What to Expect
Below is a brief description of the event and general flow, but there really is no way to describe the depth of this experience so you’ll have to join us to discover it for yourself!
Our gathering is situated in the beautiful west Cascades foothills east of Grants Pass and north of Rogue River, Oregon. It’s about 40 minutes outside of Grants Pass so give yourself plenty of time to arrive and drive safely up our winding mountain road. Read more about our location here.
Students can arrive between 10 am and 6 pm on Wednesday. Please note that no vehicles will be allowed to drive in after 6 pm on Wednesday evening. When you arrive, please check in at the registration table before you set up camp. Our first meal together will be dinner Wednesday evening. We will gather for opening circle on Thursday morning, which begins our four full days of classes and workshops. Classes generally have a morning and afternoon session with a break in the middle of the day for lunch and rest. Some of the classes will take up the entire four days, such as hide tanning, while others will be only a half day commitment, such as a plant identification walk. Everyone will choose for themselves if they want to take multiple short classes or one longer course. For more information about the types of skills you might be able to learn here, please visit our Classes Offered page.
During class hours, children's games and activities for children ages 4-10 will be hosted by our Youth Program instructors and various opportunities will be available for older children and teens as well. Please note that children younger than 4 years old cannot be dropped off and supervised by our Youth Program so you will need to plan to have your child with you while you take classes, or organize childcare with other parents of little ones.
Each day we will circle in the morning after breakfast to go over general camp logistics and class announcements. In the evenings, we will share dinner and then music and discussions around the fire. We welcome instruments, singing, storytelling, and sharing by the fire at night. There is a fire for music and a fire for quiet conversations. Personal fires in the camping area will be allowed if the conditions are wet enough. Propane cookstoves are permitted.
Participants are expected to bring everything they will need to be comfortable camping. There is forested and meadow tent camping, and limited vehicle camping. We can only accommodate vans, small campers and RVs under 20 ft. We also do not have plug-ins for your vehicles. Vehicles will be allowed to drive in to unload gear in the tent camping area and then be required to return to the parking area until Sunday evening before dinner.
On Sunday, classes will wrap up and after the lunch break we welcome everyone to bring their homemade goods to a barter fair during the afternoon. This is generally a joyful time of connection, celebration, trading and exchanging goods and contact information before everyone departs on Monday. Monday morning we will share breakfast and a brief closing circle before everyone packs up their camp and leaves. Participants are welcome to stay on the land until Monday evening unless you have made special arrangements to stay longer. Work trade crew members and instructors will remain on the land longer to clean up.
We ask all participants to be respectful of others and please remember that we are offering a drug and alcohol free environment. We welcome children and families and want all of the children to feel safe and cared for. We do encourage celebrating, merriment, music making, and a generally festive atmosphere! Everyone at the gathering is responsible for helping to create a village atmosphere that feels safe, welcoming, and fun for all involved.
Please come with an open mind and heart, ready to create meaningful connections, new relationships, and cherished memories!