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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 its hot, have
unstructured happenings and play in the evening under the stars.
Its a childs 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
Cornstalks 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. Its 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. Weve 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.
Weve 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 . . .
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