Statement of Diversity and Inclusion
]Free Spirit Gathering is committed to maintaining a welcoming and safe space for all attendees. Our festival will not tolerate discrimination. harassment or exclusion of an attendee from participation based on race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, or physical ability. The Pagan community is a rich diverse tapestry of cultures and life experiences. We celebrate this diversity as a core principle of our mission.
Free Spirit Gathering Policies
Please take a moment to refresh your memory of our event policies. If you violate any of these policies, you risk ejection without refund.
- Our events at Camp Ramblewood are clothing-optional. This means that you can wear as much, or as little, as you feel comfortable wearing, and that nudity is fairly common. Just because someone’s nude, however, does not mean he/she is inviting you to have sex with, harass, touch, or leer at him/her.
- If someone’s behavior makes you uncomfortable, please consider first speaking directly to that person. If you don’t feel that you can resolve the issue with that person on your own, please bring your issue to the attention of a staff member or the ombudsperson in a timely fashion. We will investigate and take appropriate action. Please note that we can do nothing if you do not tell us, and if you wait until after the event is over, we can do very little.
- Respect others’ personal space, privacy and possessions. In particular, ask permission before touching anyone else’s magickal items—drums, staffs, athames, swords, bells, chef’s knives, whatever—and if the owner refuses permission, accept that refusal politely and with good grace. By the same token, while we have had very few problems with thefts at our events, please use common sense with your personal property and valuables, as neither FSA nor the Camp can be responsible for them. If you have a question or problem, please see a staff member immediately.
- Please wear your wristband all the time. It lets us know that you belong onsite, and that you’re not, e.g., sneaking in to steal everyone’s left shoes. If we find you without your wristband, we will escort you either to your cabin/tent to retrieve it or to Check-in for a replacement.
- Do not bring illegal substances to Camp. Do not share alcohol with folks under 21 or tobacco with folks under 18. By the same token, if you’re of legal drinking age, please be responsible with your alcohol use. Please note that giving your 21+ wristband to someone under 21 is considered the same as offering her/him alcohol, and will get both parties ejected.
- Do not smoke inside or near cabins, on porches, or in buildings. This includes the Dance Pavilion. If you smoke, please dispose of your butts properly; a recycled Altoids tin with sand in it makes a reasonable portable ashtray. Throwing butts on the ground does not constitute proper disposal.
- Do not use grills or camp stoves inside cabins or on porches. Also, you may not dig your own fire pit; you may, however, use a portable fireplace.
- Do not burn incense, burn candles, smoke, or cook inside cabins or on cabin porches! The local Fire Department charges a substantial fine for false alarms. If you cause a false alarm, you will be responsible for paying the fine.
- Please be respectful of and courteous to your fellow attendees—your cabin-mates in particular—when indulging in adult activities.
- Our events are off-limits to all media personnel acting in a professional capacity without our prior written consent.
- Photography, videotaping, and other forms of recording are allowed only with prior permission from all persons involved. Look at folks’ wristbands; if someone’s wearing a photo-ok wristband, he/she has indicated a that it’s ok to ask—not that it’s ok to just take the photo. People not wearing the photo-ok wristband don’t want to be photographed, period. Ask before taking a picture, and be aware of people in the background as well. In particular, please don’t photograph rituals or workshops without the consent of all of the participants.
- Use of drones of any kind is explicitly prohibit at free spirit gathering.
- We expect that everyone will maintain a certain level of decorum in public places. In so many words: no public sex at FSG, please. If anybody can see you without making a significant effort, it’s public. If your activity includes significantly touching yours or anybody else’s naughty bits, it’s sex. Please don’t rules-lawyer with us on this.
- You are fully responsible for your own actions, and parents, you are responsible for the actions of your minor children.
You may be wondering what’s up with all these rules and guidelines. Pretty much every line here (and in the front of every event’s program book) was occasioned by someone’s bad behavior. Someone did actually try to jump the big fire (and get badly burned). People have engaged in loud public sex on the family side of Camp at FSG. People have had sex loud enough to register a 3.0 on the Richter scale at 3:00a (and 4:00a and 5:00a and 6:00a) in their cabin. Parents have put infants in the pool butt naked. People have seriously overindulged in alcohol and/or various other substances (and we’ve had messes to clean up). People have used mattresses as candle-holders and set them on fire. People have ordered pizza and never showed up to pay the driver. What we’re asking here is: please don’t take off your common sense along with your mundane clothing. A modicum of manners, self-responsibility, and thought will go a long way towards helping you—and your friends and community—have a good gathering.
