The 2009 HoopPath Retreat III! (6/18th-21st/2009)
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The 2009 HoopPath Retreat: Moving Beyond Appearance: The Vessel, the Mind, and the Mystery.
Blessings and Greetings to each of you my current and future friends and fellow hoopers! It is with great excitement and enthusiasm that I write to you today beneath this beautiful Carolina sky to extend to you an invitation to join us this year for our 3rd Annual 2009 HoopPath Retreat: The Vessel, the Mind, and the Mystery. The weekend of the Retreat is June 18th through June 21st, 2009. Our first event begins on Thursday evening at 6 pm, and our last event (at least officially) ends on Sunday evening at 11:00 pm.
A Quick History
In 2007, the HoopPath tribe of Carrboro, NC invited hoopers from all over to come and hang out with us for a weekend of workshops and community building over a summer weekend here in North Carolina. We put the invitation out to as many as we could. We were wowed to have 18 guests come from all over the U.S. and join us for a weekend of what we were then calling, “positive rhythm generation.” We brought these folks into our homes and lives for one weekend of pure hooping paradise. We scheduled workshops, get-togethers, rituals, and jams over three days and nights. We found out that weekend that we as a fledgling Community had a lot more in common than just the hoop. It was a pivotal moment not only for our group and those who attended, but also for the Community at large who witnessed that these types of events could not only be dreamt, but also successfully realized. Pulling off this inaugral event was and continues to be a source of great pride for the HP. We later honored those 18 who came with the designation of “The First Ring.”After the retreat concluded in 2007, we were flooded with emails from hoopers who were interested in attending our next retreat. We had hardly recovered from 2007, when it became clearly apparent that a 2008 retreat was being ‘manifested’ by the Community at large and that the energetic momentum of a group we would later call, “The Second Ring” was undeniable. We found bigger venues, made room for more guests, and put tickets on sale wondering what would happen. Ann kept saying, “I think this one’s gonna be big.” She was right. We sold all 80 of our tickets within ten days! We grew from 18 in 2007, to 80 in 2008. It was mind blowing. The local tribe here rallied to the challenge and somehow came together to pull off what was for me, one of the highlights of my life thus far.
From the Heart:
It has been a tough year (economically) for some of us since the last retreat. Since 2007, there are now several, national retreats and conferences, many of which The HoopPath has been involved with through our teaching. These events, of course, cost money and in today’s economic climate, hoopers now find themselves having to be more selective when choosing which events work best within their schedules of work and finance. We have heard from many of the First and Second Ring who have shared that while their Love for us remains strong, they are unsure if they can afford to come to all the events of which they would like to attend, including our own Retreat. We understand. We don’t want to take anyone’s last dime. We know it’s a sacrifice for many of you to come, and we are honored that so many of you are trying to figure out how to “make this happen.” Please know that if you cannot be with us in presence, you will be with us in Spirit.
The 2009 Retreat:
Because of the nature of our current economy, we are not sure how many folks to expect this year. We have positioned ourselves to have the biggest retreat we have had so far. Our idea with annual HP retreats is to offer and encourage a “family reunion”-type feel. In order to do this we give first dibs on the tickets to the retreat to those who have attended our Retreats before. So, after having offered tickets to all of those who have come in years’ past, we then offered tickets to all of those who were on our very long waitlist for this year. Now, as the event approaches, we have heard from enough invitees to know just how many tickets we have left over for general sale to friends we have yet to meet.Our Retreat is a chance for hoopers who are interested in specific HoopPath techniques to come to Carrboro, NC for weekend of concentrated study and play with other hoopers and local HP students here. The Retreat weekend consists of three 2.5 hour workshops and events during the days and evenings. Your ticket (150.00) includes all the events (jams, meditations, gatherings) and workshops. It does not include food or lodging except for the opening dinner on Thursday evening. (Please check the schedule for the full list.) The HoopPath Community is made up different types of hoopers of all (adult) ages and orientations. In 2009, our Community was honored to be voted Hooping.org’s “Hoop Community of the Year.” The retreat is a chance for folks of this Community near and far to gather and connect (and especially reconnect) to one another face to face. There is no initiation or pledge for first-timers, just a love of hooping as a Practice. That’s it.We take a lot of pride in the groups we have gathered in our classes and workshops. It may be worth noting that the first four or five tickets sold this year went to persons in their upper forties and fifties. To be sure, nearly all (adult) ages are represented here, but we like that our group attracts persons from many different phases of life. We believe, the quality of your hooping is determined by the level of Joy you feel while hooping and not by the fashion you wear or the tricks you know. So, it is encouraging to see so many who share that belief and come to our event for the feeling it gives them, rather than the notice they may receive.That being said, the guest list for this event is hands down one of the most inspiring collections of hoopers I will have ever been around. To be sure, there are many past attendees (B.A’s all of them) who will not be able to come who are incredible movers. (We’ll miss each and every one of the new hoop mommies!) Yet, their absence has opened space for many newcomers who are also mind blowing. I believe one of the best ways to improve your hooping is to witness and observe many different hoopers in a shared environment. Trust me, this event will not let you down in that area.
