Volunteers wanted to help Dragonfest set up before the event (Monday & Tuesday, August 5th & 6th) and tear down afterwards (Sunday, August 12). Get your workshift out of the way so you can enjoy the retreat knowing everything is solidly in place. To volunteer, fill out this form, making sure to read all of the instructions. If you have questions, contact set...@dragonfest.org
There are three setup/takedown shifts: Monday setup, Tuesday setup, and Sunday takedown.
- Kitchen Truck Crew – There is one kitchen truck crew shift assignment. Kitchen truck crew will load the kitchen truck at the storage unit on Monday and unload it onsite on Monday, and then load the truck on Sunday afternoon, unloading back at the storage unit on Monday after the festival.
- Monday setup shift takes place on the Monday before Retreat begins, starting at 12:30 p.m.
- Tuesday setup shift takes place on the Tuesday before Retreat begins, starting at 12:30 p.m.
- Sunday takedown shift takes place on the Sunday Retreat ends, starting after the Retreat officially ends. Those on takedown crew can spend the night until Monday.
Preference will be given to volunteers who are available for both a pre-event and post-event shift.
 (don’t worry, professionals set up the really big tent)
Join us for the return and rebirth of our beloved retreat as we explore regrowth for Dragonfest & ourselves.
Let us reconnect to the land and as a community!
Registration rates have not changed this year but we do have new cut-off dates for registration. Also, you may now submit your registration electronically and we are opening preregistration for weekend passes.
FEE SCHEDULE:
 The 2013 Fee Schedule for Dragonfest Registration Click here to go to our Registration page where you can download the registration form and find all the updates about registration
ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION: If you choose to submit your registration electronically, please fill out the form including checking off the electronic signature box, save it to your computer with the file name 2013 Registration_”your last name”.pdf. Then attach the file to an email and email it to registration @ dragonfest.org. If you pay via Paypal, you will get an invoice within a couple of days, otherwise you have 1 week to mail the check to Dragonfest. REMEMBER: the form is not final until payment has been received. But we will accept your emailed form up to midnight on the date of each cut-off time period (example – You can email your form on 4/14 at 11:45 pm and we will honor that first cut-off price as long as we receive funds within one week of the emailed application.)
T-SHIRT NOTE: The colors are Texas orange with grey ink or Dark Heather Grey with black ink. Click here to see the color choices.
If you submitted your form before the colors were chosen, please contact the registrar to make your final selection.
WEEKEND REGISTRATION: The ability to preregister for weekend passes is now possible. Just use the same form as for regular registration. The price for each person for weekend registration is the same across all Fee tiers. However, if a person wanted to upgrade their weekend registration to a full registration, we would honor the tier price in which they submitted their initial registration. This means IF YOU REGISTER A WEEKEND PASS IN THE FIRST TIER, YOU CAN UPGRADE BY THE FINAL CUTOFF DATE (7/01) FOR THE FIRST TIER PRICE. Also note, that the AT-GATE registration will be $5 higher to compensate for the additional work we must do. As always, AT-GATE registration is CASH ONLY.
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We are looking for a corporate secretary. Time commitment is minimal – 5 hours/month. Duties include attendance of meetings once a month, taking notes, finalizing notes into minutes, and working with the Board to create a monthly agenda. For more information and a detailed job description, please email board @ dragonfest.org.
We still need a few more Staff volunteers. If you haven’t ever volunteered, this is the time to do so. We have a lot of new things going on this year that will make it that much more enjoyable for all. All staff have access to early-in at the retreat as well as participation in a Staff Camping Work Weekend the month before. Please email ops @ dragonfest.org for more information.
2013 is going to be a great year!
May there be plenty of moisture this year to avoid the extreme fire danger we had last year.
Dragonfest 2013 dates are August 7th – 11th
A couple of special announcements: New Board Member and Dragonfest Staff meetings
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Dragonfest Press Release – New Board Director
Because we did not have a corporate meeting this year due to the cancellation, self-nominations to the Board were not made.
As per our Bylaws, (#5. Interim Director), we have worked hard at appointing someone who could serve our community for a 1-year position; someone who had an understanding of Dragonfest history and an innate love to see Dragonfest continue successfully, as well as the skills to hit the ground running to help us with our goal of making Dragonfest 2013 be the best ever.
I am proud to announce that the Board of Directors has asked Sheana Heartsong to serve for one more year as a Board of Director and she happily accepted.
We will be electing two (2) Board of Director officers in 2013, one to serve a 4-year term, the other the standard 5 year term.
