porcupine freedom festival
Day 164/365 of My Living Xperiment: Elon is man enough to apologize because worthy leaders know recklessness must be tempered with wisdom, even when operating authentically… https://t.co/YEmkWm83KF
— Carla Gericke, Live Free And Thrive! (@CarlaGericke) June 12, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Carla Gericke
Chairwoman, Free State Project
Website: PorcFest.com
PorcFest XXII: “Taste the Revolution” at the 2025 Porcupine Freedom Festival in New Hampshire
Lancaster, NH – June 5, 2025 – The Free State Project, a groundbreaking movement to build a libertarian stronghold in New Hampshire, is thrilled to announce PorcFest XXII, the 22nd annual Porcupine Freedom Festival, taking place June 16–22, 2025 at the legendary Roger’s Campground in Lancaster, NH.
This year’s theme, “Taste the Revolution,” invites thousands of attendees to experience the radical flavors of liberty through bold conversation, hands-on learning, and a festival atmosphere like no other. With a reputation as the largest and liveliest liberty event in the world, PorcFest is where the “Live Free or Die” ethos isn’t just a motto—it’s a lifestyle.
A Living Marketplace of Liberty
More than a festival, PorcFest is a weeklong, open-air experiment in decentralized living. Picture a campground turned micro-nation: no central authority, no gatekeeping, just voluntary interactions, vendor villages, spontaneous debates, renegade talks, and family fun.
Attendees create their own experience—from fire pit philosophy to barter booths, crypto workshops to goat yoga, and yes, even the beloved One Pot Cook-Off, back by popular demand on Thursday night.
Ross Ulbricht: From Prisoner to Pioneer
In a momentous homecoming for the liberty movement, Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road and a pivotal early adopter of Bitcoin, will attend PorcFest after his January 2025 presidential pardon by Donald J. Trump.
Ross will attend PorcFest alongside his wife, Caroline, and his tireless advocate and mother, Lyn Ulbricht. Their presence marks a full-circle moment: The Free State Project helped launch the “Free Ross” campaign in 2015, using New Hampshire’s First-in-the-Nation status to push his case into the national spotlight.
“Our perseverance paid off,” said Carla Gericke, FSP Chairwoman. “Ross’s freedom proves what decentralized, grassroots activism can achieve. We fought for justice—and we won. Now we celebrate.”
2025 Speakers & Special Guests
This year’s speaker lineup is stacked with liberty legends and forward-thinkers:
- Ross Ulbricht – Silk Road founder, Bitcoin pioneer, justice warrior
- Connor Boyack – Author of the Tuttle Twins and policy reformer
- Joel Salatin – Regenerative farming icon and food freedom advocate
- Angela McArdle – Former LNC Chair, free speech activist
- David Friedman – Economist and author of The Machinery of Freedom
- Corey DeAngelis – National school choice champion
- Scott Horton – Antiwar journalist and Libertarian Institute director
- Jason Sorens, Eric Brakey, and Carla Gericke of the Free State Project
DIY Hubs, Kid-Friendly Zones, and One Heck of a Community
PorcFest’s famous “Hubs” empower attendees to host talks, start debates, or build whatever freedom-centric experience they want. Expect live music, crypto meetups, art installations, permaculture demos, nightly bonfires, and a bustling Agora Marketplace powered by barter and Bitcoin (and filthy FRNs).
Families are welcome! The PorcuPints Kids Program features everything from a petting zoo to a mock trial run entirely by young liberty lovers. And for those with a taste for competition, the One Pot Cook-Off returns—bring your appetite and your vote.
Join the Revolution
Tickets for PorcFest XXII are on sale now at PorcFest.com. Previous years have sold out, so grab your camping gear, prep your favorite liberty memes, and join thousands of freedom lovers for the ultimate celebration of voluntaryism in action.
About the Free State Project
The Free State Project is a mass migration of liberty-minded people to New Hampshire to build a freer future. With over 7,000 movers already on the ground and thousands more on the way, the FSP is building a thriving community grounded in individual rights, personal responsibility, and decentralized solutions.
My Living Xperiment (155/365 Lives) https://t.co/h8c5IM4cRQ
— Carla Gericke, Live Free And Thrive! (@CarlaGericke) June 3, 2025
Ross will be attending PorcFest!!! 🙂 Grab your tickets today!
🚨 HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨
— The Free State Project (@FreeStateNH) May 29, 2025
After over a decade behind bars…
After years of tireless advocacy…
After never giving up hope…
Ross Ulbricht is coming to PorcFest 2025.
This will be a celebration of freedom, resilience, and community.
