COLUMBIA — For two days in early June, Columbia will be the gathering place for families who believe there is wisdom in growing your own food, raising your own animals, and building a life less dependent on systems beyond their control. The Homestead Festival returns on June 5 and 6, drawing together homesteaders, aspiring homesteaders, and anyone curious about the skills and rhythms of a more self-sufficient life.
According to Visit Columbia TN, this year's festival will feature opportunities to learn about growing food, raising animals, keeping bees, and homeschooling children — a lineup that reflects the values of a community that has always known how to work the land. Maury County's agricultural heritage runs deep, from the bottomland farms along the Duck River to the family operations that have produced cattle, corn, soybeans, and more across the county's rolling hills for generations. The Homestead Festival taps into that heritage and makes it accessible to a new generation.
The festival also speaks to something broader happening across Middle Tennessee and the country — a renewed interest in traditional skills, local food production, and the kind of resilient, self-reliant household that doesn't flinch when supply chains wobble. For families already living that way, it's a reunion. For newcomers, it's an on-ramp. Either way, it fits Columbia like a well-worn work glove.
Full details on the festival's schedule, vendors, and featured speakers are available through Visit Columbia TN. Mark your calendars for June 5 and 6 — this is one of those events where you'll leave with something you didn't know you needed, whether that's a new skill, a new friend, or a flat of seedlings for the garden.