(Download the press release in PDF form: Dfest Press Release – new board director 2012)
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Dragonfest Staff Meeting Dates:
Dragonfest Staff will meet at Full Moon Books at 10am on the following dates:
- January 19th
- February 23rd
- March 16th
- April 20th
- May 25th
- June 22nd is actually being held at Joseph’s Farm (details and directions to come)
- July 20th
 PLEASE join us for a FREE day of fall fun at the Meyer Ranch (current location of Dragonfest Retreat). Bring a picnic lunch, water, and some camp chairs.You can sign up on our Facebook Event page and let us know you are coming or reply to this post
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
11am-1pm – Picnic lunch on your own, visit vendors, explore
1 – 3 pm – various workshops, hiking, visit vendors, catch up with friends
3 – 4pm – Mabon ritual with Dragonfest Board and Staff
4pm-ish – Drive home safely
PLEASE NOTE: This is a pack in-pack out event. We will have portapotties and limited services. Please bring enough water for your family for the afternoon and don’t forget camp chairs for comfort, workshops and ritual.
We held a Town Hall meeting on Saturday, July 20th at Full Moon Books where we discussed reasons for the Board’s decision to cancel and answer any questions.
UPDATE: You may download the Cancellation Fact Sheet and Minutes Recap of the meeting. (both files are PDFs)
Looking for an Alternate to Dragonfest?
These are events we know about, there may be others out there
- Open Lammas/Lughnasadh Ritual on Wednesday, August 1st at Treehenge in Fort Collins. Ritual is at 5:30 PM – Potluck to follow – RSVP to rain@trigoddess.org. Bring drums, blankets/chairs, non-disposable dishes…
- Full Moon Ritual at Dupont Park in Louviers, Wednesday, August 1st. This ritual, done annually for a summer full moon, is held IN Plum Creek. Yes, actually IN the river, wide enough for a large circle and the fireflies come out just as the ritual starts. Warm waters, slow flow, about a foot deep- like nothing I have ever experienced in Colorado elsewhere. There is a big meadow, so although they do not allow camping you could make a day of it with a picnic or whatever. This park is south of C-470 off of Santa Fe, near the town of Louviers in Douglas County. A link to the info is at http://www.meetup.com/livingearth/events/67540312/
- Bee Fest 2012 hosted by Danger and Vashti Brown in south eastern Colorado. This is open to the first 120 who register. August 2nd – 5th. There will be a potluck dinner on Thursday followed by the Opening ritual. There are various workshops, rituals, and merchants. More information can be found on their website or on this flyer. UPDATE: If you wish to attend a day early, you may do so. Contact Danger or Vashti via the website.
- Living Earth Lammas Fair near Holly & Evans (south part of the Denver Metro area). Support the Dragonfest Merchants, participate in a Drawing Down lead by Soltahr, psychic fair, workshops and rituals. Admission for each day is $5. Sign up here to volunteer; if you do a volunteer work shift, your day’s admission is free. More schedule information will be posted at Living Earth. August 3-4-5. UPDATE: Lammas Fair Schedule 2012
- Sean Bullock Memorial, August 2nd, 7pm at Wellington Lake. With ♥ love♥ in our hearts we will be spreading Sean’s ashes. It will be a short and sweet memorial service at the ‘boyscout camp’ if possible. Any and all are welcome. Please contact Shanna Flint for more information or if you cannot make it but would like to say a few words in honor of Sean. Wellington Lake, which was the old location for our retreat, has now reopened for camping on a first come, first served basis for $9/night per person.
- There will be a Boy’s Rite on Labor Day Weekend at Meyer’s Ranch (the Dragonfest location). Please contact Tres for more information and reference Boys Rite in your subject line.
- And don’t forget the MABON Festival and Ritual, free and open to the public on September 22nd at Meyer’s Ranch. Details will be forthcoming.
Don’t forget – Town Hall meeting today at 10am at Full Moon Books (9106 W 6th Ave, Lakewood, CO 80215).
We will go over reasons for the Board’s decision to cancel and answer any questions. A recap will appear on this website by Sunday evening.
The Board of Directors of Dragonfest of Colorado, after many discussions with local authorities and the land owner who hosts our Retreat, are officially cancelling Dragonfest 2012 for the safety and well-being of the membership, as well as the land we use in this extremely dry climate. We did not arrive at this decision lightly, especially considering Dragonfest has held the retreat for 26 years in a row without a cancellation of any kind. This year, the only reason we are canceling is for your safety and the safety of the Earth.
