Just a reminder - if you know of folks that would like to come but might need a
bit of help financially, or you might be in that position yourself, please be
aware that the absolute deadline for scholarship applications is April 1st. You
can download the form from the website: http://spiritfirefestival.org
100% of the scholarship funding comes from community-contributed donations and
the fundraisers we do each year (the raffle, etc.) at the gathering. We can
only give out as many scholarships as we have funds for, which of course depends
on how many people apply and how much is donated.
If you can spare a bit of extra when you register, or can send in a little
separately, you can also find out how to do that on the scholarship page - the
folks who are able to come because of your generosity will be ver grateful!
Thank you in advance... and looking forward to being around the fire again with
all of you.
Josselyne
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Registration for 2010 is OPEN!
Hello folks,
A few days ago, we quietly opened up registration for this coming gathering, which features a brand new system - hopefully, registration will be easier, smoother, faster, and more streamlined. So far so good!
We had the staff and a couple of folks volunteer to test it and it worked great, so the next phase is YOU. If you're ready to register, the door is open at http://spiritfirefestival.org - we would love to have some more of you try it out, test out the reg system, and let us know what you think.
While you are there, check out the revamped site! Some of the presenters are up, as well as a beginning outline of this year's festival (to be built up over the coming months as usual).
When you register please note: YOUR OLD ACCOUNT/LOGIN INFORMATION IS NO LONGER VALID. You will need to create a new account and password (this is a result of us changing to a different platform, which works much better, so it's worth it!).
Lastly, after registering, please do send your feedback if you have any. You can email me (OFF list please) or the webmaster, Janet, with your questions or comments about the site or registration process.
Looking forward to seeing you in the glow of firelight!
Joss
A few days ago, we quietly opened up registration for this coming gathering, which features a brand new system - hopefully, registration will be easier, smoother, faster, and more streamlined. So far so good!
We had the staff and a couple of folks volunteer to test it and it worked great, so the next phase is YOU. If you're ready to register, the door is open at http://spiritfirefestival.org - we would love to have some more of you try it out, test out the reg system, and let us know what you think.
While you are there, check out the revamped site! Some of the presenters are up, as well as a beginning outline of this year's festival (to be built up over the coming months as usual).
When you register please note: YOUR OLD ACCOUNT/LOGIN INFORMATION IS NO LONGER VALID. You will need to create a new account and password (this is a result of us changing to a different platform, which works much better, so it's worth it!).
Lastly, after registering, please do send your feedback if you have any. You can email me (OFF list please) or the webmaster, Janet, with your questions or comments about the site or registration process.
Looking forward to seeing you in the glow of firelight!
Joss
Monday, February 22, 2010
2010 Gathering update
Hello all, hope this finds you well!
Just a quick update on how things are shaping up for this year... we are in the flow of ramping up the flow of organization here and it's looking to be a spectacular year. And hopefully a dryer one, too!
First, the dates - July 7-11.
Second, registration - Janet has been working hard to revamp the entire website and we are just switching software (for you geeks out there, we're going to Drupal) so that the page displays, registration and other processes work smoother and with fewer glitches. We should be opening in a matter of a day or two, if all goes well - send us good vibes!
Please do take a stroll through the new website when it goes live and let us know what you think. There are new photos, new areas to explore, a slightly different look, and a registration system that is much more friendly to folks wanting to register as a group/family.
We also encourage you to keep tuned to the Yahoo Group, where a lot of smaller announcements that don't make it here are posted and discussed. Drop on over and introduce yourself, it'd be great to meet you!
Some 2010 highlights include:
-New and returning presenters to help us go deeper along each of the four pathways
-A revised meal option to make meat meals easier and more fulfilling for those who want it
-New approaches to the nesting areas, rituals, and possibly a new workshop schedule/structure
Stay tuned for an announcement both here and on the blog when the new site goes live. See you soon!
Just a quick update on how things are shaping up for this year... we are in the flow of ramping up the flow of organization here and it's looking to be a spectacular year. And hopefully a dryer one, too!
First, the dates - July 7-11.