We’ve said this earlier, but it bears repeating: If you have an issue with someone’s behavior, and you’re not comfortable addressing that person directly, please bring your issue to the attention of a staff member or the Ombudsperson while we’re in a position to do something about it. You’re not bothering us; that’s one of the things we’re here for. If you tell us about an incident months, weeks, or even days after it happens, you sharply limit our ability to assist you in finding a solution.
Covid Policy
While FSA recommends current vaccinations and boosters, they are not required as they do not prevent transmission of COVID risks to the community, but rather reduce the probability of individual cases requiring acute care. Attendees are encouraged to use N-95 or equivalent masks (not supplied by FSG/FSA) as desired for their personal protection, however wearing masks is not required at Festival except in Cabin M and as directed by the FSG Medical Department.
By registering, all FSA event attendees acknowledge that:
- Virus spreading at all types of large gatherings is inevitable to some degree, and thus accept potential exposure as an informed decision;
- If an attendee exhibits signs and symptoms of COVID on site as confirmed by the FSG Medical Department at any time, that such attendees must don a mask (surgical or better, no cloth masks) and get a COVID test performed immediately. Failure to wear a mask or get tested in such a scenario, will mandate that the attendee in question be escorted off site immedtely. If an attendee tests positive for COVID with corresponding signs and symptoms exhibited, they will be required to leave the Festival, yet will be eligible for a refund if the Lead Coordinator confirms such funds are available in the Festival budget
Active Shooter Policy
- Run – Run whenever there is an active threat, when you are safe call 911
- Hide – If you escape is possible, hide. Block the door. Avoid Windows. Silence your Cell.
- Fight – only as an absolute last result and if your life is in danger.
- If there is considerable distance between you and the gunfire/armed person, quickly move away from the sound of the gunfire/armed person. If the gunfire/armed person is in your building and it is safe to do so, run out of the building and move far away until you are in a secure place to hide.
- Leave your belongings behind.
- Keep your hands visible to law enforcement.
- Take others with you, but do not stay behind because others will not go.
- Call 911 when it is safe to do so. Do not assume that someone else has reported the incident. The information that you are able to provide law enforcement may be critical, e.g. number of shooters, physical description and identification, number and type(s) of weapons, and location of the shooter.
- If the shooter is in close proximity and you cannot evacuate safely, hide in an area out of the armed person’s view.
- Choose a hiding place with thicker walls and fewer windows, if possible.
- Lock doors and barricade with furniture, if possible.
- Turn off lights
- Silence phones and turn off other electronics.
- Close windows, shades and blinds, and avoid being seen from outside the room, if possible.
- If you are outdoors and cannot RUN safely, find a place to hide that will provide protection from gunfire such as a brick wall, large trees or buildings.
- Remain in place until you receive an “all clear” signal from Blackboard Connect.
- As a last resort, fight. If you cannot evacuate or hide safely and only when your life is in imminent danger, take action.
- Attempt to incapacitate or disrupt the actions of the shooter.
- Act with physical aggression toward the shooter.
- Use items in your area such as fire extinguishers or chairs.
- Throw items at the shooter if possible.
- Call 911 when it is safe to do so.
- Wait for Local Law Enforcement officers to assist you out of the building, if inside.
- When law enforcement arrives, students and employees must display empty hands with open palms.
- Understand that gunfire may sound artificial. Assume that any popping sound is gunfire.
- If there are two or more persons in the same place when a violent incident begins, you should spread out in the room to avoid offering the aggressor an easy target.
- Be mindful that violent attacks can involve any type of weapon, not just a gun. Knives, blunt objects, physical force or explosives can be just as deadly as a gun. The suggested actions provided here are applicable in any violent encounter.
- Plan ahead: Visualize possible escape routes, including physically accessible routes for students and staff with disabilities and others with limited mobility.
