A German Libertarian’s Invitation to PorcFest

The following article is an invitation. An invitation to the largest and longest-standing libertarian festival in the world: the Porcupine Freedom Festival (or PorcFest for short) in New Hampshire. I, the author, am a German immigrant to the United States and have been involved with the Free State Project (FSP) for several years. The FSP is an effort to concentrate liberty-lovers from across the United States (and, where possible, the world) in the small state of New Hampshire.

Because I don’t want to assume you’re already familiar with the FSP, let me take a step back and give you the necessary historical context. After the founding of the Libertarian Party in the United States in the early 1970s, it seemed like the winds of freedom were in full sail. After years in the wilderness, freedom-loving citizens had an institution to rally behind and a vehicle to channel their critique of the status quo. While the movement grew, it didn’t achieve the level of success needed to seriously challenge the national Democrat-Republican duopoly. And if you never get above 5% of the vote in a system that requires 50% or more, what’s the point of running at all?

Just as the high hopes pinned on the Libertarian Party eventually faded, so did brief, seemingly libertarian moments that followed: the Reagan revolution, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the boundless belief in technological innovation in the 1990s. The latter was followed by a stock market crash and the attacks of September 11th. As overseas wars began and government power grew, libertarians looked at each other and realized they needed a new strategy.

And it was found: A Libertarian Camp. If bringing people together under libertarianism wasn’t working (at least not at the speed that was needed), then it followed logically that a national strategy was a dead end. But once you accept that conclusion, what’s left? At this point, the movement arrived at an obvious solution. Libertarians across the country needed to pack their bags, move to one geographical area, combine their strength, and actively create the society they had only imagined until then.

Where this libertarian homeland should be was passionately debated. In the early 2000s, a decision was made: New Hampshire. Since then, thousands of activists from across the United States have relocated there, creating a microcosm unlikely to exist anywhere else on Earth. Whether you want to homeschool your children, live off the grid, use cryptocurrency exclusively, or be surrounded by gun enthusiasts 24/7, this is where you’ll find your freedom-loving allies. Cato Institute recently named New Hampshire the freest state in the nation, which is unsurprising considering that a majority of Republicans in the state’s legislature are either Free Staters or sympathetic to the cause. New Hampshire libertarians have achieved more political successes in the last five years than the Libertarian Party has in half a century.

Ask different activists, and you’ll hear different interpretations of the FSP’s goals. Some emphasize gradualism and the need to cooperate with existing power structures, while others lean toward more radical goals, like seceding from the United States altogether. As an activist and spokesperson, I’ve been working to bring members of my own country, Germany, to the FSP and, more specifically, its biggest festival, PorcFest. But why stop there? Why should there only be a “little Germany” on the campsite? Why not a “little France,” a “little Portugal,” or a “little Sweden”? Why shouldn’t we come together and create a “little libertarian Europe”?

As mentioned at the beginning, this is exactly what I aim to make possible. If there is interest among the readers of this website, I am committed to helping you with everything needed to attend the world’s largest libertarian festival, PorcFest, in June 2025.

On porcfest.com, it’s described as follows: “PorcFest is a multi-day celebration of liberty at Roger’s Campground in Northern New Hampshire. Come! Bring your whole family! Bring a friend! Or two! Campfires, panel discussions, presentations, movies, live talk shows, dancing, singing, music, food, parties, all around liberty-loving good times, and more are to be found at the most exciting liberty event of the year. PorcFest showcases some of New Hampshire’s finest people and offerings in the scenic White Mountains.”

And anyway, who wouldn’t want to see Tom Woods live, debate Austrian economics with Bob Murphy, or relax with like-minded people while Dave Smith and Robbie Bernstein perform their latest stand-up? Picture yourself wandering through a campground filled with over 3,000 individuals from across the United States and the world who all get it, who all carry the inextinguishable flame of freedom in their hearts. Who wouldn’t want to dive into this microcosm and experience how our lives and interactions could look if the worldview of freedom hadn’t been stamped out of us from a young age?

As a libertarian living outside the U.S., you may have heard of events like PorcFest, but there are often too many uncertainties for you to seriously consider attending. Where is Roger’s Campground, and how do I get there? Will I fit in, or will I be the lone foreigner among locals who already have their established circles? What happens after the festival? Will I just fly home, or is there more to explore regarding the FSP? I’m writing this article to answer these questions for you, so let’s dive in!

Tickets

Tickets for 2025 aren’t available yet. PorcFest 2024 took place in June, and shortly after that, you’ll find 2025 tickets on porcfest.com. Expect tickets to cost between $75 and $90. Teenagers also need tickets but only pay $10 to $15.

Where?

PorcFest is held at Roger’s Campground, located in Lancaster, New Hampshire. It’s about three hours from the Boston airport and one and a half hours from the Manchester airport.

How to Get There

The FSP community is incredibly helpful and has consistently shown its willingness to roll out the red carpet for libertarian visitors. If we succeed in gathering a group of European libertarians for PorcFest 2025, I promise we’ll organize a caravan to pick you up from the airport.

If you’re reading this and considering attending, don’t think of it as a solo trip. Our goal is to bring together like-minded libertarians, foster new friendships, and create the road trip of a lifetime.

Signal Group

At the end of this article, you’ll find a link to our Signal chat, “PorcFest 2025 – We’re Coming!” There, you can ask questions about anything covered in this article. Even if you’re just curious, feel free to join! I’ll do my best to support you in your planning.

Video Conferences

From my efforts in 2024, I learned that occasional video conferences go a long way in answering questions, providing support, and building camaraderie. We plan to hold these starting in September.

Accommodation

You have two options: pragmatic or luxurious.

• Pragmatic: Buy a tent and camp onsite. If you don’t want to bring a tent on the flight, you can easily purchase one once you’re in New Hampshire.
• Luxurious: On porcfest.com, under “Come & Stay,” you’ll find a list of hotels in and around Lancaster. Alternatively, you can book a room via Airbnb or VRBO.

What About an Extended Stay?

New Hampshire has more to offer than just PorcFest! Since it’s home to the FSP, which has already attracted over 10,000 libertarians, you’ll never be bored. Freedom-themed events are so frequent that you couldn’t attend them all even if you tried. Check out the community’s calendar at fsp.org/calendar.

There’s also the Independence Inn, run by Free Staters. Located by the beautiful Bow Lake, it hosts weekly libertarian events. If you’d like to stay here, let us know, and we’ll negotiate a generous discount for you!

It goes without saying that an extended stay in the U.S. will require renting a car.

Closing Words

I’d like to close with a quote from a German libertarian who attended PorcFest in 2023. When I asked for his thoughts, he said, “What can I say? It was amazing! I had already visited New Hampshire in 2022, and everyone from the Free State Project was so friendly. But PorcFest is on another level: being surrounded by freedom-lovers for an entire week is just incredible. You owe it to yourself to buy a whiskey with real gold in it. I’ll be there again this year!”

So, what are you waiting for?

Lukas‘ phone number: +1 (603) 957 2076

Link to our Signal-group:

https://signal.group/#CjQKIA6H2WiQrh0Xe_GhMPkQcloeNHAPww5rngCN_ibrUFPbEhATNK12C8dlS3fgZqLjXRr5

Porcfest‘s website: https://porcfest.com/about/

Free State Projects calendar: https://www.fsp.org/calendar/

Independence Inn: https://theindependenceinn.com/

VisitNH-Webseite : https://www.visitnh.gov/