Firefly is just around the corner! While our beloved little namesakes are just emerging from their winter slumber and beginning to light the night sky with their magic, we are busily bringing together the endless lose ends and countless threads to co-create an unforgettable and transformative experience for all who follow the pulsing lights to the Wild Human Preserve for the Annual Firefly Gathering July 8-13, 2025.
It is difficult to sum up what this event is to folks who haven’t been. I like to say it’s like summer camp for the whole family. We bring earthskills and traditional crafts together with local musicians, storytellers, and artists, along with many community members from near and afar. What happens is greatly determined by who shows up, and every year is unique.
This year we have some very exciting new things to offer, as well as many of your old favorites! One of the most exciting things is our Accessibility Campsites, small to many, but profound for a few. Located in the center of the gathering, these spots were created to accommodate folks who would benefit from some extra support at the event. If you are interested please fill out THIS FORM to apply (note: there is no additional fee for these spaces, but are limited to people living with disabilities).
To address all that we learned with last year having been our first year on the new site, we’ve also made some exciting map changes. Here is the MAP draft (subject to change), so you can get an idea of where you might camp. You can see that we’ve added a lot more camping areas, some down low by the upper pond, some over on the hill side, some closer to the center of things. We also have some exciting new options at the next door land, with one-pole bell tents for rent! See our parking and camping page HERE for details!
Some favorite things that will be returning this year are our Bizarre Bazaar, offering a fun opportunity for all crafters and makers to bring their handmade wares and buy/sell/barter and trade with other unique vendors! We will also have Street Creature Puppet Collective back with a new magical Owl puppet for the Lantern Parade!
To facilitate a more relaxed environment for all, we’ve built extra time into the schedule, shortened the length of classes, and lengthened lunch time and transition times.Take a look at the General Schedule draft for inspiration.
We’ve taken the same approach of spaciousness and simplicity with our Evening Events schedule. With more built-in spaciousness and fewer happenings overall, we are focusing on the many talents within our own community. To highlight these local treasures, we’re creating a facilitated open mic space on several evenings, followed by a jam time. Folks can dance to the music, sit and listen while working on a craft, stretch, snuggle, and sing along with our friends in the beautiful historic hay barn.
So if you have been wanting to perform at Firefly, this is your opportunity. This year we’re also super excited to have Doug Elliott, Holy River, Wild Roots, & The Community Variety Show back at the gathering! And Saro Lynch is also back with a Midsummer & Libration song circle.
One new thing we’ve excitedly added is Contra & Connection with Claire Takemori Tuesday evening as a welcoming activity to kick things off in a connected and fun way. On Wednesday we’ll drop in with Community Shadow Work and The Swan & The Loon Cranky Show, along with other opportunities to grieve oppression and the effects of climate crisis, and Helene. And to soothe our world-weary souls, this year we offer the Golden Hour, where folks can finish projects, dance, play games and instruments, do yoga and simply relax and connect.
And classes upon classes! Newer offerings we’re excited about are Cob Bench Building, Kuboo Basketry (a blend of kudzu and bamboo), Ritual Incense Making, Intro to Entomology and more Mutual Aid classes. We’ve got our old favorites as well: friction fire, butchering, hide tanning, foraging, herbalism, broom making, willow basketry, blacksmithing and many more! Check the website in early June for the actual schedule, as classes are coming in every day!
There are so many reasons to come to the Annual Firefly Gathering. Whether it’s for the classes, the evenings, or the connections, now is the time to take care of ourselves and come together to find resiliency and strength in our chosen communities.
