Here are some packing suggestions – if you have questions, we encourage you to ask on our Facebook Group. In addition to getting great advice, you’ll likely be helping someone else out, too!
Our Camp Agreement: Take out everything you took in! If a chair/tent breaks or yoga mat gets ripped, don’t just throw it out on site – take it home with you and throw it out there. Unless it’s meal remainders or small things that will not pack up with you well, plan on taking out everything you brought. There will be recycling and general trash, but we are committed to having a light impact on camp, and to leaving the site as clean or better than we found it.
If you registered online, don’t forget your signed waiver!
2023: You do not need to bring your own plate/bowl/utensils! We do, however, recommend bringing your own drinking mugs for water, coffee, or other preferred beverages.
LABEL your things! This year, don’t forget:
- Drinking vessels for hot and cold beverages (you’ll need your own water bottle for the fire)
- Bring some tupperware and lids to take home food with you – no cooking when you land!
- Bring your mask (and maybe a backup in case you lose it) – they will need to be worn in the food/serving lines.
- Special/Ritual: This year, we request you bring a solid black stole, shawl, cloak, or even just a piece of solid black fabric to wear into and at Thursday’s fire lighting ritual. We also invite you to wear a color *other* than black underneath for that evening – for more information, read the fire circle description in your “2023 Last Minute Letter.”
- In general, extra batteries for all your needs (flashlights, fairy/string lights, etc.) – pack a few extra just in case.
- Camp chairs – 1 for your camp, 1 for dining outside the dining hall, and maybe 1 more for workshops.
Clothing
SpiritFire is an outdoor event. It’s camping, but it’s comfortable. The festival site is in the Adirondack Mountains of New York, Just outside of Ft. Ann and Queensbury. Average temperatures are between 70 – 80 degrees during the day, 50’s and 60’s during the night (roughly 12 – 21 degrees centigrade). It can become very chilly when it rains, as well.
The road from the entrance to the site is gravel and we ask you drive very slowly. The fire circle, parking and merchant areas are flat and grassy. The camping area is light woods with paths. Be aware of ticks if you go off-path! Bring appropriate clothing and repellent, and check yourself regularly. We recommend you pre-treat your clothing (particularly socks/pants) and tent with premethrin or something else you prefer that will help repel ticks.
Suggestions:
- both shorts and long pants (things you can move/dance/drum in!)
- We strongly recommend that you consider pre-treating some of your clothing (pants, socks, etc.) as well as your camping gear against ticks. Premethrin spray can be found at outdoor supply stores.
- clothing that can be layered – festive clothing for the fire circles or day-to-day enjoyment
- light jacket
- sweater
- rain gear
- at least two pairs of shoes (really comfortable shoes)
- extra pairs of dry socks
- large heavy-duty ziploc bags to keep socks, etc. in to keep out any potential moisture
Home Sweet Home
Attendees stay in platform tents, erect personal tents on available empty tent platforms, or ground camp. We’ve been lucky most of the time, but come prepared for rain. There’s no electricity in the lodging unit areas. No fire or smoking of any kind is permitted in camping areas – the Dragon Lounge (our smoker’s area) will be a specific fire pit within one of the lodging units. You may ask to stay there if you would like to be closer, or request to be further away if you prefer to avoid secondhand smoke. If you are sharing a platform tent, a privacy pod or mosquito net can help make your sleep deeper and more comfy.
Suggestions:
- There is no cell signal within the camp due to its location within a lake valley. So you won’t need your cell – bring a battery operated camp clock to keep time, and a watch too!
- If you have an electronic time device or anything that needs charging, bring a battery pack.
- If you are ground-tenting: rope to hang on nearby trees for drying towels, or a camping rack
- bedding (for both cooler and warmer weather)
- pillow
- battery-operated lighting (again, no flame of any kind on site except for the fire circle)
- earplugs for sleeping
- eye mask for sleeping during the day
- mosquito net: these are great for both tents and cabins – either hang over your bed, or use to cover the doorway so you can have some bug-free airflow if it’s warm.
- TENTING (empty platform or ground):
- ground cloth
- rain fly
- ground pad or air mattress
- tarps for your instruments
- extra metal stakes and cord
- if you use an air mattress, make sure your pump is battery operated!
- Platform tents:
- a tarp *just in case* you find a leak, or to cover gear – they are also nice if you want additional shade or insulation from the sound of rain.
- any preferred items for privacy (we recommend twin-size privacy pods)
- Mosquito net – cabins/huts are not 100% bug proof. Netting over the door works really well.
- If you don’t like sleeping on cots, a twin air or camping mattress
Food
We offer brunch and dinner daily; bring a mug/drinking vessel – label everything! Masking tape and marker on the bottom works great. (Note: this year you do not need to bring dishes/plates/bowls/utensils. Just drinking vessels.)