Second, registration - Janet has been working hard to revamp the entire website and we are just switching software (for you geeks out there, we're going to Drupal) so that the page displays, registration and other processes work smoother and with fewer glitches. We should be opening in a matter of a day or two, if all goes well - send us good vibes!
Please do take a stroll through the new website when it goes live and let us know what you think. There are new photos, new areas to explore, a slightly different look, and a registration system that is much more friendly to folks wanting to register as a group/family.
We also encourage you to keep tuned to the Yahoo Group, where a lot of smaller announcements that don't make it here are posted and discussed. Drop on over and introduce yourself, it'd be great to meet you!
Some 2010 highlights include:
-New and returning presenters to help us go deeper along each of the four pathways
-A revised meal option to make meat meals easier and more fulfilling for those who want it
-New approaches to the nesting areas, rituals, and possibly a new workshop schedule/structure
Stay tuned for an announcement both here and on the blog when the new site goes live. See you soon!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
SpiritFire Mosquito Net Raffle Winners!!!!
Congratulations to the following folks - and our deepest gratitude for the gift of health and life that you helped spread in Ghana.
1 net/$25 discount: Congratulations to CONSTANCE DEAN of Ashland, OR!
2 nets/$50 discount: Congratulations to LISA BRUMBY of Dudley, MA!
4 nets/$100 discount: Congratulations to DAWN DEZAN of Palmer, MA!
Please note that each of you will receive a special email with a code that you can use when registering online, or you can just make a note of your raffle discount when you send in a mail-in application.
Again, thank you!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Full Moon o're New Year's Eve
Each of us has our our interpretation of the time of year we hold our New Year's Eve celebrations. For some it is in October, for other's it is the month of December, but depending upon where you are located in the world, the dates may vary. Typically though, the majority of the population celebrates New Year's Eve on December 31st, when at midnight, we all marvel at being together in some fashion when the date turns to January 1st.
This year we celebrate not only the ending of the old year and the beginning of the new, but we also will see the ending of a decade. What has the last ten years of life looked like for you? Have you found love? Lost love? Started a family? Changed jobs? It is a time of reflection and resolution most assuredly.
In beautiful fashion, we will have the Full Moon to watch over us and brighten the skies for us if we should be granted a clear and cloudless night. It comes a short 8 days after the Winter Solstice this year, the shortest day of the year. Each passing day we will begin to see more daylight and so the Wheel of the Year continues to turn. It is an excellent time for magick and celebration.
The naming of the Full Moons were given to us by the Native Americans of what is now the northern and eastern United States. It was the Tribes' way of tracking the seasons by giving distinctive names to each recurring full Moon. Their names were applied to the entire month in which each occurred. Since the lunar month is only 29 days long on the average, the full Moon dates shift from year to year.
As taken from the Farmers Almanac's list of the full Moon names is the Cold Moon:
• The Full Cold Moon; or the Full Long Nights Moon - December •
During this month the winter cold fastens its grip, and nights are at their longest and darkest. The term Long Night Moon is a doubly appropriate name because the midwinter night is indeed long, and because the Moon is above the horizon for a long time. The midwinter full Moon has a high trajectory across the sky because it is opposite a low Sun.
So no matter how you are celebrating, remember to take your gaze to the sky and receive your blessings from the magick of the moonlight. Happy New Year to you!
Love and light,
SarahFae
This year we celebrate not only the ending of the old year and the beginning of the new, but we also will see the ending of a decade. What has the last ten years of life looked like for you? Have you found love? Lost love? Started a family? Changed jobs? It is a time of reflection and resolution most assuredly.
In beautiful fashion, we will have the Full Moon to watch over us and brighten the skies for us if we should be granted a clear and cloudless night. It comes a short 8 days after the Winter Solstice this year, the shortest day of the year. Each passing day we will begin to see more daylight and so the Wheel of the Year continues to turn. It is an excellent time for magick and celebration.
The naming of the Full Moons were given to us by the Native Americans of what is now the northern and eastern United States. It was the Tribes' way of tracking the seasons by giving distinctive names to each recurring full Moon. Their names were applied to the entire month in which each occurred. Since the lunar month is only 29 days long on the average, the full Moon dates shift from year to year.
