This Fall I was invited to a weekend getaway by Patrick Janelle (A Guy Named Patrick) and Wonderful Pistachios called The Gathering. Janelle is known for co-founding Spring Street Social Society and the Liquor Cabinet. He’s also got a huge presence online with his unique brand of visual storytelling across Instagram and agnp.co. “I am able to provide a deeper commentary on culture, share my top travel tips for any city, and create curated collections of all the best places (including, obviously, coffee shops) in the cities I love,” said Janelle.
When asked what The Gathering was Janelle said, “The Gathering was created as a means to think creatively about how people get together. Through a variety of formats, The Gathering is an ongoing series of social events that aim to bring joy and thoughtful connections.” We set-off in a caravan of SUVs from SoHo, next stop upstate Hudson Valley, New York Our destination was Lundy Farms a 62-acre property surrounded by 30,000 acres of state forest. We had officially embarked on Janelle’s new venture enjoying conversation on the ride and snacks from Wonderful Pistachios and Coconut Water. As we navigated the final winding roads to our destination we were surrounded by Fall foliage that serendipitously marked the start to our weekend.
Lundy Farms is owned and operated by Wellness entrepreneur Mike Patton, Founder of Yoga Vida. The property and entire experience were created to be a destination for eating healthier, enjoying yoga, and other various activities depending on the host of the retreat. On-site Chef & Farm Director Davis Lindsey really drove home the experience at Lundy Farms. Davis brought exquisite culinary chops to the dinner table by way of Blue Hill, the Stone Barns Center, Four Season Farm in Maine, Pure Food and Wine, and Brushstroke in NYC. He and his team prepared all our meals over the weekend including some of my favorites like the roasted cauliflower and beet burgers.
Patton and Davis have a shared vision for creating a place that boasts sublime food organically grown on-site. We enjoyed a tour of the property, some light-harvesting from the garden where we ate all our plant-based meals. The estate features a state-of-the-art greenhouse, places to swim, and an expansive landscape to roam. The next 3 days started with yoga each morning and a delicious plant-based breakfast. Our afternoons were curated with nature walks, farm tours and cocktail making with Hudson Whiskey. Each night ended with family-style dinners and old-fashioned games by the fireplace. My favorite evening was spent outdoors in the crisp Autumn air around a bonfire sharing s’mores and laughter under the stars.
“I love bringing people together to share meals and moments, and our trip to Lundy Farm was the ultimate expression of that. Even though everyone arrived as strangers, they left as friends with memories. That’s just as important to me as the food, cocktails, and yoga—which were fabulous, too, by the way! Next year, I’m looking forward to expanding how I think about group experiences. Maybe even including international travel!” said Janelle.
I must admit the weekend was one of the best things I have attended in a long while and was reinforced by other’s experiences like attendee, Julianne Lewis. “There was something magical about the weekend that we all felt. The plant-based food was divine, and knowing that it was grown on-site, in a greenhouse we visited, and a garden we harvested from, made it even better. Sitting around the bonfire swapping stories, connecting with people I may have never met otherwise, I kept thinking about how lucky I was to be there at that moment. Everything was perfectly curated, from the fall-themed whiskey cocktails to the bits of downtime we used to explore the property or chat by the fire. Lundy Farm is a gorgeously decorated aesthete’s dream, and Patrick and his team turned it into the most special weekend getaway I could imagine.”