Critters are a concern – chipmunks are everywhere! Please keep personal food at your campsite in a sealable, latchable container, or you are guaranteed uninvited visitors. There is no refrigeration available.
Suggestions:
- snacks in a sealable container to keep you going through the fire circle or in the afternoon
- extra protein – foil packets of tuna or chicken, nuts, energy/protein bars
- granola
- any special food or tea you need/prefer
- emergen-C or other immune/energy booster
- water bottle
- travel mug
- a chair if you’d like to eat outside for meals. CLN does not have enough seating to bring chairs from the dining hall, so please bring your own if you prefer.
Toiletries
The site has running water, hot showers, and ample latrines in each unit that are very clean. We encourage biodegradable shampoos and soaps, since the showers drain onto the ground.
Suggestions:
- The shower house is similar to our former site, but is Unisex and the stalls offer privacy. There is an outside area if you’re waiting to shower, and to leave your shoes/etc. if you’d like. There is ONE STORAGE CUBBY for each shower stall, so that means they should only be in use by the person taking a shower. When you are finished showering, take your toiletries with you so the next person can use the cubby.
- personal hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes for surfaces/hands.
- NO WIPES for the toilets, please – they will clog the system!
- regular toiletries and medications
- biodegradable soap/shampoo
- two towels (one can get pretty damp) (maybe 3) (label your towels)
- washcloth
- band aids, sports tape, and basic first aid supplies
- LABEL YOUR TOWELS! 😉
- Your personal medications
Outdoor comfort
SpiritFire is an outdoor event; we have covered social areas, of course – but be prepared for outdoor activity!
Suggestions:
- flashlight and extra batteries
- sunscreen
- insect repellent *especially for ticks* – but there are mosquitoes and sometimes mayflies, too
- backjack or folding chair for outside your tent (and one for the dining area as mentioned above)
- chair if you want to eat outside the dining hall (or a ground cover)
Workshops and Community Time
Check workshop descriptions for anything special they might require, such as a blanket or particular instruments. Workshops descriptions are listed on the website and will also be in your program on site. Yoga mats for yoga classes, and they are great for seated moments in the pavilions.
- Bringing a personal chair will help, as the camp does not have a lot of individual seating for each area.
Fire circles run from late evening (somewhere around 10:30 pm) until they come to a natural stop, usually the beginning of dawn. However, it’s important we all know that there is no expectation of staying up all night. Do what feels good, and don’t push it too quickly as we re-emerge together.
Each night has a different focus, and we will likely not finalize those until just before the event. Stay tuned, we’ll let you know!
Suggestions:
- clothing you can layer and move in comfortably all night long (read the ritual fire descriptions to see if you might want to bring something to wear that reflects the evening’s focus!)
- Yoga mat
- comfortable, danceable shoes – while we tend the fire carefully, we can’t guarantee safety for bare feet.
- rhythm instruments: drums, rattles, singing bowls, gongs, didgeridoos, rain sticks, chimes, etc.
- festival clothing – clothes that make you happy! You might wear colors that reflect the parts of a fire circle you are particularly drawn to: red for music, blue for motion, yellow for voice, green or white for service, and black for mystery; you might want to bring a mask, or something to reflect the intention of a given fire. Up to you (important: there is *no* expectation on what a person chooses to wear at a fire circle. Jeans and a T shirt = AWESOME if it is what you like.)
- face paint
- camp chair: low-to the ground, or a ground blanket
Miscellaneous
Suggestions:
- personal rapid test kit(s) for you to use to test yourself for COV-19 in case of symptoms
- cash for merchant goodies (if you can bring $1 and $5 bills, that would be much appreciated!) – this year, merchants will not be able to access online payment processing. So plan on checks and cash only.
- cash for the scholarship fund raffle or work shift buy-out. Scholarships are awarded to about 12-15 people each year thanks to the generosity of the community.
- journal/pens
- fliers for your community events
- small gifts for those new and spontaneous friends
- an extra pillow, blanket, camp chair, or decoration for the community comfy tent (marked with your name please)
- a watch or battery-operated alarm clock (let’s avoid cell phones please!)
Things to leave home – Please do NOT bring these:
- pets/animals of any kind
- illegal substances
- camping stoves, candles, incense, or fire spinning/play tools; the site does not permit any open flames at personal campsites or outside of our fire circle pit.
- drum sets, plastic timbales, electric or other similar instruments.
- valuable or breakable items that you don’t want to risk losing
Other suggestions are found in the registration info packet, emailed to registrants.
We hope you have a happy, safe, and comfortable festival!