As taken from the Farmers Almanac's list of the full Moon names is the Cold Moon:
• The Full Cold Moon; or the Full Long Nights Moon - December •
During this month the winter cold fastens its grip, and nights are at their longest and darkest. The term Long Night Moon is a doubly appropriate name because the midwinter night is indeed long, and because the Moon is above the horizon for a long time. The midwinter full Moon has a high trajectory across the sky because it is opposite a low Sun.
So no matter how you are celebrating, remember to take your gaze to the sky and receive your blessings from the magick of the moonlight. Happy New Year to you!
Love and light,
SarahFae
Friday, October 30, 2009
SpiritFire Mosquito Net Raffle!
It’s the SpiritFire Mosquito Net Raffle!!!!
Many of you are aware that I’ll be taking a group (6 students, a colleague and her partner) to Ghana, West Africa this coming winter, from December 18 – January 12. The students – some of them from my drum ensemble, and some who just want to learn more about Ghana – have worked hard to raise the money to go, each paying about $3300 or more for the trip (not including their visas, immunizations, etc. – it’s a lot of money!)
We’ve successfully raised enough money to cover travel and other expenses, but as you can imagine, it doesn’t leave a lot over for other things for many of them. They are really interested in doing service work while in Ghana, and have come up with a couple ideas, the most effective one being the distribution of mosquito nets. If you don’t know about the plight of people in Africa regarding malaria and a ton of other mosquito-born diseases, you can read about it here:
http://www.mosquito.org/mosquito-information/mosquito-borne.aspx
Personally, throughout my years of visiting Ghana to study music and dance, I’ve known many families who have lost children (who are partiularly vunerable) to malaria. The less expensive anti-malarial drug (chloroquine) is no longer affective against the strain in Ghana, and wasn’t really affordable to the average village resident anyway. Now the only drugs available cost as much as $5 a pill – these folks might make $1 a day, if they are lucky. The only way to really combat malaria is to help people avoid contracting the disease in the first place.
We, as a group, are now trying to gather donations for the trip once more. But not money – we want mosquito nets!
SpiritFire would like to help with this endeavor, and we are hoping you will want to help, too. So to help encourage folks to donate nets, we’re having our first (and hopefully not last) SFF Mosquito Net Raffle!
Here’s the deal: Buy a net, get a chance to win discounts on your SFF registration, or even a free entry. Of course, if you aren’t able to go to SFF this year we’ll gladly accept net donations anyway! But it’s our way of giving something back and adding some spice to the mix.
How does it work?
We need a very particular kind of net – one that will fit two people (doubles), and they need to be the square kind, as opposed to the hanging round/canopy styles (which are hard to transport and don’t work well for multiple people sleeping together). Nets must be new – we cannot distribute used nets.
If you have access to large stores with camping equipment, you can probably purchase these there – but nets can easily be purchased on the web. Here is the kind we’re looking for - campor.com seems to have the best prices:
http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___86663
We’d like you to send us nets, straight to the college address below if possible, so that they arrive BEFORE December 10th.
For every net you send in, you get a chance at a severely reduced or free entry to SpiritFire!
Send in 1 net = 1 entry in drawing for $25 additional off your SFF fee
Send in 2 nets = 2 entries in drawing for $50 off your SFF fee
Send in 3 nets = 3 entries in drawing for $75 off your SFF fee
Send in 4 nets = 4 entries in drawing for $100 off your SFF fee
Send in 5+ nets = equal amount of entries in drawing for FREE 2010 SFF registration!
You can either purchase the nets and have them sent to us directly (at the address below), or ship them yourselves. Please make sure to email me and tell me: how many nets you bought (please include a tracking number or order number, if possible), when they were bought/shipped, and who you would like to enter in the raffle. If it is for yourself, we’ll use your email to notify you if you win. If you’d like someone else to win the discount/entry, you can specify that as well.
ALL DONATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BEFORE DECEMBER 10th, so we know how much we have to pack!
Ship to:
SMC in Ghana
c/o Professor Josselyne Price
St. Michael’s College
Box 345
1 Winooski Park
Colchester, VT 05439
Thank you in advance, and an update will be sent out before the trip, and then one after to share how it went.