As most are aware, this is one of the hottest and driest years on record, which has already resulted in severe wildfires that have consumed thousands of acres across Colorado (as well as many other states), with hundreds of homes destroyed, and has taxed the resources of all of Colorado’s fire departments as well as many from around the nation. We, as pagans, feel that to continue to host a huge gathering, where open flame is part of our nightly ritual and a source of daily cooking, would be dishonoring the Earth as well as ourselves, the landowner, and the already exhausted authorities.
The Board met at the beginning of July to discuss how a potential disaster could impact us, including evacuation plans, the status of the vegetation, the current availability of resources to help mitigate such disasters, as well as the time needed to inform our members of any potential cancellation and what that might mean to them: money spent in the last few weeks to prepare for Dragonfest, time to cancel travel plans and vacations, and time needed to potentially create alternate plans for this year. We would have needed a substantial amount of rain to fall continuously every day for more than 2 weeks for us to feel that the Dragonfest retreat could continue safely. Though there have been rains recently in the Denver metro area, as well as in some mountainous areas; to date there has not been enough precipitation on the land we would be using to rehydrate the vegetation and ground to a level sufficient enough to elevate it out of its current tinderbox status.
We will be holding an Open Meeting on
Saturday, July 21stat 10:00am at Full Moon Books (9106 W 6th Ave, Lakewood, CO 80215)
to answer any concerns or questions our members might have.
We will also be contacting the already registered members via telephone or email during the evenings of Monday, July 16th and Tuesday, July 17th. If you are a registered member and have not heard from us after this date, you may contact boa...@dragonfest.org. The registered members will have a choice of the following:
- Dragonfest will hold your membership fee for the 2013 retreat. This is the simplest method as it gives the member the ability to already have paid for the next year and allows us to still make required payments such as a cancellation fee to the landowner, our accountant fees and yearly storage. If you opt for this method, you will be sent a postcard in February, reminding you of your paid status along with our annual “Dragons are coming” mailer (which is sent to all our members reminding them of upcoming Retreat information including registration deadlines).
- You may elect to donate a portion of your 2012 retreat fee back to Dragonfest so they can make their annual payments. The rest will be refunded back to you in the form of a check or reimbursement via PayPal .
- You may choose to receive a full refund less $2.50 to cover postage and handling (envelopes and checks cost money).
Dragonfest Board and Staff will be creating a free public ritual honoring the Earth and its hopeful regrowth later this fall. As we have more information about this special event, we will be posting it here on our website.
Blessed Be,
Sheána Heartsong, President
Dona Carroll
Joseph Davalt
Cecelia Thomas
Christine Childs
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For further inquiries regarding this Announcement or other Dragonfest topics, please contact the Corporate Communications Officer, Cecelia Thomas
Dfest 2012 Press Release Cancellation.
Unfortunately the Dragons Are Coming postcard did not go out this year as scheduled. We apologize for the error in not sending out these cards and promise that it will definitely be back in place for next year.
As a result, we have waived the 3rd tier rates and will honor all future attendees this year at the 2nd tier rates.
We are also offering the opportunity to pre-purchase the weekend pass. This allows for individuals to use a check or credit card to secure their pass. Please download the WEEKEND Registration form.
PLEASE fill out ALL 3 PAGES of the registration form before sending in.
We have extended the last deadline date for all full registrations and pre-purchased weekend registration: everything MUST be postmarked by JULY 7th.
Event registration form (download)
Weekend registration form (download) or register at the gate and pay in cash
The 2012 workshop schedule and descriptions have been posted.
Note that two workshops require pre-registration to ensure there are enough materials:
- Drum Making with Phil – Prices range from $95.00 for 10” Deer hide to $200.00 for 24” Elk hide hoop drums. Contact Phil at wiza...@gmail.com or (303) 838-3018 for more information on hoop or octagonal frames sizes and Deer and Elk hides.
- Vision Folders: A creative way of planning a Project, Circle, Spell, or any magickal working with Veronica – This workshop is limited to 12 people and a supply fee of $8.00 is required. You may wish to bring any of the following with you for this magical working: Photos, beads, feather, written spell – song- meditation, anything you feel you will use for your specific working. Veronica will supply the tools and supplies for the general project construction, some of which you will be able to take with you. Please call Veronica at 303-688-3650 to confirm your place in this class.
We have but one lonely submission for the artwork contest. Remember the deadline for artwork submissions is tonight at midnight!
The 2012 Dragonfest registration form is available for download here. For best results, after clicking the link please download the form before printing it, then complete it and mail it to the Dragonfest PO box. If you have any questions or issues with the registration please e-mail regi...@dragonfest.org. Merchants please visit the Merchants Page to download your registration form.
