Moondance 04

Dec 10, 2003 11:43

For anyone interested in attending Moondance 2004 (a Pagan festival), I am posting the info just as it was emailed to me by the organizer.

(Okay, I know it's really early, but I just thought some of you might want to go ahead and register. Hey, give a pre-paid Moondance registration to a friend for Yule!)

Hello! Below is the information for Moondance 2004, plus rules, a waiver, and a registration form. Please modify as necessary, print out the relevant pages, fill out, and mail or email with your registration fees. If you have any problems receiving or printing the flyer, please call or email, and we'll send you one in the mail. The second flyer, with the map and directions, will be sent out by email (if possible) or by snail mail, after your registration is received, but not before at least the first of April (so don't panic if you don't get it right away!).

We now have PayPal on the Moondance website, so you can pay with a credit card or check over the internet! PayPal is free to use, you just have to register with your email address and a password, and either register your credit card or checking account. Go to http://www.faeriefaith.net, click on the Moondance flyer, and follow the links to the PayPal registration form.

If for any reason you do not wish to receive these mailings and/or emails, just let me know and I'll remove your name.

Thanks!

Linda Kerr, http://www.faeriefaith.net, murgen@bonbon.net

Join Us At
MOONDANCE 2004

May 27-31, 2004
Dragon Hills, Carrollton, Georgia

Organized Chaos!

We're back! Join us at Moondance 2004; a festival celebrating the harmony of our community, in the tradition of the civilized savage at the mercy of the woods. Bullshit, bullshit, ad nauseam.

All are welcome, no matter the path - we have plain ol' Pagan, Eclectic Wicca, Asatru (my husband is one), Faery, Native American, Gardnerian, and other paths/faiths represented! With over 300 attending, you can expect a very diverse community.

Moondance 2004 will feature classes throughout the weekend on various topics, including dowsing, power animals, Asatru (if someone will teach it!) drumming, and meditation. Other activities include an opening ritual on Friday night, a POT-LUCK feast (bring your own plates, bowls, and utensils; no storage in Kitchen for food) on Saturday night, and a Faerie Faith ritual to celebrate the dance of the seasons on Sunday night. All nights will feature bonfires, music, dancing, and general revelry. We'll close Monday with a Give-Away from 9 am-noon.

We especially need people to volunteer to lead class and rituals, and food vendors are welcome (deadline for class info and vendor registrations is May 15). Leading a class or ritual counts as part of your community service to the festival, and does not grant you free admission (sorry!).

(If you would like to vend, or volunteer to lead a class or ritual, please email me or call me (murgen@bonbon.net, 334-332-3065) to request a Vendor Information & Registration Form and Class Volunteer Form. You can also find these forms at my webpage, www.faeriefaith.net: specifically, click on http://www.duc.auburn.edu/~kerrlin/MDvending.html for Vendors, and
http://www.duc.auburn.edu/~kerrlin/MDclasses.html for classes/rituals.

Deadline for vendors, classes, and rituals is MAY 15 - NO EXCEPTIONS!!!)

About the site:

The festival will be at "Dragon Hills" near Carrollton, Georgia. It is a mostly primitive camping site - no cabins, but plenty of camping and parking space. It has rolling hills with lovely wooded areas, a pond for cooling off, sinks for dishwashing (Kitchen is off-limits, no storage for food), real showers, outhouses, and a nice covered pavilion for classes. It's also very private: clothing optional. There are hotels within 25 miles.

A few restrictions:

Dogs are not allowed at Dragon Hills, unless specific written permission has been granted by the organizer (Linda Kerr). We've had problems in the past with dogs biting people, kids, and other dogs, and chasing cattle. Please keep your trash to a minimum, and haul off your recyclables. Also, illegal substances are absolutely forbidden, by any and all people!! This is very important - if you can't abstain for the weekend, please stay home. We run the risk of losing the site and our freedoms otherwise.

The site will open Thursday night, May 27 at 2:00 Eastern Daylight Time, and close Monday, May 31 at 12:00 EDT.