Join us in welcoming Ross to the Free State!… pic.twitter.com/WeDDvOzovs
Just got back from a lunch with Ross, his wife, Caroline, and of course, Lyn Ulbricht, the bestest mom in the world. They will all be at PorcFest is a few short weeks.
Who said "baloney"? pic.twitter.com/3iKPAHWTz4
— Carla Gericke, Live Free And Thrive! (@CarlaGericke) May 29, 2025
Watch this WMUR clip about RFK’s upcoming talk at PorcFest XX. Get YOUR tix today!
Very exciting to hear NH libertarians and liberty voters and people interested in self-ownership being given their due…
Posted by Carla Gericke on Monday, June 5, 2023
Ep. 6: The Carla Gericke Show Sits Down with PorcFest XIX Organizer Dennis Pratt (11/17/21)
Join me for an in-depth chat with Dennis Pratt, a philosopher and gentleman. We talk about his “Coming to NH” story, some of the myriad of projects he is working on, including an upcoming Seacoast bus tour and comedy festival in December at the SHELL, and what you can expect at PorcFest XIX.
Sold-Out, Historic, Legendary PorcFest 2021: A Smashing Success Story of Peace Over Coercion (Part 1)
The 18th Annual Porcupine Freedom Festival ended yesterday, but lament not, tickets are already on sale for 2022. Get yours TODAY! Why come to PorcFest? Because if you’ve ever wondered what the Free State Project is about, there’s no better way to get a flavor of our growing and thriving community than spending a week camping with us in the woods.
Over the years, PorcFest has often been described by attendees as “a gateway drug for the liberty curious.” PorcFest draws people who sense something is unbalanced in our world and are seeking answers–whether it is to the violence we see, the pain and suffering caused by the state in the name of control, the destruction of our purchasing power through inflation and unsustainable monetary policy, or, well, frankly, whatever the f*ck 2020 was–PorcFest is the place where free-thinkers come to share their visions for a better world.
After almost two decades, we know that mingling our community’s “porc power” with the “liberty curious” turns attendees into movers. We also know the more like-minded, peaceful people we can gather together in New Hampshire, the stronger our chances of building the “prosperity-for-all” future we seek.
We are on a mission to create a peaceful free state based on voluntary human interaction and consent.
This year, we sold more than 2,500 tickets. We had scores of intellectuals and academics speaking about a myriad of socio-economic topics, including feminist writer Naomi Wolf (read THIS) and antiwar spokesman Scott Horton. For the first time, both the Anthem Film Festival, and Gene Epstein’s SOHO Forum were present. We were also delighted to welcome back some of our favorites, like economist David Friedman, podcaster Tom Woods, writer Jeffrey Tucker, and comedian Dave Smith.

PorcFest XVIII had 15 main stage sponsors and 10 facilities sponsors. About 500 decentralized events were hosted by smaller hubs, villages, and individuals across the campground. Topics ranged from knitting and knives, to body positivity and health freedom, to tiny homes, off-the-grid living and how to raise chickens, to school choice and unschooling, to teaching newbies gun safety and how to shoot.
Hundreds of free-range children spent the week playing together. Some sold printed programs, knickknacks, and walked dogs for cash. Drones flew over drum circles. A Thriller flash mob appeared on the field before the Bardo Pork roast on Saturday, which took place opposite a Shrimp Boil. [Aside: I had incredible #freedomnomnom noshes all week long, including authentic bánh mì sandwiches and phở. I’ll do an entire foodie post later!]
PorcFest epitomizes the best of the Free State movement: individualism, team work, selling and buying things, crypto and other alternatives to the coercion of the state, sharing ideas, agreeing, disagreeing, growing, thriving, teaching and learning, all always, always PEACEFUL.
Reporters often ask me, “Explain who Free Staters are,” and, after I have a good belly laugh, I explain that as individuals, we are all different, but if there’s one thing you might say unites us, it’s the ethical stance of the non-aggression principle. As one of PorcFest’s sponsors, Free the People’s t-shirt says: “Don’t hurt ppl; don’t take their stuff.” Easy enough!
I’ve been doing this “Liberty lives in New Hampshire” thing for a good long time now. I attended my first PorcFest in 2005, and moved to New Hampshire in 2008. I organized PorcFest in 2009 and 2010, doubling attendance. In 2020, I proceeded with PorcFest XVII as a First and Second Amendment protected assembly, with no negative outcomes.

This year feels different, like we’ve arrived. PorcFest XVIII’s Chef de Village, Dennis Pratt, somehow managed to take the picture I’ve had in my head for years and years and made it appear before my eyes. I am in awe of what Dennis accomplished.
