TUCON 2026

TUCON 2026 — CanonFest at McKerracher Family Farm, August 26–31, 2026: what happened

TUCON 2026 — dusk over the forested ridgeline above McKerracher Family Farm, with the Theory Underground prism logo.
It happened · CanonFest · McKerracher Family Farm · Northern Idaho
Aug 26–31 2026

Six days on the farm, now in the books. Lectures and live podcast recordings, lake outings and campfires, real farm work, and the first Canon: TCG tournament. The founding edition of Theory Underground in person — and the last stop before the game goes to Kickstarter on October 3.

Follow the Kickstarter See how the week went
The Gathering

Theory,
in person.

Theory Underground has always been for workers with earbuds getting into big ideas. TUCON 2026 is where that went fully in person. For six days at McKerracher Family Farm, a 2.5-acre certified organic market garden in the woods of northern Idaho, we thought out loud, worked the land, recorded together, and played Canon: TCG.

It was the founding edition of an IRL gathering built for deliberate people who want a place they can return to. The days moved between lectures and dialogue, solitude and lake water, harvest and fire. The farm was the base of operations.

CanonFest was the public heart of the week: the doors opened to the local public for the Agora, the u-pick and farm tour, and the first tournament of Canon: TCG.

Aerial view of McKerracher Family Farm: greenhouses, garden rows, and the farmhouse in a clearing surrounded by conifer forest and distant mountains.
McKerracher Family Farm · 455 Bear Track Lane
A farm tour and teaching session for a seated group beside the greenhouses.
Farm tours & formation
Attendees bagging fresh greens at the sorting tables in the wash-and-pack barn.
Harvest & wash-pack
Two people pulling landscape fabric over a garden bed in the fall sun.
Work of the hands
What the days hold

Life of the mind,
work of the hands.

Between the talks there was a lake, a fire, a market stand, and a long table. The point was repeated return: a rhythm you could live inside, not a program you sat through.

The group posing on a sandy beach at a lake ringed by forested hills.Lake outingsPend Oreille · CDA
Attendees gathered around a bonfire at night on the farm.Campfire nightsBYOB · until late
A speaker addresses a seated group in the field at dusk, plates in hand and forest behind.The AgoraTalks in the field
A speaker on a plywood stage lit with blue and pink LEDs at dusk among tall pines.Live podcastsOn the record
The group gathered for a photo in front of the Tandoori Grill in Athol.Shared mealsAthol & the farm
A long table of attendees eating together outdoors in the market garden.The long tableEveryone eats together
A group around a table at a pub off the farm, laughing together.Good companyOff the farm
Hand-drawn CanonFest poster: a hand holding a Karl Marx trading card in front of the farm at sunset, dated August 27–29.
CanonFest

Canon: TCG

A liberal arts trading card game. Philosophers instead of Pokémon, built to rival Magic: The Gathering. Marx, drawn as a card you can actually play.

  • Everyone got card packs. Opened together on Friday morning.
  • Everyone learned to play. A full demonstration of how the game works.
  • The first tournament happened. Every player got a match against Andrew McKerracher on the farm.

What people held that weekend was the first edition, printed for the farm. Getting it into other people’s hands is what the Kickstarter is for — it launches October 3.

The full six days

Schedule

How the six days actually ran. All times were on the farm unless noted. Blocks tagged Early birds and Farm guests were for people arriving early or staying on site; Open to public marks the CanonFest events the local public was invited to.