The cost: cheap!!

Prices per person: (**NOTE: Current price only good if payment accompanies
registration!**)

Postmarked by March 1 $25.00 (early bird price)

Postmarked by April 1 $30.00

Postmarked by May 14 $35.00

Thereafter $40.00

Children age 11-17 1/2 price

Children 10 and under free

Second or more child is also free (in immediate family only, same address)

Merchant's Utility Surcharge $25.00 (only if using electricity)

**Church of the Spiral Tree members get $5.00 off above prices!!

(Day-Trip Price: There is NO day-trip price to Moondance. The reason for this is that I have no way of controlling or knowing who is coming and going on any particular day (and I'm not going to make everyone on site wear those awful wristbands), and I have to pay for every person on site. I know most people are honest, but I have had several folks claim they're "only staying that evening" and then I saw them running around the next day. If you are TRULY in $$ need (I know things happen!), please see the section on "how to get free admission.")

How to get FREE admission!

If you have certain skills, you may be able to work off your admission and get in FREE! Listed below are what we need done. On all of these, you must make your commitment to the job well enough ahead of time, and stay in touch with us, so we know we can count on you. Dependability is important! If you don't show up to do your job, then we have to scrounge for volunteers at the last minute. Please note, if you ask to work off your admission, but don't show up to the festival or are nowhere to be found during the weekend, you will not be granted this privilege again, and you may not be invited back at all! Email for more details on all offers. SOME OF THESE MAY BE TAKEN ALREADY - PLEASE EMAIL!

(1) At Moondance, we'll need someone to handle trash duty on Friday morning, Saturday morning and evening, Sunday morning, and Monday morning (probably 4 trips Monday). This person should have an open-bed pickup truck to pick up all the garbage from the pick-up site and haul it off to the dumpster, and will need to be on-site by Friday morning, and plan on not being able to pack up Monday until at least 1:00 pm. This job is worth at least one FREE admission.

(2) During Moondance, we need someone to volunteer to run kid's activities on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday afternoons for about 2 hours each, and possibly organizing childcare on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday while workshops are in session, or while ritual is in progress. This would mean coming up with games (bubbles, scavenger hunt, etc) and fun stuff to do (make fairy wands, practice drumming, etc.), and also organizing other folks to help out. This would definitely be worth a FREE admission to the right person.

(3) We need someone to be in charge of the tiki torches - filling them, placing them, and lighting them, plus re-filling them each evening, and putting them out the next morning (very important), and finally returning them to the kitchen on Monday. You need to be on-site Thursday WELL before dark to do this. This would be worth a FREE admission to one or two people. MUST BE THERE ON THURSDAY!

TAKEN (4) We have a need for at least two responsible persons, who can be in charge of the Security/Heralds volunteers.

(5) We need someone to be in charge of caring for the outhouses over the weekend-cleaning them on Thursday (sweeping, emptying trash, cleaning surfaces), lighting the candles each evening and putting them out the next morning, and making sure they're stocked with toilet paper. This job requires a morning person to make sure the candles are put out! This would be worth a FREE admission. MUST BE THERE ON THURSDAY!

(6) On Monday morning, we need someone to clean up the outhouses (yuck!). This consists of sweeping them out, cleaning off surfaces, and picking up all trash and placing it out for pickup by noon. This is definitely worth a FREE admission to the right person(s).

(7) Also, we need a couple of Parking Trolls. These persons will be the Parking Trolls on Thursday and Friday, and will direct cars in the Stage/Merchant area and make sure people move their vehicles to the parking area. This job is worth two FREE admissions. MUST BE THERE ON THURSDAY!

(8) Finally, we need a couple of Garbage Trolls, who can stay on-site all day on Monday at Moondance, as long as there are campers still on-site, to clean up and haul off any last-minute trash, take care of any last-minute problems, and keep folks from leaving trash behind when they leave the site. A pick-up truck or vehicle to haul any last-minute garbage to the dumpster is essential! The job is strictly on Monday from noon till late afternoon, when everyone has gone, and is worth two FREE admissions.

