Event attendance:  we expect about 222 people.

Event schedule: The main event begins Thursday dinner. Song circles will be offered throughout the weekend by individual song leaders with breakouts Friday and Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. We will also be gathering together as a village to sing and connect in the mornings and at a closing circle Sunday afternoon. There will be an intensive offered by Aaron Johnson Thursday afternoon (separate sign up). The event officially ends Sunday afternoon. Monday morning Laurence Cole and guests (separate sign up) will offer an intensive. You are welcome to stay Sunday evening if you are helping to clean up or are signed up for the intensive.

Venue: We’ll be camping out so bring your tent or vehicle to sleep in. The land is beautiful, with plenty of flat spots to put your tent (some have access by vehicles for drop off). There are also many flat car camping spots (but please let us know on the registration form that you will need one of these spots). Some camping is close and some is further away, depending on your preference (closer spots may be a bit noisier at night due to night time fire song circles. There is limited space for large RV’s or trailers so inquire about your specific situation. The site is generally pretty rustic, with a long drive way up the mountain. There is solar electricity (but we ask folks to conserve) and running water. The main toilets will be compost toilets, though we will have several portapotties to help with accessibility. We are not sure about shower availability at this time. The site host has asked us to minimize traffic up and down the road so we ask that people carpool and limit their trips as much as possible.

Community Service: We are asking everyone to sign up for about 2 hours of community service during the event. This might be helping clean up the kitchen or helping to prepare a meal. Many hands make light work! Come ready to help out and support the village. If you attend one of our work parties, you may be excused from this responsibility during the event.

Kids & teens:  We like families.  Children and teens are welcome at song circles so long as they don’t impact others’ experience (either join in, or do another activity quietly nearby).  We will be arranging child care and children’s support with activity options led by one or more caring adults during the main workshop times.  However, we are not necessarily aiming for constant coverage, so parents will be basically responsible for their own kids. The more children we have, the more robust children’s program we can create. Invite your friends with kids to sign up!

Group meals will be provided (along with snacks and hot beverages), from Thursday dinner through Sunday lunch (those staying for intensive or staying to clean up will be fed into Monday). Group meals will be vegetarian and primarily organic.  You are welcome to bring along some personal meat or fish to supplement your diet; if personal food needs to be kept cold then bring your own cooler and ice.  Vegan and gluten-free options will be included for all meals.

Collective Guidelines

Substance use:  We are here to be clear and connected with each other and the music, so use of mind altering substances is not encouraged. If they are used, please use with discretion (ie do not light up a joint in a song circle) and in a manner that does not impact other people.

Pets:  While we love animals, pets can cause of alot of drama in an event setting. We strongly encourage you to leave your canine friends at home. If you absolutely must bring them, you must apply for a pet ticket. Pets must be under your control at all times. If they act aggresively towards other people or animals, you will be asked to remove them from the gathering. There are sheep on the land and if your canine friend is predatory towards sheep, they are not permitted on the land.

Photography:  Let’s prioritize present moment experiences, and minimize intrusions. Explicit permission is required to photograph any person during the event, unless it’s from far enough away that faces cannot be distinguished.  If someone gives consent for a photograph, further explicit permission is needed to post any picture of them online. The exception is that we will have at least one official event photographer on site who will be taking photos for use by song leaders and potentially for promotion of future Cascadia Song Rise events. Any such person will be clearly identified, and if you prefer not to have your picture taken by them, we’ll ask you as a participant to wear an insignia so that we can ensure your request is honored.

Recordings:  Our present moment experience of singing together takes priority over technological preservation. That said, we know many folks like to record to help remember and learn the songs later. Thus we will have a visual sign at each workshop to indicate whether or not it’s ok to record for your own personal use. The song leader is empowered to position the indicator to yes or no. Beyond that, do not share your recordings via social media without explicit consent from the song leader. At open sharing times (such as evening fire circles), the presumption is that it is ok to record (for personal use only) unless the person leading or sharing at that moment requests others not to–and we expect any such request to be honored without hassle. Thank you!