The Michigan Community

The Festival takes place on 650 acres of remote Michigan woodlands, with options ranging from a solitary deep-woods camping experience to a fireside urban site with neighbors from around the globe. If you're not an enthusiastic or experienced camper, you are not alone – many who love this week in the woods took their first step into camping in order to come here. You can count on helpful neighbors and plenty of comforts and conveniences to ease you into your week in the woods.

In those woods you will find diverse and dynamic performances, interactive workshops, healthy foods, clean air and the most amazing sense of community, friendship and fun. Part music festival, part community happening – the experience of Michigan is based upon an essential participatory ethic that enriches the experience of cooperative living. Community. Celebration. Common Ground.

Events and Activities

The Festival week begins with Intensive Workshops on Tuesday and Wednesday taught by womyn with unique talents and expertise. Thursday kicks off a four-day open forum of workshops led by these teachers and others attending the Festival that provides a rich avenue for resource sharing and community networking. If you would like to present a workshop, download a workshop registration off the web or contact us for a form.

Within the Community Center complex you'll find a variety of community activities and events, along with networking space for Teens, Over 50's, Jewish Womyn, Deaf and HOH Womyn and womyn from other countries. Offering community, celebrations, workshops and special events, the Womyn of Color Tent provides an ongoing opportunity for exploration and reclamation of our many and varied traditions.

Community Services

Each womon who attends the Festival signs up to participate in community services. This is how the Festival works – and part of what makes the experience both individually and communally empowering. Everything that happens here is done by womyn, for womyn, and our combined contributions bring this city of womyn to life. As we work and play together, we breathe in music, performance, and the power of community. Our meals are prepped in open firepits and spiced with love, and we connect with the earth and the woods as we move strong and free beneath the summer sun and stars.

The Festival Kitchen prepares three delicious meals a day, offering vegetarian specialties to everyone attending. Shuttles bring you and your gear into the Festival interior upon your arrival, and circle the Land providing rides throughout the week. There is a full system of First Aid care and an active peer-support system for recovery and general emotional needs. Disabled Womyn's Resources are organized through DART, a campground and resource area for womyn with disabilities. (DART campground and services are available by pre-registration only.) Sign Language Interpretation service is available for all concerts, requested workshops and other activities. Helping hands are available to assist disabled womyn with their camping gear.

Childcare is available in three different areas. Sprouts Family Campground provides a day camp and family campground for moms and all young children through four years of age. Gaia Girls Camp offers daily activities and supervision through the evening concerts for girls five and over. Brother Sun Boys Camp operates from 8am to midnight with a program of outings; crafts, cookouts, music, sports and campfires for boys aged five through ten. Located in a mix of forest and meadow, Brother Sun offers a fun, welcoming and secluded area for boys while preserving womyn's space in all other Festival areas. Please respect that all boys five and over, and their families, camp in Brother Sun for the week. In order to participate in any of the childcare areas, all children must be pre-registered by July 22nd. If you would like to access childcare while at Festival you will need to complete registration forms in addition to purchasing your child's ticket.

If you're new to the Festival, we have Tips for First Timers that will describe everything from the arrival process to handy camping ideas.

Further Information & Reminders

The land has outdoor showers and portable toilets.
RV camping is located near the entrance (no hook-ups, tents or cars in RV).
No animals except service dogs as defined by the ADA are allowed.
Due to traffic and safety concerns, bikes cannot be used on site.
DART Campground, DART RV and all childcare facilities require pre-registration.
For directions to Festival, please drop us a note or give us a call. You will be sent directions with your tickets if purchased in advance.

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2013 Important Dates and Deadlines

	June 7th Postmark		Completed Workshops Registration for Program * Request Reduced Rate Application
	June 20th Postmark		Completed Reduced Rate Application
	July 5th Postmark		Ticket Refund Request DART RV Permit Registration *
	July 13th Postmark		Advance Ticket Purchase Airport Shuttle Reservation * DART Registration *
	July 22nd Postmark		Childcare Registration
	* late forms accepted on a space available basis