WCSHome   Register   Schedule   News   Camping/Facilities   What to Bring   Workshops   Directions   Merchants   Local Accommodations   Info/Policies   Volunteer   Food  Contact Wisteria Cornstalk Festival News April 29.2008 Hello Friends, Following is a description of the May/June weekends as well as a schedule of events for 2008.  This year is shaping up to be wonderful here.   I see our extended community (local people who associate with /support Wisteria community) growing the next concentric ring of community.  This is an exciting year of expanded growth for us. Interested in seeing how an intentional community works and play together?  Try coming to one or more of our four community weekends scheduled in May / June.  These weekends are a good opportunity to socialize with community members while working side by side. We pull together on outdoor building projects, tend the forest, swim when it’s hot, have unstructured happenings and play in the evening under the stars. It’s a child’s paradise as they enjoy healthy play in a safe outdoor setting. Stretch your muscles and strengthen your heart! Connect with nature in the good company of other earth-loving folks . . . Community Weekend:  Spring Thing.  May 1-3. Come camp ahead of the event season in this kick-off week for earthy work in the woods and campground.  In addition to regular campground work, our big project this spring is rebuilding Wisteria Stage for Wisteria Cornstalk Festival in August (www.wisteria.org/cornstalk.htm ). Details below.  Community Weekend: Faerie Park Working.  May 16-18.  Come play with the Faeries!  We will be adding to our stonewall, cultivating new areas, gardening and cavorting in Wisteria Faerie Park. Also, work in the campground will be on-going.  Details below. Community Weekend (Memorial Day):  Around the Fire with Rainbow Eagle.  May 23- May 26.    A long weekend with ongoing projects including on-going stage building and getting the campground open for the season.  Rainbow Eagle, an Okla-Choctow Peace Shield carrier, is spending time with us this weekend as our honored guest www.rainboweagle.com.  After dinner on Saturday (May 24), we will talk with him around the fire together.  Details below.  Community Weekend: Cranking Up the Campground. May 30-June 1.  As we ready to open our gates for the event season, we have fun working and playing together. Rowan will be cooking food all weekend in preparation for the upcoming PSG event where we feed hundreds of people.  Also we will be completing last minute touches to ready the season for the 4 events on the schedule. . Details below. Happining now at Wisteria In addition to the new sand-filled LEVEL grove that we put in the woods near the pavilion, the amazing work has been rebuilding the stage area.  Actually, I'm no longer calling it simply a "stage." When it's completed this spring, it is coming into its own as a proper amphitheater with a stage.  We have already added a large stone retaining wall between the top and bottom sections and graded and seeded the lower area.  We are talking about very large rocks -- some are three feet thick on their sides! They are gorgeous (I love stonework so I'm biased), functional, and lasting.  The stage area has been pushed back and truckloads of sand have been added and sculpted into a level large area in front of the stage. Much more room for everybody.  The dancers and firespinners can move in front of the stage without obscuring the show on the stage since the stage floor is planned to be 5 feet or so above the ground for a better view all around.  Not a dinky thing: The stage front is a raised 40 foot span!   We will adding trusses and a hardtop this spring to top it off.  With the foundation being 11 electrical utility poles set deeply into the hillside, this is set to be finished as a proper stage that will solidly hold weight and last a long time.  Now for the sweet touches: we are purchasing a powerful JBL house sound system for a clear, quality sound.   We are also adding modern LED stage lighting for more professional shows with lots of cool visual effects.  It's really astonishing to watch this area "grow up."  With the first official community weekend coming up, some of you will see this soon. At some point, we'll post some pictures of the stage-building process on the website and let you know when they are up.  Music is a strong part of Wisteria's DNA and part of our initial vision was to create the event site as an outdoor musical venue.  With the quality acts coming to Wisteria for Cornstalk, the new Stage and Amphitheater improvements just add to the overall pleasure and hold the promise of many memorable concerts and performances to come.   