If you can't do any of the above, and you feel you need financial assistance, do contact us, but don't wait till the last minute! We can help a limited number of people, but not if you ask a week before the festival. Free admissions will be very few and far between, but we'll be happy to work with you on a discount in exchange for work. Important: if you volunteer for a job, please SHOW UP and DO THE JOB!

NOTE: If you are vending, you do not qualify for free or discounted admission.

A NOTE ABOUT ASKING FOR FREE ADMISSION:

Please consider very carefully before you ask for free or discounted admission, beyond those jobs listed above. The cost, if you pay before March 1, is $25. That's for 5 days of camping, workshops, rituals, etc. That's $5 a day. That's darn cheap! True, if you wait till later, you'll pay more. (The price is cheaper in the beginning to encourage more folks to pay early, so I'll actually have some $$ to pay for printing, postage, site deposit, and other up-front expenses, which usually total about $1000. The price gets steeper to discourage people from waiting till the last minute!) So... you still would like free or discounted admission... Well, I have a very limited number of slots for free folks, because a) I get charged by the site for however many people show up, REGARDLESS of whether they all pay full price or not, and I still have to buy supplies for everyone who shows up, also; and b) I only have so many jobs I can create for folks who want to work off their admission. Here's another thing - if you ask for free admission, consider how badly you need it - can you scrape up the $$ if you have to? There are some people out there who are absolutely destitute, who can barely afford food or rent. Those are the people I'd prefer to help, but of course, I don't know everyone's financial status. So think about it carefully, and consider whether you really need free or discounted admission, or whether you could go ahead and pay this time, and let someone else use that free slot this year. The gods will bless you!!

Pre-payment is STRONGLY ENCOURAGED (it helps me to pay for expenses, postage, printing, site fee deposit, toilet paper, etc.). To receive the current (cheap) price, all registrations must be accompanied by payment.

All payments at the gate MUST BE CASH OR MONEY ORDER, and will be the full price of $40, regardless of when you register! NO CHECKS AT THE GATE!

Please register by May 21, 2004 (if by mail) or May 26 (if by PayPal), so I have time to send you the Confirmation Flyer and add you to the gate list.

To reiterate: If you plan to pay at the gate, you MUST email me your registration info (full name, address, phone, email, medical problems, kids attending, etc.) ahead of time, so I can place you on the gate list.

Refunds will be given in full until May 15, at a 50% rate until the Tuesday night before the festival (May 25), and none afterwards. If you send someone else in your place, please let me know beforehand.

Send reservations and direct questions to:
Linda Kerr
P.O. Box 186
Auburn, AL 36831-0186
Phone: 334-332-3065
email: murgen@bonbon.netmurgen@bonbon.net
http://www.faeriefaith.net

Make checks out to: Linda Kerr

Confirmation, a map and more details will be emailed or snail-mailed to you upon receipt of your registration and payment, but not before April 1! Please send a separate registration form for each participant. No registrations will be accepted without a completed form and waiver!

GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS OF MOONDANCE

Moondance 2004 is held at Dragon Hills, which is PRIVATE PROPERTY. Please respect any and all rules put forth by the owners.

Please don't litter or pollute the site in any way, and do clean up after yourself, especially when you pack to go home. DO NOT leave trash at the drop-off spot after the last trash run has been made on Monday (12:00 noon).If you are seen dropping off trash after that time and leaving the site, you WILL NOT BE INVITED BACK! DO NOT drop cigarette butts on the ground.

PARKING: In the Weyr and main area (Stage and merchant area and on along the tree line and terraces), ALL cars must be moved to the parking area after unloading. The only exceptions are a few merchants who have prior permission to park at their booths. Campers at the top of the hill and quiet area may keep their cars near their camp, as long as all roadways are kept clear. All RVs and large campers must be parked at the top of the hill near the showers, except for merchants who vend out of their (small!) camper/RV. Small campers may set up in a flat camping area. There are no hookups, and RVs must run silently in self-contained mode (no generators!!).

