WILLITS, CA., 4/10/26 — The thrills of ranch life take center stage Saturday, April 25 as the Flock Together Festival returns to historic Ridgewood Ranch for a full-day celebration of sheep, farming, and agrarian culture. Equal parts gritty workday and joyful gathering, the festival invites people of all ages behind the gates of a working ranch to experience rural life in motion.
At the heart of the event is live sheep shearing—professional shearers work the floor while guests watch, ask questions, and help skirt wool. Meanwhile, spinners turn fleece into yarn, dogs herd sheep, grain is threshed and milled before being flipped into fresh pancakes. Lambs bounce through the grass, a horse and equipment parade rolls by, and trombones sound. Many gather for a communal ranch lunch featuring ranch-raised beef and lamb, served in working agricultural spaces.
Following last year’s wildly successful inauguration, the Flock Together Festival is expanding in 2026. The event takes place in Ridgewood Ranch’s storied Dairy Barn Complex, including the Seabiscuit-era Mare Barn and the 1960s Hay Barn and Dairy Parlor. This year, even more of the historic site will host demonstrations, hands-on activities, and immersive scenes highlighting the daily work of the ranch.
“Flock Together is about opening gates and coming together in our working spaces,” said shepherd Ryen Wright of Headwaters Grazing. “It’s a chance for folks to experience agriculture not as an idea, but as the living, joyful, hard work we do together.”
Rooted in the belief that many hands make light work, the festival emphasizes connection, curiosity and collective joy. Visitors are encouraged to get their hands dirty, ask questions and experience farmers and ranchers in their natural habitat: working, teaching and celebrating together.
Activities include:
- Sheep shearing all day, with hands-on wool skirting
- Ranch-to-table lunch
- Sheep dog demonstrations
- Fiber arts demonstrations and activities
- Equipment parade
- Barn Theater film projections
- Grain threshing, milling, and pancake flipping
- Seed cleaning and wheat weaving
- Mendocino County sheep ranching history
- Live music
- Soil science projections and microscope explorations
- Fire engine demonstrations
- Farmers market
The Flock Together Festival takes place Saturday April 25, at Ridgewood Ranch in Willits from 10 a.m.- 3 p.m. All are welcome to join this energetic, all-ages celebration of rural culture, working landscapes and community. $5 entry (kids free) $20 lunch, $10 kids lunch. Discount if purchased in advance.
For tickets, visit: https://www.headwatersgrazing.com/flocktogether