Hopeful Gathering: Vermont
Sept 8-12th, 2022

Calling in…

Artists, activists, ritualists, visionaries, earth lovers, emotional intelligence nerds, healers, bodyworkers, witches, somatic practitioners, sacred sluts.

To cross pollinate, co-create, and bask in a liberatory community.

To cultivate a culture of authenticity, empowered consent, embodied presence, earth connection, justice & reparation, deep compassion, reciprocity, wild creativity, intimacy, and community nurturance.

Welcome to Hopeful Gathering.

The invitation

 

  • An intimate group (30 people maximum) will gather for six days and five nights, at the beautiful & cozy Good Commons retreat center in Plymouth, Vermont.

  • Liv will facilitate an opening ceremony, daily community circles, evening group activities, a land journey, and a closing ceremony.

  • The rest of our time together will entail a series of participant-led offerings, as we source from one another the richness of wisdom, passions and skills within the group. We will all have a chance to facilitate and participate - to lead and be led, to be present in learning, reflection, and growth.

Co-Creation

 

Each participant will submit ideas in advance, offering exercises, activities, rituals, and/or practices they would be interested in bringing to the group.

Some of us may be highly experienced facilitators, and others may wonder what we have to contribute. I want to encourage each person to step into a leadership role at some point during our time together - because we *all* have ideas, experience, and skills worth sharing - but that could manifest in many different ways. Someone could lead a two-hour long workshop, someone else could host a lunchtime discussion, someone else could read a poem as we all close our eyes, or lead us in a song. 

I am calling in proposals that explore the topics of:

  • Somatics: authentic movement, embodiment, sounding/vocalizing, meditation and breathwork, pleasure and eroticism, and expressive arts.

  • Relational & Emotional Health: BDSM and conscious kink, boundaries and consent, shadow work, polyamory and relationship anarchy, radical honesty and conscious communication, grief processing.

  • Culture & Justice: exploration of social identities, shame resilience, body positivity, abundance economics, restorative justice, art-based activism, radically inclusive community building.

  • Spirituality & Magic: transcendence of social identities, plant medicine, tantra, ritual arts, connection with the natural world, ancestral connection, animism.

Essentially, anything that helps to heal and shift our culture away from colonialism - from separation and harm - towards a culture of interconnection, safety, and collective freedom.

If you are needing support around crafting an offering, you are welcome to reach out for a conversation! I would be happy to help you process and develop your ideas. 

Good Commons Retreat Center

  • An incredibly lovely venue, with a spacious movement studio, cozy porch decks, a meditation garden, fire pit, hot tub, and steam room.

  • We will extend our space with group trips to a beautiful nearby state park and lake. 

  • We will be fed three locally sourced, farm-to-table meals a day, plus abundant homemade snacks, made lovingly by professional chefs.

  • Tesha, the owner, is the most warm and open host. She full embraces the weirdness that is Hopeful Gathering, and makes us feel so at home.

Note: the venue is a converted old New England house, and has multiple staircases. Unfortunately, it is not wheelchair accessible. Please let me know any other physical access needs you may have in the application form, and we can work together to get your needs met!

 

Sexuality 

  • Clothing is optional for the duration of the gathering; we celebrate and simply neutralize nudity.

  • Sexual expression is welcome in any part of the venue, given the consent of all involved (including those who can see or hear the interaction). We will have one designated play party evening. 

  • Participants will be asked to bring toys and props to contribute to our play space… potluck style:)

  • It is perfectly welcome to spend the entire week engaging in purely platonic intimacy. There are so many different ways to love and connect. In this container, all of our desires - both sexual and platonic - are valid and welcome.

 

Consent

  • Together, we will uphold a strong culture of clear communication, self awareness, emotional attunement, proactive consent and unwaveringly affirmed boundaries. 

  • Liv will lead a workshop that will align us with shared language, understanding, and intentions around consent, so that we can navigate each of our desires and limits with more ease. This workshop will take place on the first full day together, and - apart from the opening circle - will be the only mandatory component of our gathering.


 

Social Identity 

  • The opening circle will include a component of building a culture of curiosity, humility, openness, and respect for boundaries, which is vital for connecting across lines of social identities (i.e. gender, race, age, ability, neurotype, nationality).

  • I want to name social identities and the various structural “isms” (racism, sexism, etc.) as significant constructs that affect all of us, while holding that we are each complex individuals who cannot be pigeon-holed or generalized. We each bring distinct perspectives, wisdom, and lived experiences. Let’s learn about them!

  • I am bringing an intention to cultivate a safe(r) space, where power dynamics are held with nuance and compassion. Together, we will explore what this might look like.

 

Requirements 

  • Participants should have a seasoned sense of what their intuitions and bodies are wanting, from day-to-day and moment-to-moment. They should feel capable of following these internal cues and taking care of themselves.

  • Participants should have some back-pocket practices for self grounding, and/or the ability to name what would support them if they become triggered/dysregulated. 