The Schedule
For a detailed outline of the schedule you can click here.
Adjustments We’ve Made:
There were several suggestions that came from many different attendees and we have chosen to address as many of those suggestions as we can. The following is a list of some of the most common:1. More locals in the Workshops. We hear you. We missed them, too. Unfortunately we did not have enough room to have that many locals in the workshops. This year we have addressed that need by finding a bigger workshop space that can accommodate our local HP hoop crew in exchange for volunteering. As of right now, there are currently 28 local volunteer attendees and the list is growing. I’ve been working on them all year and I am stoked to show them off to everyone. This was our most popular suggestion and I get choked up a little knowing that it meant enough to the 1st and 2nd ring that they wrote to ask to include those who so graciously gave their spots away for them. We really are a part of very special community. Thank you for readjusting my perspective.2. More downtime. We have read and heard your feedback and have decided to offer a little more downtime than in years’ past. We realize that for many of you this is also a vacation opportunity and we want you to have time to hang and have fun away from home. We also realize that a big ‘draw’ to our event is the guest list. So, we have set up more time for you to connect to each other both in and out of the hoop.3. Can you add a day to help us out with jetlag? Look, I totally understand this suggestion. As my travel time in the air has increased since ‘08, I have seen and felt the effects of travel on the Mind and Body. So you asked, and we have provided. We are starting this year’s event on Thursday evening with dinner and beverages provided by us, for you the road/plane weary. We won’t make you do anything but come in, relax, and eat. We are excited to present our keynote address by the amazing and super-inspiring, ThunderShyne. After her presentation, we will then have the Flowcase Showcase which addresses another suggestion….4. Can we have a chance to share, too? Absolutely. Do you want to strut your stuff for us? Do you have a new fashion idea for the Community? Do you sing? Do you want to share a talent away from the hoop? Do you have some thoughts you want to share? Are you new to the Community and want to introduce yourself? You get the idea… The Flowcase showcase on Thursday night is a chance for you to take the stage and show us what you got. Bring it on. (If you’re interested in participating in the Flowcase, you can register with Ann by writing her at ann@hooppath.com.5. Can you rotate the students in each workshop so we can hoop with everybody? Yes. This year we will alter the chemistry of each workshop by combining the different mini-tribes through the 6 workshops. We know that this may add a higher level of complexity, but there are going to be a lot of amazing hoopers with us, and we want to give each of you a chance to share hoopspace with everyone. Again, thank you for this suggestion.6. Can we move Carrboro to the Haight? This is one is going to be tough to pull off. It might be easier if you came here.7. Can Baxter where pink pants with a booty shelter? No way, Jose.
Two (BIG) Things That Are Different This Year:
Accomodations. There are some dramatic changes in the way that we are hosting this year and we would like to share them with you. Unfortunately, we are going to be unable to host as many people in our homes this year as in past years. We realize that this raises the costs of attending our event, but quite simply, we have more guests than beds in our homes. We have reserved blocks of rooms in two different hotels in town at very reasonable rates. If you are coming with someone you can split the cost of a room for as low as 28 dollars (each) a night. If you are willing to rough it and cram 4 of you into a room, then the cost drops even lower. The second hotel is a little nicer and little more expensive if you are not in a financial bind.Travel between Events. In order to find bigger, better facilities we have had to move our events further away from the heart of Carrboro. This means that you will need to have transportation! There are many people coming to this event with whom you can share a rental car. The taxi service in Carrboro and Chapel Hill is nothing like what many of you are used to and we cannot recommend it. Car rentals out of RDU International are very reasonable. If you can afford it, rent a car. We are going to try and help move people around, but we are limited with what we can offer. If you know others who are coming, please be proactive in coordinating transportation. As of now, at least 2/3rds of those coming are coming through the airport, so there should be plenty of opportunities for you.
Lastly:
We have only about 25 tickets left for this event! There are many moving pieces with this event, so please let us know if you are planning on coming, but have not purchased your ticket. We are hoping to have room for everyone. Please do no hesitate to ask us any questions that you may have. If you are stumbling upon this and are going to purchase a ticket to come, please do us a favor and let us know that you have registered so that we can get important information to you regarding accommodation details and any last many alterations to our plans.If you would like to have more specific, detailed information emailed to you, please contact ann@hooppath.com.We hope that you will consider joining us.Please click here for the full schedule of events and details.