What Is the Farms of the Brave Ag+Art Tour?

Kara Rutter
May 10
2 min read

Statewide Farm Tour on Veteran-led farms

If you've heard people talking about spending Memorial Day weekend on a veteran's farm in South Carolina and wondered what that's all about—you're in the right place.

The Farms of the Brave Ag + Art Tour is a free, self-guided public tour that takes place every Memorial Day weekend across South Carolina. Visitors explore veteran-owned and veteran-led farms, ranches, and homesteads alongside artisan vendors—potters, woodworkers, fiber artists, cheesemakers, and more—all in one long weekend designed to connect communities with the people growing their food and making things by hand.

Who Puts It On?

The tour is presented by Farms of the Brave (FoB) and Clemson Cooperative Extension, with roots in Project Victory Gardens (PVG) and the Palmetto Veterans in Agribusiness (PVIA) network. It's part of a broader USDA-NIFA-funded initiative supporting veteran farmers and agritourism development across the Palmetto State.

What Happens on the Tour?

Each participating farm or vendor sets its own experience. You might find:

U-pick produce and farm-fresh goods for sale
Live demonstrations of traditional crafts or agricultural practices
Heritage breed livestock, orchards, and working farmsteads
Artist studios and handmade goods
Food, conversation, and a direct connection to where your food comes from

There's no fixed route and no registration required. Visitors use an interactive map at FarmsOfTheBrave.org to plan their own itinerary across the weekend.

When Is the 2026 Tour?

The 2026 Farms of the Brave Ag + Art Tour runs May 22–25, 2026 — Memorial Day weekend. It is free and open to the public.

Why Memorial Day Weekend?

The timing is intentional. Memorial Day is a moment of national reflection on the service and sacrifice of American veterans. By placing an agricultural and creative celebration in that window, the tour invites communities to honor veterans not just with ceremony, but with presence—by showing up, buying local, and bearing witness to the work veterans are doing to build a life on the land after service.