  • Participants must feel comfortable - or able to step diligently into their discomfort - in asking for consent.

  • Participants should feel able to assert their boundaries and say “no.” Please reach out for a brief conversation if this doesn’t yet resonate with you. Recovering people pleasers are welcome, while we all learn to be more honest and self advocating!

  • Participants must be over the age of 18. 

Emotional Trigger Support

We will be joined by Andrew Golibersuch, MA in clinical mental health counseling. He will serve as a resource, helping us to build more resilience as individuals and as a community. Emotions of all sorts may arise during this event, and when a trigger occurs, we want to be able to source support and grounding within ourselves and from one another. Andrew will be leading a workshop and supporting the group around the above theme throughout the week.

Note: Though this event may be highly therapeutic, it is not clinical therapy. Andrew is not providing therapy or entering a client-practitioner relationship with anyone during the event. He is providing education and guidance, and is also a participant with the rest of the group!

Sliding Scale/Bartering

 

Anyone who leads a workshop that they have previous experience teaching receives a $50-100 discount, depending on length of the workshop and level of experience.

I value exchanges of many forms.
Reach out if you’re interested in worktrade or bartering! Check out my wishlist.

Earlybird

$500 / Camping or 9-bed dorm
$600 / 2-bed shared room
$700 / Private room

The first 5 participants.
Full!

 

Regular

$700 / Camping or 9-bed dorm
$800 / 2-bed shared room
$900 / Private room

The next 15 participants.
Full!

 

Slipping In

$900 / Camping or 9-bed dorm
$1000 / 2-bed shared room
$1100 / Private room

The final 10 participants.

 

Community Abundance Fund

How can we share our wealth, so that everyone in the collective has enough? 

  • If you are in need of financial support to access this event, you are welcome to apply.

  • If you are able and inspired to give to this fund, your generosity is gratefully embraced.

You are particularly encouraged to receive if you:

  • are supporting children or have other dependents, especially as a single parent

  • have significant debt

  • have medical expenses not covered by insurance

  • receive public assistance

  • have immigration-related expenses

  • are an elder with limited financial support

  • are an unpaid community organizer

  • are a former incarcerated person who has been denied work due to your legal record

You are particularly encouraged to give if you:

  • own the home you live in

  • have investments, retirement accounts, or inherited money

  • travel recreationally

  • have access to family money and resources in times of need

  • work part time by choice

  • have a relatively high degree of earning power due to level of education (or gender and racial privilege, class background, etc.) Even if you are not currently exercising your earning power, I ask you to recognize this as a choice.

The above class-based descriptors were written by Hadassah Damien, founder of Ride Free Fearless Money.

Funds will be distributed based on the total amount contributed, and the amount that each applicant hopes to receive.

To apply for funding: https://forms.gle/kL7JJ6itMKysXmS68

To give funding: Send money via PayPal to ofrank16@gmail.com or Venmo to Olivia-Frank-1. Use an emoji as the description.

To Attend

  • Complete a registration form

  • Our group will be curated with care and intention, balancing inclusion with authentic alignment. It is a small-scale event; I am holding the value of depth over breadth.

  • I am calling in the group mostly through personal invitations. If you feel drawn to spreading the word to folks who seem like a good fit, I trust that process and am grateful for your support in building our gathering!

  • A welcome letter, outlining logistical and other preparatory information, will be emailed upon confirmation!

 

Payment Logistics

  • Spots will be secured by sending a non-refundable deposit of $200.

  • The remainder of your balance will be due 30 days before the event, or your spot and deposit may be forfeited. Please reach out if you need an extension on this deadline.

  • You may pay through Venmo, PayPal, or cash at the door. Payment information will be emailed upon acceptance.

    Cancellation / Refund policy:

    1. Within one month of the start date: 75% refund.

    2. Within two weeks of the start date: 50% refund.

    3. Within one week of the start date: 25% refund.

    4. Within three days of the start date: No refund:(

 

Credit Acknowledgments

  • In college, a group of friends, led by Cleo Gordon, would meet to sing songs, make wild sounds, explore the woods, have emotional check-ins, and otherwise be human together in lovely ways. The name of this unofficial club was “Hopeful Gathering.” I am nodding to the beauty we wove in that time, and carrying it forward into new communities that could use a little group magic.

  • I have participated in several “Jam Jam” retreats led by Abbi Jaffe and Amanda Franz, from The Everything Space in Montpelier, Vermont. The structure of those events were an immense inspiration for the co-creative nature of this offering.

  • I supported Christos Galanis and Casey Loomis in organizing an incredibly creative and intimate grassroots gathering. Being able to experience their behind-the-scenes process gave me much inspiration and insight.

  • I have learned enormously from the Touch&Play festival project. 

  • Anna Maynard has been instrumental to the birthing of this event.

  • Just have to give a shout out to adrienne maree brown, my favorite author/thinker/teacher/queen.

