Spring Mysteries
Festival XXIII

Thursday, March 20th thru

Sunday, March 23rd, 2008

Fort Flagler State Park
Nordland, Washington

Opening Circle

The Spring Mysteries Festival is a recreation of the Eleusinian Mysteries, the ancient initiatory rites of classical Greek Paganism which were conducted in secrecy for over two thousand years before the common era. The ATC brings you this continuing initiatory cycle, now in its 23rdyear of continuous presentation, including the Rites of Passage for youngsters coming into their adulthood in our community; the Purification Parade to the Sea (see picture below), with the priestesses making cleansing offerings to the sea on behalf of the Mystai (The Greeks’ name for the participants), all who will undergo the Lesser Mysteries.

For those who have gone through the Lesser Mysteries in a prior year, there is the Greater Mysteries, or Epoptaic Initiation. There are also many discussions, workshops, classes, and lectures about all aspects of Wicca, Paganism, and the ATC Tradition hosted often by well-known elders and members of the regional and national community. The Pagan Talent Show is always a lot of fun, as is the Pagan Fashion Show. Then there are the Shrines to Hecate, Aphrodite, Pan, and other gods, as well as celebrations, bardic circles, music, drumming, and magic running throughout the entire weekend.

Merchants from across the land come to offer their special wares for sale in the Snack Kitchen area, the source of between-meals snacks, sweet delights, and ESPRESSO to jump-start your mornings and prolong your nights! Indoor bunking is in heated dorms where lots of hot water showers are available. Meal service is mainstream (*unless you specify a special diet) to suit every taste, with big servings of wholesome, tasty food prepared by our staff of professional cooks and many volunteers. No one ever goes away from our kitchen hungry!

*Special dietary needs can be accommodated only if you indicate your needs when pre-registering to attend. Please see the Registration Form, which you may download to print and return via regular mail with your check. Unless you indicate a special preference, your meals will be mainstream. Diet changes may not be elected on-site, so let us know now. Choices are: Mainstream; No Red Meat; Ovo-Lacto.  In an attempt to keep costs down, we have elimanated the Vegan food choice category.  However, vegan foods have been incorporated into the menu, so those folks will find that there is food available for them to eat.  Please direct any and all questions regarding food types to our Kitchen Director, Jake Bottero at jake@botteronet.net.

Food Ingredients for Feast Entree and Dessert Selections

Festival-goers have the option to select from three different entrees and three different desserts for the Royal Wedding Feast on Saturday night.  In order to help you with your selection–especially those folks who have allergies–we are listing the ingredients for each entree and dessert.  Please review the ingredients below when making your selection.

Chicken Supreme: chicken breast, onion, celery, parsley, salt, pepper; sauce: chicken broth, soy, milk, and corn products, yeast, wheat

Ragout Style Beef: beef, tomatoes, onions, carrots, rutabaggas, potatoes, Italian herbs, garlic, shallots, parsley, nucoa margarine, salt, pepper

SW Stuffed Peppers with Tomatilla Salsa Verde: red peppers, basamati brown rice, black beans, corn, cumin, mild chili powder, parsley, salt, pepper; salsa:  tomatillos, onion, cilantro, lime juice

Cardamom Vanilla Pudding in Phyllo: milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, cardamom, corn products, dark chocolate, butter, phyllo dough

Fruit Compote:  blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, cantaloupe, sugar, soy topping

Chocolate cake w/chocolate frosting:  Cake to be purchased from QFC in Port Hadlock.  Ingredients unavailable at this time.

A NOTE FROM JAKE, THE KITCHEN DIRECTOR

Hello, everyone!  Since there have been some “inquiries” as to the lack of a Vegan option on the SMF registration form with respect to food service, I thought I would let you all know what’s going on with that.  You may recall that at HSF, we floated the idea of an additional fee for the Vegan option to cover the very real additional expense of providing a completely separate Vegan menu.  Of course, this was wildly unpopular.  I want you all to know that just because there is no longer a specific Vegan diet option for the festival, this does NOT mean that I am ignoring or have forgotten the people that wish to have Vegan menu options available.  I’ve decided to take a different approach for SMF 2008. 

This year  we will integrate Vegan menu items into the main menu.  There will be Vegan items available for every meal.  I’m not asking those with a Vegan diet to eat salad for breakfast, lunch and dinner (unless you really want to…), there will be actual real menu items that, in most cases, will satisfy both the Vegan and Vegetarian requirements.

It is a difficult juggling act to satisfy all dietary and allergy issues for a group this size, but I think that most people will be happy with the menu selections this year.  If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to address them directly to me at jake@botteronet.net.

OTHER FESTIVAL INFORMATION 

There will be workshops, discussions, and talks. Many different workshops are being scheduled. If you would like to teach a workshop or present a discussion, please contact Workshop Coordinator Elaine Kozanitis at kozychic@yahoo.com right away with a brief outline. Time and space for these special events are limited.  The deadline for workshop sign up and information submission is March 1, 2008.

Registration fees include all festival activities, as well as dorm bunks and all meals, and must be RECEIVED AT ATC no later than the indicated date to get reduced rates. Please use the registration form. Attach additional separate form for each and every festival attendee you are registering filled out completely. Want to be bunked in the same location? Send all those registrations together in the same envelope. Accommodations are dorm style in heated buildings. A small number of more private family style accommodations are available for a daily surcharge which varies with the facility, in the general range of $125/day extra. If you are interested, please call for information. These accommodations are almost always taken very early, so act fast.