ROADS: The road from the Kitchen to the Stage must be kept clear at all times, and a road all the way through the Vendor area in front of the Stage, and following the tree line up the hill, must be kept open all weekend, so cars can drive through without having to cross a lollybump. By order of the fire marshal, all roadways must be kept completely clear all weekend, so that large emergency vehicles can drive through. The whole festival can be shut down if this rule is not followed!

CARS: If you must park your car temporarily somewhere, please pull well off to the side. Lock your valuables in your trunk; we cannot be responsible for losses. Due to safety concerns, *no cars are allowed to drive through the merchant area and in front of the stage after 6:00 pm* on Friday and Saturday evenings or during daytime music performances!

The propane gas provided for the hot showers and appliances at the kitchen is not infinite; please be considerate with your usage and keep your showers SHORT. Hot water may be cut off at midnight. The kitchen is off-limits to participants, however there are sinks and spigots just outside the kitchen and across from the drum circle for dishwashing filling water containers.

Due to agreements with the neighbors and sheriff, all drumming must be restricted to the main drum circle, as sound tends to carry; no drumming past 10:00 on Thursday or Sunday nights. Please be considerate with boom boxes, especially at night.

Dogs are not allowed at Dragon Hills without specific permission from the organizer, and if allowed, must be kept on a leash, quiet, and under control at all times.

Do NOT leave camp fires unattended. Bring your own firewood. Please move all rocks used to make a fire circle, so that the mowers don't run over them later in the tall grass. Do not cross the barbed wire fences these are the property boundaries. Small children should be under adult supervision at all times. Moondance is a private function, and is off-limits to media personnel acting in a professional capacity. No one is required to attend our ceremonies or classes, but please respect the rights of those who choose to do so; try to keep your noise, music and conversation to a minimum during these times if you are close by.

Of course, any infraction of mundane law, i.e., theft, threat to or endangerment of others, etc., are grounds for immediate expulsion from the festival, and possible arrest, if appropriate. Firearms are not allowed at DragonHills during the festival. Underage drinking, gross drunken behavior, and unwanted sexual attention (harassment) will not be tolerated. Also, illegal substances are absolutely forbidden, by any and all people!! This is very important if you can't abstain for the weekend, please stay home. We run the risk of losing the site and our freedoms otherwise. Don't use drugs at the festival; don't even bring them.

The rest of the information (registration forms, etc.) can be found via the links contained in this text as well as on www.FaerieFaith.net. Trust me, you can't miss where to go for the info!!

I may or may not go to this festival. Part of me wants to but part of me doesn't - the time, money, etc. I am not for sure and won't give a definite answer until I either pay for admission or miss the festival entirely.

It is a great festival and I recommend it to most. Most of the festival is suitable for children, but there are situations that may be stumbled across once the sun goes down that aren't suitable for kids. I won't allow my daughter to go. It is a clothing optional event, so if you have problems with people walking around in various states of undress, I don't recommend going. If you partake in illegal substances, please don't have them at the festival. Linda has considered ending the festival as a result of 2 incidents that I know of where persons on illegal subtances made fools of themselves. One had eaten mushrooms (you know the kind) and had a brawl with his significant other. He was promptly removed from the site (Moondance 02) and at Fall Fling 03 there was a gentleman on "Ice" who hadn't slept for at least a week...He made a scene and was removed by officers of the law and spent the rest of Fall Fling and then some in jail for his conduct at Fall Fling and giving false information to the police.

Now, these festivals are great!! And the gentleman at Moondance was 1 in 300+ people. So, in general, the event is uneventful. There are many classes, workshops, etc. that can be attended. All sorts of vendors from all over!! And a few hundred Pagan faces to acquaint yourself with! Drumming in the drum circle, dancing, etc. I recommend it!!

Be well all!!
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