Singingly,  Charlene   April 14.2008 Hello All!  As we climb out of our winter burrows, spring must be here because I'm hearing from different people:  what's going on at Wisteria? We got a jump on the season and started early with improvements.  Due to a change in state laws, we have to add roads, site markers, etc for safety issues.  While this takes a fair amount of money and effort, the results are going to be good. Thanks to Flip, Doug, Gina, Todd, Mountain Justice, me for clearing the new area for the road to extended woods camping.  We chainsawed trees, pulled brush and cleared the way for the bulldozers.  Now we have a wonderful loop graveled road going through the woods to open up more wooded camping.  There is a natural avenue of trees (we used an existing roads to minimize the cutting) lining the road.  Within a few years, it will be a graceful arch of greenery.  We're thinking about running a water line for the woods people but that will depend on time schedule and who can help get that in. Adam and Sheila (and me and Todd a little) dismantled the Wisteria Stage entirely.  It's gone like pulling a bad tooth.  Now that area will get resculpted to better hold bands, dancers,and audience. While the dozers were here, they flattened a circle in the woods and left a giant maple tree in the middle.  It should flower out and cover the area within a few years.  We plan to use that area for the Cornstalk Grape Bash (otherwise known as the Danse McCob).  Imagine a dance party under the trees with lights and music.  Green Faeirie Grove is hosting that shindig and they will be thrilled with the transformation of their new encampment area. Sheila McCord has been working tirelessly to line up administrative things, tracking our finances and the crucial work needed to support the work.  She is also feeding us now which is really appreciated. Today is our monthly board meeting.  I'll try to post a schedule ofWisteria Steward weekends soon.  This is a good year for all of us. For it to be mid-April and outdoor efforts this cranked up, shows our overall excitement.  Soon, dear extended community, we'll be together and welcoming in the best of spring. Charlene   April 7.2008   Headliners Named.  Now with the main music line-up announced, Wisteria is filling out Cornstalk’s schedule with more performances, speakers, artists, activities and workshops.  We are very happy to welcome the talented acts that will appear on the Wisteria Stage this August.  The range of music goes from ancient medieval to modern world beats from multiple continents.  It’s going to be a wonderful week here in the rolling hills . . . Keep checking back for updates which happen almost daily now.  Mark your calendars and tell your friends.  Give yourself room for bliss, give yourself time for healing and love,  give yourself the precious gift of time.  . .   Wisteria Nature Seasonal Update: Here in early April, the tips of the trees are reddish and almost ready to burst forth leaves.  The little spring peeper frogs are plentiful and sing their loud jingles from the pond.  Not too much is stirring above ground but you know that everything is getting ready to show soon.  We’ve heard a lot from the pileated woodpeckers who laugh loudly from the ravines and drum on dead trees looking for food.   Our resident dogs seem to have taken turns meeting skunks who are just coming out of hibernation.  The skunks are fine but the dogs smell like skunks for a while!  The biggest part of the spring rains seem to be over and the full creeks make gurgling, trickling sounds.  Daffodils and forsthyia is in full bloom.  The fruit trees will be blooming when we get a few more warm spring days.    Campground Improvements.  We are already working on the campground improvements for the season.  We’ve had help from an environmental group to clear additional wooded camping areas and the cool spring weather is perfect for woodgathering.  I look at the stacks of wood that will be fueling our late-summer bonfires and feel the excitement building.  The Earth smells wonderful.  We are scheduling some Wisteria Steward weekends where volunteers camp here and help us get the campground ready for the season.  If you would like to learn more about how to register for these free weekends, contact Pam at pam@wisteria.org for details. The outdoor main stage is now dismantled for renovation.  The new stage area will be bigger and more solid and enhance the acoustics of this natural amphitheatre.  As I type this, new graveled roads are being laid down by big machinery.  We will be sculpting the stage area for better dancing and viewing.   I keep thinking about future warm summer nights full of music, fireflies and delights . . .