This is mostly an indoor, NOT a camp-out event. Registrations are accepted on a first come, first served basis, and usually sells out before the registration closing date. Don’t delay! Some limited Staff Intern and Work Exchange jobs are available for those who can not afford the full fees (not available to Merchants or those with small children). If you need consideration, call us at (360)793-1945 right away, as these are limited and fill up early as well.

To be accepted, each registration must be accompanied by payment. Registrations without proper full payment  CAN NOT be accepted, and will be returned or destroyed.  The fees are used to support the many year-long activities and outreaches of the ATC, and are on a sliding scale so you can choose what you can honestly afford to give in good conscience. Early registrations cost less. We ask you to be realistic and be as generous as you are able to help us keep up our efforts and expand our public work for Paganism. Much has been accomplished already by ATC in the years to educate the world about Wicca and Paganism, but there is lots yet to be done.

Purification Parade to the Sea

ADULT AFFIRMATION OF PATH
and
YOUNG ADULTS RITES OF PASSAGE

If there are not enough signed up, YAROP and/or AAOP may be canceled. Attendance at YAROP and AAOP is very limited, and on a first received, first served basis, so sign them up EARLY. Provide a telephone number so we can confirm participation, as enrollment is limited.

ADULT AFFIRMATION OF PATH (AAOP)

There will be an Adult Affirmation of Path on Thursday night for those adults who have recently discovered the Pagan path and who wish to affirm their choice of spiritual path to themselves, their community, and the Gods. Space is limited to 15 participants.  If you have participated in the AAOP in the past, please do not register for it again.

YOUNG ADULTS RITES OF PASSAGE (YAROP)

The Greater Mysteries, which are performed on Saturday evening, are for adults 18 and older who have attended the Lesser Mysteries in a previous year, and for children who are between 12 and 17 years old who have gone through the Young Adult Rites of Passage. If your child is to go through the Greater Mysteries, they 1) must have attended the Lesser Mysteries in a prior year (2007 or before), and 2) they must have gone through the Young Adults Rites of Passage. To participate, sign up in advance by a notation on the registration
form. If you have participated in the YAROP in the past, please do not register for it again.

Registrations may be paid by Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover Card. We also accept payments via PayPal.  Phone us or e-mail us at atcadmin@aquatabch.org to register with credit cards. (These days, most credit card issuers will protect you against internet fraud). To register with check or money order, please make payable in US$ to:

Questions? Phone (360) 793-1945 between 9AM and 8PM PST weekdays. Do not rely completely on e-mail for such questions as we may not be able to respond in a timely manner.

THE SMALL PRINT:
Registrations are first-come, first-served, and must be accompanied by the full payment in US$ to secure any time based discounts, without exception. All adults are expected to perform a minimum 2 hour community service job to help the festival run smoothly, and are expected to remain on site for final clean up until noon on Sunday. A $30 cash cleaning deposit will be collected from every adult (ages 13 and up) at the registration desk - no checks, no foreign currency please. We can not make change, so please bring correct change for each adult to avoid having to go to an ATM in Hadlock to get change. Deposits will be returned AFTER the closing circle at noon Sunday to those remaining on site who have completed their community service and clean up. Others are forfeited. No one may collect your refund for you.

Merchants are most welcome, at a charge over their registration fee of $25 per additional table, and a 10% commission to the church on total gross (NOT net) sales. All sales are required to be documented with sales books, which we will provide to each merchant to facilitate the prize drawings at the closing circle. For information, contact Merchant Coordinator Kate Kotelles (divitiae69@yahoo.com) for info or space commitment.

Register early, as we seem to sell out every year before the close of the registration period, due to limited bed space. If you wish, self contained Recreation Vehicles may be brought in stead of dorm sleeping, if you tell us at the time of registration, but showers etc. will still be available to you in the dorms. There are no hookups for RVs.

There will be plenty of children’s activities, and you are encouraged to bring the whole family, but be aware that there is no child care provided unless parents organize a co-op of their own. All children are the sole responsibility of their parents at all times. Everyone will be asked to sign a liability release upon arrival.

REFUND AND CANCELLATION POLICY: Cancellations must be received by ATC in writing (e-mail is OK). Cancellations received before January 15th will receive a 90% refund; after February 1st and before February 13th, 50% refund; after February 13th and no-shows, no refund. Refund checks will be mailed after the festival dust settles, by May 1st at the latest. Cancellations must be received in writing by the dates to qualify. Canadians especially are urged to register by telephone with a credit card, or as early as possible by mail, or use Federal Express or other courier service to assure delivery to us on time due to postal system delays in mailing across borders, and include an email address for the confirmation letter. The processing fee for a credit card transaction is not refundable at any time. Deposits for Special Private Housing are also not refundable. Written cancellations must be in our hands by the specified dates to qualify. NO on-site payments can be accepted because they always create confusion and problems assigning bunks, etc.

REGISTRATION closes on March 9th, and will then be confirmed by Email, or the postal mail if no email address is available. We can not be responsible for the speed of the postal system, or poorly written or incorrect email addresses. Canadians are encouraged to provide either an e-mail address or a FAX number to which confirmations and driving directions may be sent to expedite delivery and assure on time receipt of information. Our FAX number is (360) 793-3537.  If you have any questions, it is best to contact us by telephone at (360) 793-1945 between 9 AM and 8 PM PDT weekdays. Please be aware we may not be able to respond to e-mail in a timely manner due to preparations. We accept Visa, Master Card, Discover, and American Express cards for telephone or internet registrations. Registering after March 1st? Best to do it by phone so you can check on available space. We may have cancellation space or we may be sold out, so always check first if you think you may be late! CANADIANS are encouraged to provide a FAX number or e-mail address to facilitate a timely confirmation.

SEE YOU AT SPRING MYSTERIES 2008!