Rid-All Farm’s Fresh Fest returns for sixth year with art, food, activities, and music
Rid-All Partnership is set to become the city’s biggest block party this Saturday, Sept. 13 from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m., as Fresh Fest Cleveland returns for its sixth year. The free festival will take over the Kinsman neighborhood with food, art, wellness activities, and a music lineup led by hip-hop legend MC Lyte.
From vacant lots to a community hub
FreshFest 2023Since 2019, Fresh Fest has drawn thousands each year to Rid-All Farm and Otter Park, 8129 Otter Ave., a site once forgotten and piled with debris and abandoned homes. Today, the 26.5 acres is home to greenhouses, a tilapia farm, classrooms, a community kitchen, and a gathering space.
The festival initially began in 2019 as a partnership between Environmental Health Watch, Rid-All Green Partnership, and Brittany’s Record Shop as a way to highlight the farm’s urban agriculture while celebrating food, culture, and wellness in a neighborhood overlooked all-to-often.
“It's all contributing to the quality of life in urban poor communities,” Rid-All Green Partnership co-founder Randy McShepard told FreshWater last year. “We need healthy air, healthy food, healthy environments, and healthy places for people to recreate—all those things come together in this one event.”
Fresh additions for 2025
This year’s festival adds line dancing and yoga sessions to the schedule, along with vendors, food, and workshops.
Wallace Settles, longtime talent buyer, event producer, and owner of Loud Jones Entertainment, says he is excited about the lineup, and is thrilled that a newer, Black-led festival can hold its own against larger music events.
Ultimately, he says hopes Fresh Fest brings pride both to Rid-All Farm and to the Black community in greater Cleveland.
Highlights include:
- More than 80 local vendors, including Rust Belt Riders, the Cleveland Guardians, Sweetly Vegan, Cakes & Co., ThirdSpace Action Lab, and The Village Tee.
- 12 food trucks, including Squash the Beef, House of Tacos, and We Want Smoke BBQ.
- A Health and Wellness Zone with yoga, reiki, a drum circle, a sound bath, and a farmer’s market.
- A Kids Zone with games, a 3-on-3 basketball tournament, and a spa corner.
- A beer garden.
- Special programs like Trap Yoga, “The Nature of Healing” artist panel, and two writing workshops.
Music has been part of Fresh Fest since the start. Organizers say hip-hop, with roots in public housing, was a natural fit for a festival built on community.
Music has been a pillar of Fresh Fest since its inceptionHip-hop iconMC Lyte is headlining the performance lineup this year, the first female rapper nominated for a Grammy Award. Her career spans more than three decades, with performances everywhere from Carnegie Hall to the White House.
The lineup also features a mix of local and national artists across hip hop, R&B, funk, jazz, blues, and soul, including DJ Black Unicorn, Sadhu, Armand Rashad, Nuke Franklin, OG Vern, Esther Fitz, Lillian Ruffin, and Kamakazi Kenji.
Know before you go
Although tickets for Fresh Fest are free, registration must be made in advance. Walk-ups will be registered at the front gate.
Free parking is available at Cleveland Metropolitan Housing Authority, 8120 Kinsman Road, and at the northwest corner of East 79th Street and Kinsman Road, with continuous shuttle service to the festival entrance.
Organizers recommend wearing comfortable shoes and bringing along sunscreen, a water bottle, and cash or card for vendors.
For updates, the full schedule, and other details, go to the Fresh Fest website.