By engaging and energizing hundreds of others to bring their best and brightest, to bring their ideas and passions, to bring their swagger and game, i.e. by decentralizing and trusting one another, we had the biggest and best PorcFest yet!
A HUGE, SPECIAL THANK YOU to Dennis Pratt and the entire volunteer team, especially the core heavy lifters, Chris Lopez, Constance Spencer, Shawn Grissom, Pete E, Scott S, Frans Honer, Katie, Aureus H, Zoe Noctum, Anie, Stephen Nass (and their relevant partners!), and all the other amazeballs, incredible, awesomesauce Free Staters who worked hard to make PorcFest a smashing success!
As totalitarianism grows around us, so too does interest in the opposite: self-respect and human dignity through self-ownership. As I jokingly said throughout PorcFest XVIII: “2020 was good for those of us in the freedom business!” The more the boot of the state stomps down, the stronger our movement grows.
Remember: There is safety in numbers.
Think of the Free State movement as creating a “libertarian safe space” where we can choose to “Live Free and Thrive!” Surely we too are allowed to exist somewhere? In many ways, Free Staters are refugees, seeking safe harbor from the exploitation of a corrupt, immoral, unrestricted, and unaccountable federal government.
We seek one place to exist, and we come in peace to New Hampshire in order to preserve and expand the liberties we find here.

If YOU are liberty curious, I encourage you to follow the Free State Project, PorcFest, and me personally (Twitter; Facebook; Insta; MeWe; YouTube–where I host a weekly political show and have a cooking show called #Freedomnomnom). The FSP will be hosting more events as we grow, so stay tuned for more info, but in the meantime, buy your PorcFest XIX tickets TODAY for June 20-26, 2022.
I will be writing more pieces about PorcFest in the coming days, and encourage you to seek more information online (see #porcfest on social media). I will update here on The Art of Independence with news pieces and other speakers media and social media posts as I gather them.
Thank you to everyone who attended, love ya, and see YOU next year, if not before! My heart is full.
The more things change the more they stay the same!?! PorcFest is happening next week in the beautiful White Mountains of the Free State of New Hampshire.
We’re SOLD OUT, and expecting more than 2,500 people, of which 2/3 are from out of state. That’s a LOT of potential movers, people seeking a better life, which is what living in liberty in NH offers!
As the rest of the world moves towards more top-down control and totalitarianism, I encourage all peaceful liberty lovers who believe in private property and self-ownership to join us!
I am doing several talks at PorcFest, including “Make America States Again”; my future vision; police accountability; and the how and why of the Free State Project. I am looking forward to talks by speakers like Naomi Wolf, Tom Woods, Jeffrey Tucker, Gene Epstein, Stephen Kinsella, Scott Horton, and more!
On Saturday at 6PM, we are again hosting SOAPBOX IDOL, which is YOUR opportunity to do a 3-minute rant about whatever you are most passionate about. Don’t miss the auditions 11A most days in the Upper Picnic Tent.
If you haven’t looked at the schedule yet, it’s bananas! On top of the main field, there are HUNDREDS of programs, from knitting to newbie shoots, being offered by individuals. Be sure to walk around the campground and enjoy each others’ company. We are all here to learn and share!
A reminder, PorcFest is about personal responsibility, i.e. how YOU are behaving and showing up in the world. We want YOU to have the time of your life, while also being considerate of others. Attendees run the gamut from singles to great-grandparents, with a lot of families with young ‘uns in-between. Quiet time is 11PM. Tomorrow is another day; pace yourself.
Take photos, record talks, and use this PUBLIC link to upload pics: https://dropevent.com/PorcFest. Live tweet, and help us create buzz and capture memories. Use #PorcFest and #LiveFreeAndThrive. I can’t wait to meet YOU.
Come say “hi.” Plan to buy my book, The Ecstatic Pessimist for $20 and/or support my Carla Gericke for New Hampshire efforts. Liberty lives in New Hampshire! Come join the fun!
(PS: I’m pretty sure the whip was a prop. The gun and crown are real. )
From a 2012 interview in GQ… Not to date myself, but I’ve been doing this “Free State of NH” thing for a good long while… and now I need YOU! Interested in helping to build the coolest little independent state in the North x North East?
Come to the 18th Annual Porcupine Freedom Festival to learn more about the thousands of #bitcoin and #crypto early adopters building a consent-based society based on self-ownership. PorcFest XVIII tix for folks like comedian Dave Smith, Tom Woods are only $50 right now, get yours today.
Read the whole interview at GQ.
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