 Frequently Asked Questions

 

  • Participants are required to attend the opening circle and consent workshop. From there, participants are strongly encouraged to stay for the duration of the gathering, and should not plan to come if they know they will need to leave early. However, everyone is encouraged to take care of themselves and if someone feels a strong desire to exit early they will be affirmed in that decision. Refunds in such scenarios will unfortunately not be possible, since we would not be able to fill the space with a new participant at that point.

  • While ethical non-monogamy will be normalized within our event, monogamy is a valid relationship choice! Couples and individuals within monogamous relationships are welcome to join, and will hopefully feel comfortable communicating their desires and boundaries to their partner and to others in the group (I hope *everyone* will be comfortable doing this!). Regardless of your relationship structure, I highly recommend speaking with your partner(s) prior to the event, to share your intentions and form some agreements together about how you want to interact, connect and play with others.

    Zahava Griss wrote a very helpful resource to support these conversations: https://www.embodymorelove.com/blog/clarifying-agreements-before-you-go-play

  • We will have a designated space set up for mellow energy, where folks can coexist with the expectation of quietly doing their own thing. There are also lovely woods with paths to walk in, and a lake nearby. With the exception of the opening circle and consent workshop, nothing is mandatory; folks are encouraged to follow their own needs and step away at any time.

  • Yes, and no. We are both sovereign beings, with impacts on each other. To meet this balance, we will build a culture of collective consent. Anyone is welcome to voice a desire, and if the desire is reciprocated, mutually consensual magic can unfold. There are no restrictions; fuck on the staircase if you’d like. Just put a towel down. That said, how do we hold consent for the rest of the community - how hearing or seeing our intimacy may impact them? We ask. If anyone else is in the room, we ask if it’s okay to do XYZ with them there. If we’re in a public space and someone walks in, we stop what we’re doing until we get that consent from them. This might feel vulnerable, but it’s a practice I’m inviting us to step into! How much more freedom can we have, if we’re able to name our desires bravely and learn to navigate collective boundaries and consent…

    We will also have one play party night where anything within the designated studio space is welcome. If folks don’t want to be around that energy, they will be encouraged to take care of themselves and hang out in a different space.

  • I appreciate your concern for safety! This said, I also want to gently poke at the idea that someone “coming onto you,” hitting on you, etc. - even when you don’t feel attracted to them - is an inappropriate boundary-crossing in itself. In a sex positive, anti-shame world, everyone is validated in their sexual desires - no matter how taboo or norm-subversive that desire may be. There is nothing inherently wrong or harmful in someone expressing sexual interest; everyone should feel comfortable and affirmed making asks and communicating openly. The key distinction is *consent* - that an ask is made in the first place, rather than simply assuming that someone is wanting to experience something. There should be plenty of space offered for the person(s) being asked to say no - aka a zero pressure interaction - and if the answer is no, that should be fully affirmed, respected, and followed without any pushback or persistence. With these expectations in place, I hope we can humanize each other a bit more. For example, while it would be very understandable to have some personal/inter-generational baggage and feel easily triggered by cis men, many cis men are also vulnerable creatures who feel an unfortunate amount of shame and anxiety around their desires. In my eyes, mutual consent and emotional awareness are the only requirements for appropriate behavior.

  • In light of my answer above, we will have a boundary around instances of someone acting in a way that others involved have explicitly made clear they are not consenting to.
    Participants are encouraged to approach me and let me know what has happened. Drawing from the frames of restorative justice and Nonviolent Communication, I will process with you to discern the best response to each case-by-case situation. I am also in the process of forming a leadership support team during the event, for making critical decisions and navigating complex issues that may arise.

  • The consent workshop will include a component of “Conversations to have before entering intimate connections” (based on the work of Zahava Griss and ZigZag Panther-Peery Wolf), where we will establish shared language and understanding for key points to talk about - including sexual health and beyond - with potential sexual playmates. We will cultivate a space of honesty and shamelessness, where one can disclose their STI status to playmates with both transparency and ease. Safer sex barriers will be provided, and participants will also be encouraged to bring their own. If you are feeling uncomfortable or hesitant at the thought of any type of sexual engagement that could lead to an STI, I invite you to get creative! There are so many ways to connect and play.

  • A rapid test will be required upon entry. As covid circumstances are ever-evolving, it is possible the requirements may change. I will send updates to confirmed participants.

  • This is not a requirement; explorers of new realms - including and especially those who may be playing with vulnerable personal edges - are very welcome. Open minds and hearts, and senses of curiosity and contribution, are all that is needed. This said, I recommend dabbling (or immersing) in some books, podcasts, workshops, or other resources prior to the event, to build an initial foundation that can be deepened during our time together.

  • Yes! I compiled this resource list for you <3

Photos on this page were taken by Anna Maynard from Hopeful Gathering: Vermont 2021. See more of Anna’s work at: https://www.annamaynard.com/