Sky Farm to host first Music and Arts Festival
A historic nudist club celebrates creativity, community, and 90+ years of body freedom with a new festival debuting June 21
Sky Farm, the historic member-owned nudist cooperative in New Jersey, will host its inaugural Sky Farm Music and Arts Festival on June 21, 2025—a first-of-its-kind event designed to celebrate body freedom, creativity, and community.
The daylong event will feature live music from a variety of performers—many of them naturists themselves—alongside art and wellness activities including body painting, henna, and yoga. As evening falls, the DJ-led dance party and wheel-lighting ceremony will bring the festivities to a colorful close.
“What’s interesting is that a number of the performers—probably about 90%—are also nudists,” longtime Sky Farm member and board trustee Dan Speers told Planet Nude. “These are people that I’ve met over the years and they want to be part of it.”
The festival was originally conceived as a bonfire gathering, inspired in part by the culture of Burning Man. But with open flames prohibited on the grounds, organizers pivoted toward a more symbolic centerpiece: the ceremonial lighting of Sky Farm’s historic German exercise wheel, a relic from early American nudist culture.
“We’re going to decorate it and put it on a platform,” saays Speers. “And we’re going to have an audience participation event after dark… lighting the wheel where people get to be a part of this.”
Founded in 1932 by Kurt Barthel, Sky Farm holds a unique place in American naturist history as the first official nudist club in the United States. Barthel himself was deputized by the local sheriff in those early days—complete with a badge and sidearm, which he reportedly stopped wearing due to the tan lines. The festival nods to this rich history not only through the ceremonial lighting of the historic German exercise wheel—a relic from Sky Farm’s earliest physical culture practices—but also by continuing the legacy of communal creativity and volunteer-led celebration that has sustained the club for more than 90 years. This new event, held for the first time in the club’s 90-year history, aims to bring together longtime members and curious newcomers alike in a shared space of expression, nature, and nude-friendly creativity.
“It’s really going to be quite a thing for us to put this on,” Speers said. “Fundamentally, it really is about getting the word of Sky Farm out there and generating interest for people who want to consider being a member.”
The event is invitation-only, but you are welcome to request an invitation. Anyone curious about attending can visit the Sky Farm website to request a visit and begin the simple, welcoming membership introduction process. Those who already know a Sky Farm member can also attend as their guest.
“If you know somebody who’s a member of Sky Farm… they can give you an invitation. Or you can get invited by our membership people.” 🪐
There once was a whole issue of The Naturist Society Foundation's magazine devoted to Sky Farm.