban Triage’s programming moves directly into these community access points.

Urban Triage’s Hemp Specialty Crop Program for Entrepreneurs prepares entrepreneurs to enter the hemp and wellness industries through cultivation experience and business training covering the process from seed to harvest and product development to market.

“I realized I had some preconceived biases about hemp that were shaped by societal misconceptions,” said Mia Davis, owner of Mia’s Kitchen and a graduate of the Hemp Specialty Crop Program for Entrepreneurs. “Being part of this program really helped me unlearn those ideas. Gaining a full understanding of the plant from seed to harvest really opened my perspective, and I’m already incorporating what I learned into my business.”

Less Noise Wellness, Urban Triage’s Wisconsin-grown hemp wellness brand, serves as a real-world business model for the current cohort. Participants will study its business plan, manufacturing process, branding, product development, and path to market while learning how to connect with manufacturers and develop hemp-based products of their own. Proceeds from Less Noise Wellness return to Urban Triage’s agriculture initiatives.

FIFTH ANNUAL URBAN HARVEST FESTIVAL

The public can experience Urban Triage’s agriculture work at one of its primary growing sites during the fifth annual Urban Harvest Festival from 3 to 8 p.m. Saturday, September 19, at the Farley Center, 2299 Spring Rose Road in Verona.

More than 3,000 people attended last year’s festival. This fifth-year milestone celebrates five years of harvesting Black joy, building community networks, strengthening community power, and creating economic opportunity. It also honors the food produced, businesses developed, partnerships strengthened, and families supported throughout the year, along with the staff, volunteers, funders, donors, sponsors, and community members who make the work possible.

“Black families deserve spaces where we can experience pure joy without worrying about money, putting on a mask, changing how we speak, or thinking about how we walk, act, or show up,” Grayson said. “The Harvest Festival is a place where families can come as their full, authentic selves and be celebrated in their own skin. Black joy is not separate from healing or liberation. It is part of both.”

The festival begins with African drumming and a general ceremony honoring the land and ancestors. It is not presented as a ceremony belonging to any specific Indigenous group or tradition. Instead, it reflects Urban Triage’s understanding that the land must be recognized and celebrated because it is where food and hemp are planted, tended, and harvested—and where the community reaps what has been sown.

The free festival will feature food catered by Rib Masters, African drumming, jazz, spoken word, aerialists, stilt walkers, jugglers, magic, giant bubbles, family activities, and complimentary beer and wine for adults.

Urban Triage’s donors and sponsors cover the cost so families can attend, eat, celebrate, and participate without financial barriers. No registration is required. Information about free shuttle assistance will be available before the event.

Event information is available at https://urbantriage.org/event/5th-annual-urban-harvest-festival.