In Gratitude,
Josselyne/SMC in Ghana
Many of you are aware that I’ll be taking a group (6 students, a colleague and her partner) to Ghana, West Africa this coming winter, from December 18 – January 12. The students – some of them from my drum ensemble, and some who just want to learn more about Ghana – have worked hard to raise the money to go, each paying about $3300 or more for the trip (not including their visas, immunizations, etc. – it’s a lot of money!)
We’ve successfully raised enough money to cover travel and other expenses, but as you can imagine, it doesn’t leave a lot over for other things for many of them. They are really interested in doing service work while in Ghana, and have come up with a couple ideas, the most effective one being the distribution of mosquito nets. If you don’t know about the plight of people in Africa regarding malaria and a ton of other mosquito-born diseases, you can read about it here:
http://www.mosquito.org/mosquito-information/mosquito-borne.aspx
Personally, throughout my years of visiting Ghana to study music and dance, I’ve known many families who have lost children (who are partiularly vunerable) to malaria. The less expensive anti-malarial drug (chloroquine) is no longer affective against the strain in Ghana, and wasn’t really affordable to the average village resident anyway. Now the only drugs available cost as much as $5 a pill – these folks might make $1 a day, if they are lucky. The only way to really combat malaria is to help people avoid contracting the disease in the first place.
We, as a group, are now trying to gather donations for the trip once more. But not money – we want mosquito nets!
SpiritFire would like to help with this endeavor, and we are hoping you will want to help, too. So to help encourage folks to donate nets, we’re having our first (and hopefully not last) SFF Mosquito Net Raffle!
Here’s the deal: Buy a net, get a chance to win discounts on your SFF registration, or even a free entry. Of course, if you aren’t able to go to SFF this year we’ll gladly accept net donations anyway! But it’s our way of giving something back and adding some spice to the mix.
How does it work?
We need a very particular kind of net – one that will fit two people (doubles), and they need to be the square kind, as opposed to the hanging round/canopy styles (which are hard to transport and don’t work well for multiple people sleeping together). Nets must be new – we cannot distribute used nets.
If you have access to large stores with camping equipment, you can probably purchase these there – but nets can easily be purchased on the web. Here is the kind we’re looking for - campor.com seems to have the best prices:
http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___86663
We’d like you to send us nets, straight to the college address below if possible, so that they arrive BEFORE December 10th.
For every net you send in, you get a chance at a severely reduced or free entry to SpiritFire!
Send in 1 net = 1 entry in drawing for $25 additional off your SFF fee
Send in 2 nets = 2 entries in drawing for $50 off your SFF fee
Send in 3 nets = 3 entries in drawing for $75 off your SFF fee
Send in 4 nets = 4 entries in drawing for $100 off your SFF fee
Send in 5+ nets = equal amount of entries in drawing for FREE 2010 SFF registration!
You can either purchase the nets and have them sent to us directly (at the address below), or ship them yourselves. Please make sure to email me and tell me: how many nets you bought (please include a tracking number or order number, if possible), when they were bought/shipped, and who you would like to enter in the raffle. If it is for yourself, we’ll use your email to notify you if you win. If you’d like someone else to win the discount/entry, you can specify that as well.
ALL DONATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BEFORE DECEMBER 10th, so we know how much we have to pack!
Ship to:
SMC in Ghana
c/o Professor Josselyne Price
St. Michael’s College
Box 345
1 Winooski Park
Colchester, VT 05439
Thank you in advance, and an update will be sent out before the trip, and then one after to share how it went.
In Gratitude,
Josselyne/SMC in Ghana
Saturday, October 17, 2009
SpiritFire 2010 Dates are set!
Hey folks,
We have shifted SpiritFire to slightly earlier in July to meet the scheduling needs of quite a few of our staff and others - sounds so far like this has been a really good move. The new dates are:
Wednesday, July 7 - Sunday, July 11, 2010
Hope you will be able to make it!
We have shifted SpiritFire to slightly earlier in July to meet the scheduling needs of quite a few of our staff and others - sounds so far like this has been a really good move. The new dates are:
Wednesday, July 7 - Sunday, July 11, 2010
Hope you will be able to make it!
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