Queer Cleveland

Egg Moon Farm, a women’s land collective, formed in 1995. In 1995, following a visit to Kimbilio Farm (an established “women’s retreat space and bed and breakfast”), Sally Tatnall (founder of the Berkshire Hag House Lesbian Collective) united with “about 50 women (mostly lesbians, all women-identified)” from the greater Cleveland area to form the Egg Moon Farm women’s land collective. Seeking to “create a community free from hierarchy where all women would be empowered and valued,” members of the Egg Moon Farm land collective collected over $30,000 with which they aimed to purchase a plot of rural land upon which they could establish a “place for where women [could] work and play and build community” together. In October 1995, the Egg Moon Farm collective purchased over 85 acres of “hilly farmland” in Holmes County, Ohio. Egg Moon Farm was open to all women “willing to make a commitment to the land and the group,” typically demonstrated through individual contributions of “skills, tools, work shifts, monthly payments, or lump sump payments toward a building project” on the land. Though the Egg Moon Farm collective’s overarching goal was to “create a safe, nurturing space for women” through the production of women’s land, all women were actively encouraged to contribute their unique visions for making this goal a reality.

In 1997, Egg Moon Farm held its first annual LandFest event in collaboration with Kimbilio Farm. Envisioned as a “mini-Michigan” (reminiscent of the popular annual Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival), Egg Moon Farm created LandFest as an annual festival to help introduce more women (collective members and non-members alike) to Egg Moon Farm while helping raise some of the funds necessary to maintain the collective’s property. LandFest provided opportunities for women to “find out more about the land and collective” through short-term participation in the collective and life on the land. Tickets were available for purchase by any woman over the age of 16, with proceeds benefitting the collective’s general operating expenses. (Accommodations were later made for mothers with children, and financial scholarships were later made available to accommodate women unable to afford the suggested ticket price).

Typical LandFest activities included “music, tours of the land, women-centered workshops, and camping” interspersed throughout the weekend. Egg Moon Farm itself presented opportunities for attendees to partake in a rustic camping experience, while neighboring Kimbilio Farm granted optional access to its more accessible and established facilities. Throughout the day, well-known lesbian and feminist figures presented event classes and workshops on variety of topics, ranging from “Wimmin’s Rituals, Rewiring Lamps, Sex Toys 101, Tai Chi, Collage Making, Women’s History, and African Dance” to “Lesbian Families, Spirituality, Traveling on a Budget,” and “Issues for Younger Lesbians.” Religious and spiritual rituals, including those to honor the annual summer solstice, were also held throughout the event weekend. On Friday and Saturday evenings, a series of scheduled (and sometimes impromptu) concerts offered attendees a chance to unwind while enjoying “women musicians [playing] and [singing] original music as well as classic favorites.” Outside of the many “[workshops,] [concerts], [rituals], or [meals]” that scheduled throughout the event, opportunities abounded for women to simply hike, camp, or relax in the company of other women and friends old and new. Above all else, LandFest granted attendees an opportunity to actively and intentionally participate in “creating women’s vision on women’s land” as part of the Egg Moon Farm women’s land community.

Egg Moon Farm remained active into the early 2000s. Over the years, the Egg Moon Farm collective has rented portions of its 85-odd acres to local farmers in Holmes County. By 2015, the majority of the collective’s land was sold to a private family in Holmes county. (A small portion of Egg Moon Farm’s former acreage, however, remains under the care of resident collective members.) The Land Project, a separate Cleveland-based women’s land collective, also remains active in rural Pennsylvania.

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Additional information coming soon.

Resources

• Benson, Judy. “Herstory.” Egg Moon Farm. (Archived webpage ca. 2004.)
• “Celebrate the Summer Solstice on Women’s Land.” Gay People’s Chronicle. Pride Guide 1998. Page B-27.
• Chwascinska, Olga. “S’mores and Solstice Rituals Enrich LandFest Weekend.” Gay People’s Chronicle. July 24, 1998. Page 7.
• Cudnik, Doreen. “On 85 Acres, A New Women’s Land Collective is Born.” Gay People’s Chronicle. Pride Guide 1997. Page A-9.
• “Debra Hirshberg Interview, 11 July 2023.” Cleveland Voices.
• Egg Moon Farm. Facebook.
• Glassman, Anthony. “Down on the Farm.” Gay People’s Chronicle. July 27, 2001. Page 1.
• “LandFest 2001.” Egg Moon Farm. (Archived webpage ca. 2001.)
• “Sally Tatnall Interview, 05 June 2019.” Cleveland Voices.
• “Sally Tatnall Interview, 19 July 2023.” Cleveland Voices.
• “Who We Are.” Egg Moon Farm. (Archived webpage ca. 2001.)
• “Who We Are.” Egg Moon Farm. (Archived webpage ca. 2004.)

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