Artists we need your talent!
If you would like to design something for the retreat’s t-shirt, we want to hear from you. The theme for this year is Regrowing Our Roots. Artwork for the 2012 retreat needs to be submitted by email to ops@dragonfest.org no later than Midnight, Monday April 30th.
Two winners will be selected for the retreat and volunteer staff t-shirts. The first place winner will receive free admittance to the Retreat. All other submitting artists will also receive a special thank you gift from Dragonfest of Colorado, Inc’s 2012 Retreat for their hard work.
The Dragonfest Board is seeking applicants for the corporate secretary position. Please see the job description for more details DF Secretary job description. To apply or for more information please email the Board of Directors at Boa...@dragonfest.org.
The Dragonfest Board is seeking applicants for the corporate treasurer position. Please see the job description for more details DF Treas job description. To apply or for more information please email the Board of Directors at Boa...@dragonfest.org
Want to be on staff in 2012? Please let us know by filling out this form. You’ll also be able to reset your password or get a reminder of your dragonfest.org email address.
If you’d like to be on staff this year but didn’t volunteer last year, please fill out the new volunteer application instead.
Staff meetings are the at 10 AM on the 3rd Saturday of each month at Full Moon Books. You can still be on staff if you can’t make those meetings.
The first Dragonfest staff meeting will be Saturday, January 21st at 10 AM at Full Moon Books. Whether you’ve been on staff for years or would like to try something new this year, please join us and find out how you can contribute to Dragonfest this year.
Full Moon Books
9106 W. 6th Ave
Lakewood, CO 80215
2012 staff meetings will be on the third Saturday of each month at 10 AM.
January 21st
February 18th
March 17th
April 21st
May 19th
June 16th
July 21st
We mailed out 643 Annual Reports with ballots for the new Board of Director position. We received 94 returned ballots as of Monday, November 28, 2011*. Of those returned, the results were as follows:
- Christine Childs received 72 votes
- Tanya Lewerk (Tanna Sage) received 22 votes
Christine Childs was elected to the Board of Directors.
*Please note that in mailing out the ballots this year, the deadline to return ballots was omitted from the ballot itself. We apologize for this oversight. Though we had posted the November 15th postmark deadline on our website, in deference to our membership, we opted to extend the deadline to any ballot received up to and including the 28th of November.
The Dragonfest Board is taking comments on the idea of changing the dates of Dragonfest. Comments can be made directly to the Board at boa...@dragonfest.org. Emails posted by Friday, September 9th, 2011 on this topic will be carefully reviewed and considered. We will announce the decision in the annual letter we send out at the end of October.
We are entertaining the following suggestions:
- **Keep Dragonfest on the first full week in August
- **Move Dragonfest to the last full week in July
- **Move Dragonfest to the first weekend in August (Still would be a Wednesday -Sunday event, it would just be based on when the weekend started in August rather than the 1st full week)
There has been requests for quite a few number of years to accommodate the ever encroaching first day of school for local kids and educators. Someone pointed out the main issue with school start date wasn’t this year but was actually in subsequent years (2012). Another reason to change the date was related to weather. Though it is dryer later in August, that is not an option. Staff did research the history of weather in the area and yes, the end of July is slightly dryer than the middle of August. The third idea behind moving the date is because for the first time in a long time, we are not tied down by schedules of the land we are using or from specific vendors that we had to use in years past. We want to know what you, our membership, genuinely think about this possibility
(We had been trying to make the forum work, but there has been too many spam issues to make it worth our while to use. We are working on this issue, but wanted to make sure everyone had an equal opportunity to respond in a timely fashion.)
Thank you – the Board of Dragonfest
If you need to contact Dragonfest in an emergency during the event, follow the instructions on our contact page.
Many board and staff members will be on site starting Saturday, July 30th and unable to respond to queries. The last opportunity to reliably get a response to a message sent to drag...@dragonfest.org (dragonfest at dragonfest dot org) is noon on Monday, August 1st.
If you haven’t received your tickets yet, just come — your name is at the gate. If you need directions, get them here. See you soon!
Ticket packets were mailed late last week. Don’t worry if yours doesn’t arrive in time, though! The friendly folks at the gate have a list of everyone who’s registered, so bring your ID and your smiling faces, even if you don’t have a ticket in hand. Read the directions and read the ticket packet PDF included below.
And for anyone who hasn’t registered, you can still come up for the weekend. Details on cash-only weekend tickets is on the registration page.
2011 Ticket Packet
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