CALFING 2022
Announcements
Announcements
September 12, 2022
Below is some additional information about Serenity Ridge and CALFING 2022.
We have created a WhatsApp group so we can connect and communicate with each other. If you would like to join the group, click on the link https://chat.whatsapp.com/LlpgSHMCWFc78oTEEF0DVV in a browser on your phone.
Serenity Ridge, for their safety and concern for all of our well being trusts us to follow the COVID policy they have created. In order to do that, either take a COVID-19 home test 24 hours prior to arrival and provide a negative result (a simple phone-camera snapshot will do), or complete a test on site upon arrival.
Accommodations will be made if anyone falls sick for the safety of the group moving that person to a location at Serenity Ridge which they have identified as a Sick Bay.
Serenity Ridge has some COVID tests available which can be purchased. We suggest participants arrange to take a test or obtain a test on their own before arriving at Serenity Ridge. Some participants or the CALFING team may have extra tests available to bring to Serenity Ridge. We have a preference that you take your test within 24 hours before arriving at Serenity Ridge, and simply bring the picture of your negative result.
We trust that you will take responsibility to meet your needs for safety.
If you have any questions or concerns, will you address your concerns with us directly at silgiraffe@aol.com?
CALFING 2022 activities will begin at 5pm ET on October 17th. As Serenity Ridge has a retreat ending on the day before we arrive, their staff and the CALFING team will be busy during the afternoon on the first day of the retreat. We ask that you arrive between 3 and 4pm. You will be able to leave your luggage in the lounge when you arrive.
At 5pm, we will hold our Room Dance where we tour the accommodations at Serenity Ridge, and then select rooms with consideration of everyone's needs. You will then be able to move your luggage into your room. We will have dinner and an opening meeting following the Room Dance once everyone has settled into their room.
Those arriving early can walk around the Serenity Ridge grounds and converse with each other in some common areas.
CALFING 2022 will end at 11am ET on October 25th after a closing meeting after which bag lunches will be available to take on your trip home. The CALFING team will depart promptly at that time to catch planes, and would like you to leave at that time as well. If you have other desires, will you let us know?
If you are still needing to coordinate your travel from the airport to Serenity Ridge, please put your travel information and make requests through the Travel Information spreadsheet at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Tu9Sv6uv57qzATe2bhpqtrXAXEuORBLIEY-bvN5ch2Y, or share your needs in the WhatsApp group.
Serenity Ridge is at 560 Drumheller Lane, Shipman, VA 22971.
Ride services are available from Charlottesville to Serenity Ridge including from the airport (CHO), Amtrak (train) and Greyhound (bus) stations. Uber and Lyft are available through their respective apps when traveling from Charlottesville to Serenity Ridge, but not from Serenity Ridge to Charlottesville. During our last retreat at Serenity Ridge, some participants made direct arrangements with drivers on their way to Serenity Ridge for the driver to provide a return trip back to Charlottesville on the last day of the retreat. Let us know your return needs, and if needed, we will support you in finding a ride.
We'll be holding our retreat at a time of the year that is comfortable and beautiful in Shipmann, VA. We will build spaciousness into our days so you'll have opportunities to integrate what you are learning and experiencing through quiet time, conversational time and walks on the Serenity Ridge grounds. October is a comfortable autumn month in Shipman with temperatures in the range of an average high of 65.7°F (18.7°C) and an average low of 46.9°F (8.3°C). Bring clothes that will allow you to enjoy time outside at Serenity Ridge. Bring an umbrella and jacket --- not that there is a particularly large amount of rain but there may be an occasional storm. A flashlight can be handy for nighttime.
We’ve been told that there are year-round ticks at Serenity Ridge so do not walk through the grass particularly with open shoes or without socks. Generally, stay on the road to maintain friendly relations with neighbors. You may also wish to bring insect repellent.