DAY 01 · ARRIVAL
Wed · Aug26
Land, settle, begin
9:00a
Regenerative stewardship formation on the farmEarly birdsMeaningful work with the land, through 12:30.
12:30p
LunchAt the farm, or in town on the way to the airport.
2:00p
Carpool from Spokane International to the farmWe can drop you at a hotel or lodge along the way.
3:00p
Getting set up
4:30p
Dinner
6:00p
The Fourth Frontier and the Physical Rolodex Concept
7:00p
From Waypoint, through Timenergy, to Castration Culture · David McKerracher
8:00p
Open eveningLeft unscheduled. It filled itself in around the fire.
DAY 02 · OPENING
Thu · Aug27
Nature, natality, dialogue
9:00a
Regenerative stewardship formationEarly birdsOn the farm, through 12:30.
12:30p
Lunch
1:30p
Recommended solitude timeSleep, journaling, or exploring, with volunteer work and a carpool to a hike for whoever wanted it. Through 4:30.
4:30p
Welcome and Opening Remarks · David McKerracher
5:00p
Dinner
5:45p
Nurturing Nature and Natality · David & Ann McKerracher
6:45p
Underground Theory presentationsShare something you already wrote or are working on now. Read it aloud or present off the cuff, though we prefer more talking than reading.
7:45p
Wrapping up the Night with A DialogueOne person talks at a time, everyone else listens and takes notes. Not a Q&A but a dialogue about the day's themes.
8:45p
Social Hour
DAY 03 · CANONFEST
Fri · Aug28
Cards, market, post-left
6:00a
Morning on the farmFarm guests6–10 AM, for people staying at the farm.
10:00a
Pre-Institutions: Between Politics and Education · David McKerracher
11:00a
Everyone gets their collectible card packs
12:00p
Lake Outing at Pend Oreille
1:00p
Lunch in AtholTandoori Grill (Indian), Iron Pizza, or the food truck.
2:00p
Live podcast recording: SAARUTU phases 1–5At Athol City Park during the Farmer's Market, posted off to the side under our own canopy.
3:00p
Demonstration of how to play Canon: TCG
4:00p
The Walking School of AthensOr the Athol Farmer's Market.
5:00p
Break down the market standHelp Ann pack up the canopy and head back to the farm. Carpools leaving by 5:30 at the latest.
6:00p
Dreaming Wide Awake · Matthew StanleyMatthew presents on his forthcoming book, laying out his intellectual journey so far.
6:30p
Esoteric PresentationsNot for public consumption, just you presenting on something you wrote or are writing. Message Dave to get in the lineup.
7:30p
Post-Left Theory · David McKerracher & Tony Chamas
8:00p
Social HourBYOB, until 10.
DAY 04 · PUBLIC DAY
Sat · Aug29
The doors open
6:00a
Morning on the farmFarm guests6–10 AM, for people staying at the farm.
10:00a
Why Anarchism, Marxism, and Leftism all lead theory astray · David McKerracherFollowed by Q&A.
11:00a
The Cosmopolitan Delusion · Tony ChamasFollowed by Q&A.
12:00p
Lake Outing at Lake Coeur d'Alene
2:30p
Setting up for the public event
4:00p
U-pick, farm tour, and socialize with the local publicOpen to public
5:00p
Dinner, music, dancing, and hang out on the farmOpen to publicThrough 7 PM.
The first Canon: TCG tournament — everyone gets to play against Andrew McKerracher.
7:00p
Proto Agora event: talks on the hillOpen to public5–8 minute talks made for a general audience, online and IRL, at the intersection of our ideas. Message Dave to get in the lineup.
DAY 05 · SABBATH
Sun · Aug30
Rest, mass, stewardship
6:00a
Carpool back to Spokane InternationalFor those flying out.
9:30a
BrunchIn Spokane, WA or Coeur d'Alene, ID on the way back from the airport.
11:00a
Mass at St. Joseph'sOptionalFor those who want to attend.
12:30p
Lunch12:30 / 1 PM.
2:00p
Rest and relaxationThrough 4:30.
5:00p
Stewardship Seminar
6:00p
Dinner and Wind Down
DAY 06 · DEPARTURE
Mon · Aug31
Home
6:00a
Final trip to Spokane International6–8 AM, depending on who needs to be where and by when.
 
That's it.
On the program

The books
in the room.

Several of the week's talks came straight out of work in progress. Here is what was presented and by whom.

Cover of Castration Culture by David McKerracher: a daisy growing through a cracked concrete wall with a digital glitch.

Castration Culture

David McKerracher

Fri arrival talk: from Waypoint, through Timenergy, to Castration Culture.

Cover of Underground Theory V3: Growing Pains, edited by David and Ann McKerracher.

Underground Theory V3

Ed. David & Ann McKerracher

Growing Pains. Dialogues with Jreg, Nick Land, Studebaker, Chamas, Stanley, and more.

Cover TBA

Dreaming Wide Awake

Matthew Stanley

Presented Friday evening: his intellectual journey so far.

Cover TBA

Post-Left Theory

David McKerracher & Tony Chamas

Friday evening session on post-left theory.

Attendees gathered around a bonfire at night on the farm.
The fire is
part of the
curriculum.After hours · on the farm
2023 · 2024 · 2025 · 2026

It's been building.

Three years of retreats, conferences, and festivals brought us here. TUCON 2026 was the founding edition of what comes next.

Theory Underground gatherings from 2023 through 2025: indoor lectures, a farm-field session at dusk, a group at the lake, and the group around the fire at night, under the words Retreat, Conference, Festival.
What happens next

The game
needs a print run.

CanonFest put the first edition on a table in the woods. Canon: TCG becomes a real printed game — 340 cards, boxed and shipped — only if the Kickstarter funds, and it launches October 3.

Following the pre-launch page takes ten seconds, costs nothing, and commits you to nothing. Kickstarter emails you the moment the campaign opens, and how many people show up on day one decides whether it funds at all.

Follow on Kickstarter See the cards

Free · no payment · one email when the campaign goes live.
Questions? Reach out through Theory Underground.