A Community Blooms at Foxtrot Farm and Flowers
Kate Farrar runs Foxtrot Farm and Flowers almost entirely by herself, with support from her partner and cute old pup Pepper. Starting the storybook-beautiful farm in Stanfordville, New York two-plus years ago was a dream come true, for Farrar, but it still felt kind of lonely. Her roadside stand and popular flower CSAs brought friends and customers to the farm for just short visits.
So, now she is cultivating community at Foxtrot, too – inviting friends, neighbors and everyone else to a slate of dinners and events intended to bring them into her life.
“Selfishly I want people here so I’m not just doodling around here on my own,” says Farrar, who has worked for over a decade on teams at Hearty Roots, Sparrowbush Farm, Suarez Brewing and elsewhere. “I like to think that for all the events I am hosting, they are more about uplifting other people and the stuff they are doing. I want to give other people the opportunity in the space to do what they want to do — and then we all get to benefit from it, just from being around it.”
On Friday, July 7, Farrar will host the first in her Dinners at Foxtrot series. Reservations are still available for this and future dinners this summer, which feature the open-fire cooking of regional chef Daniel Meissner. During the meals, the intimate 16-person outdoor farm table overflows with locally sourced meat and veggies, seasoned with herbs grown on the farm and surrounded by flowers that go home with guests. Dinners are also scheduled for August 11 and September 1.
At a recent menu test for the family-style meal, Meissner made fire-roasted lamb, miataki mushrooms with polenta, smoked trout, a rhubarb galette and more.
“Dan wanted to do a place-based dinner, everything is wood fired and cooked right in front of everyone,” says Farrar. “The table seats 16, so it’s really personal and you get to meet and talk to new people and make new friends.”
Foxtrot’s garden table will also be a stage this summer to a number of artistic, agricultural, and wellness-focused events. Farrar, who has a background in photography and the arts, holds regular “On the Farm Flower Bars” where she leads flower-arranging demonstrations that capture her dynamic approach to building bouquets, taking advantage of the diverse and less common blooms she cultivates.
“In the studio, I have kind of like a whimsical approach — a little weird, a little moody aesthetic that I like to work in. So I'm picking flowers that fit that aesthetic. I like growing new things and trying to grow weird things people aren’t use to seeing in arrangements. I’m really excited about perennials and I’m doing some new summer bulbs this year like crocosmia and kallos. But of course, it's nice to have staples that will show up as well, like your cosmos and sunflowers and zinnias.”
Foxtrot will be taking part in Upstate Art Weekend, July 21-24, hosting Charlotte Woolf, a queer interdisciplinary artist and educator working between NYC and Ohio. During her Artist Residency at ChaNorth in the summer of 2021, Woolf photographed and chronicled the women and non-binary individuals of American farming. Foxtrot was featured in that project and Farrar says she’s thrilled to welcome Woolf back to display her work at Foxtrot.
As Farrar plans her busy slate of summer programming, all while working every day to grow and her colorful crops, she’s also looking farther ahead. She is currently renovating the barn, converting a section of it into a full-service farm store and plotting an indoor event space in the other half. There is also a lineup of events already scheduled for the fall and winter to keep things alive as the flowers dry.
“Farming is what I want to do, and it’s what interests me and inspires me, but it is solitary and I also get emotionally fed through other people's passions and interests and company,” says Farrar. “This is a special space, and I'm lucky to be a steward of it. I think as people get more invested in the space emotionally, by being in it in different ways, it’s going to grow into something really exciting.”
Flowers and CSA memberships can be purchased at Foxtrot online or by stopping by the farmstand Fridays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. when flowers can be picked or purchased directly. Unsurprisingly, customers are encouraged to hang out on the patio. Beverages and pastries from Crossroads Food Shop are avalible as well.
Foxtrot Farm and Flowers
6862 Route 82 Stanfordville, NY
(646) 872-7693
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