Cushions and chairs are provided in the meditation hall, but you are welcome to bring your own, as well as anything else to ensure your comfort. The temperature in the meditation hall can run from rather cool to quite warm, so dressing in layers or bringing a shawl or blanket can be helpful.
Each day, we will begin with a remembering to remind us of the consciousness of NVC. If there is something you would like to share, a story, a poem, a dance, a game, some music, you will have the opportunity to share it with the group.
Serenity Ridge requests that outdoor shoes are not worn in their meditation room. You may want to bring a pair of slippers to wear inside of the meditation room.
Serenity Ridge requests that when drinking water in their meditation room, it is contained in a water bottle with a fully closing lid or cap. You may want to bring a secure water bottle with you.
Accommodations at Serenity Ridge include single rooms and double rooms. With a couple of exceptions, the rooms at Serenity Ridge do not have a private bathroom. Most of us will be sharing separate adjoining men's and women's bathrooms. (Yes, with hot water for showers.) You may wish to bring bathrobes for the walk to the bathroom from your room. Sheets and towels are provided.
Every room at Serenity Ridge has electrical outlets. If you need an outlet close to your bed, please bring an extension cord to ensure an outlet close to the bed.
All meals begin as vegan and gluten-free, and then address the particular nutritional needs of individuals at CALFING. The registration form asked you to share any specific nutritional needs. Please let us know if there are additional preferences and food sensitivities, or foods you cannot eat for health reasons that you did not mention during registration as soon as possible.
Serenity Ridge is an entirely vegetarian center. All forms of animal flesh are prohibited from their kitchen(s). There is a refrigerator and microwave for guests that you may use to store and cook your own food. Cold cuts and cold fish are allowed in the guest refrigerator. To avoid an odor of meat or fish spreading throughout the center, heated meat and heated fish are not permitted.
Serenity Ridge has well water which is tested monthly and filtered with UV sterilizers.
Serenity Ridge has laundry facilities available for our use. Soap is provided. The washers and dryers require quarters to use.
Most of the areas (inside and outside) in which we will be living and meeting have a free Internet connection available. (The Internet technology at Serenity Ridge has been upgraded since the last time we were there.) There may be one or two dead spots.
The best cell phone service at Serenity Ridge is Verizon, however, the service is spotty (and perhaps even spottier than when we were last there). Serenity Ridge suggests that you rely on a WiFi (Internet) service for communicating with those outside of Serenity Ridge. When we were last at Serenity Ridge, they had a landline phone that we could use to make calls and which could receive incoming calls. That landline phone is no longer available. Mark suggests we can find an alternative using WiFi technology, particularly for emergency communications. (Details to be discussed later.)
If there is something you would enjoy offering to the group (e.g., a game, a yoga session, a presentation), there will be time during the evening for you to do so.
IITs, after which CALFING is modeled, have traditionally included a “No Talent” Show. You may wish to give consideration for sharing the talent you do not have.
One participant asked us if her husband and two children could come to Serenity Ridge for a few days of the retreat as one of her children will be having a birthday. The CALF team agreed. Her husband and children will be joining us for meals. They would only join us for other events if the participant was leading an event herself. Will you let us know if this does not work for you?
Sometime in the middle of the retreat, we will share a breakdown of the fixed expenses we have incurred for the retreat (estimated between $1,800 and $2,000 per attendee), and you will have an opportunity to adjust your payment towards those fixed costs given the down payment you had previously made. This "Money Dance' will also give you an opportunity to make a financial contribution to the CALF team (suggested $800 to $1,600) to compensate for the time and efforts the team contributed towards creating the retreat. Please bring a means to make a payment towards the fixed costs of the retreat and the contribution you will make towards the CALF team. Venmo, Zelle, Cash App and PayPal, as well as bank transfers, all work.
If you have additional questions, we invite you to come to the Candidates Call on Wednesday, September 28th at 10:30am Pacific Time in Sylvia's Zoom room at https://zoom.us/j/2166953683 .