Friday night was awesome. Upon entering the ACC we were greeted with loving hugs. Dinner was a yummilicious spaghetti meal. Immediately after supper we struggled to remember everyone’s name. Fortunately we were reminded by a November name whip. This information proved useful when we played the Blanket Game, led by our first JC Oren. We learned some responsibilities of JCs and tested our knowledge in role-plays. After a quick news of me, we danced the pata-pata. We finished the night with a 3-way massage session and a huggle that included a lullaby with clouds as blankets and the moon as a candle.

Saturday brought us an absolutely snazzylicious breakfast of bagels and self-styled eggs, immediately followed by session. We learned about leading games and small groups; followed by games and small groups. Afterwards was an invigorating scavenger hunt, which led us to parts of Powell House we had never been to, including but not limited to the walk-in cooler.

As a reward for our difficult excursion, we had a scrumpdiddlyumcious lunch of Jacki’s special bread and soup. On a full stomach we sat down for session, played a game and split into our final small groups. When we returned we did a fishbowl about the JC role of leading and participating in small groups. The tone of the conference grew very serious as we reviewed how to keep attenders safe and what to do in difficult or emergency situations. This was followed by our only free time: a short, but sweet ˝ hour of self-space. We emerged fro our deep thoughts and were greeted by cheesylicious twice baked potatoes and roast beef. Yum! Just when we thought it couldn’t get better, Jacki brought out 4 steaming apple pies. Dun Dun Dun!

We braced ourselves for another session, but were pleasantly surprised when we had to make JC skits – harder than we thought! Soon, we had a cabaret of all final acts, then some of us went out for a beautiful moonlight walk. Upon re-entering the ACC, we were greeted with a psychedelic snack of ice cream sundaes: Heaven! After the ice cream we experienced another cool activity; the movie Cool Runnings. After a half-asleep huggle, we gratefully collapsed in bed.

Sunday we were awakened by the smell of the raddest sweet potato-banana pancakes and butters known to human kind. After breakfast was clean up and a rousing game of primate bellows where we were tested on our newly acquired JC skills.

When we got here, we welcomed the new people and said hello to our old friends.  This weekend was built around the joy of grinning.  Our supper crew worked together wonderfully and soon we got to session. In session, we reviewed the policies with each other and introduced the JCs, the adult presence and the butler. A name whip taught us each others’ names and many reasons for smiling. The Hat Game got us moving and laughing. After that there was News of Me , which blended in free time with a snack and a game of Sardines. After that, some quiet time with a story about Pooh and relaxing massages.

When we woke up on Saturday, we had oatmeal followed by session with the ever popular game “Honey if You Love Me” which got everyone ready for the Build Four exercise. Then we went into small groups to share jokes and play Freeze based on our discussions of how to smile at things that annoy you. This was a mentally nourishing part of the day.

Ultimate Frisbee brought many people outside during the morning free time. Then lunch was followed by more free time.  Session and a snack followed closely behind with a three-way massage blending into self-space. Supper and a session came before the cabaret during which everyone sat back and relaxed for the show. After cabaret, we had free time and a snack that brought us into quiet time. Another Pooh story made everyone laugh.

In the final day of our short, but seemingly long, conference, we had some final grin-provoking games of Primate Bellows and Molly’s Game. Singing and worship in the Silence helped us close the weekend before we had lubnch and said good-bye to our friends.

The conference began with people arriving in clusters. Smiles, hugs and greetings were lovingly shared. Seeing old and new faces gave a sense of what an amazing conference was to come. A dinner of spaghetti and meatballs filled everyone's stomachs with Jacki's and Chris K.'s amazing food.

During session we said our names and had the entire conference say it back. We then moved into the exciting "Lap Game". After quieting down a little we danced around in musical butt clusters. News of me was filled with stories about college applications and standardized tests. The day ended with an amazing story read by Andy von Salis and a huggle as people straggled off to their rooms.

Saturday morning started with yawns, hugs and coffee. Session began on a musical note, with each attender's name sung and echoed. After announcements, several lively and wonderful rounds of the "Wagon Wheel Honduran Hat Game" (adapted by one of our JCs) were played. Our youth directors explained the function of PoHoCo liaisons before we broke into workshops. A chilly but scenic walk to Dorson's Rock and an energetic explanation of the Lindy Hop were just two of the many splendid offerings. Free time followed with intense Banana Tag and Frisbee outdoors and feisty Wink'em inside. All that exercise got the attenders ready for a hearty meal.

Lunch was homemade bread and tuna fish and hummus and other delectibilicious things. Singing continued and continued during workshops. Some workshops included: making religions, performing Buddhist meditation, playing an extreme amount of games, playing D & D and preparing the dining room, dessert and tree for the evening celebrations.

Free time was eccentric. Sebastian T. and Lucas B. took pictures of everyone at the conference and paired names with faces. Snack happened.

During session, 3-way massage and cradling put people in the mood for self-space. Self-space blurred with set-up and preparation for the dress up dinner. The snazzy Quakers escorted each other up the stairs to an Indian-inspired banquet. Sparkling juice stuff was greatly appreciated and the cookies wowed all mouths in the room. People, charged with new energy, started a rousingly talented Cabaret. By the end, everyone was basking in the talent of our community.

Free time was amazing as a disco rave began and snack consisted of popcorn and choclatey hot chocolate. The Grinch cheered us up, go figure. We were captivated by the harrowing adventures of Max, the dog. Our hearts grew as well from watching the tale. Huggle was amazing as we heard a lullaby, "a little baby person." We continued to bed and relaxed in our slumbers.

On Sunday we awoke to a crisp sunny December day, a bit warmer than usual. Though there was still a layer of frost that covered the ground. After quick showers, we made our way down to a long enthusiastic "Rise and Shine." Followed by scrumptious bagels, eggs and cereal. Then we set off to our clean up projects, made easier by a migrating choir of angels, and finished in no time because of our vast numbers. But a hint of remorse hung over us because we knew we would be saying good-bye in just a few short hours. At the same time a feeling of hope arose that we would all be back before we knew it.

Friday, a slow trickle of attenders meandered into the building.  They were greeted by the White Album and a blazing fire, as well as love and hugs for everyone.  After dinner, the 15 attenders gathered,  playing games, whipping namesand sharing thoughts of expectations for the weekend.  After the usual “News of Me,” a boisterous free time and  mellow quiet time, using a poem by Pablo Neruda, we entered into the [Silence]…

…Saturday evening, after a mindful family-style meal, we shared our experiences of the day in Silence.  Activities experienced included journaling, lots of self space, silent work projects, and a long, leisurely hike to Dorson’s Rock over the river and through the woods.  Games such as wink’em and rattler and miner were silently laughed at and enjoyed by all.

We shared our thoughts on silence, about misconceptions people may have, songs we had stuck in our head, and our reflections upon the silence.  Bountiful free time flowed in which Mick Jagger, Pete Townsend, and Bono made appearances as we rocked the night away with shouts of “we can’t get no satisfaction” and a tribute to Martin Luther King on this weekend of remembrance.  

Sunday morning came later than usual with a delicious breakfast, morning clean up and early farewells to those fleeing the ice storm.  The group discovered many implications of silence this weekend that the lack of vocal communication let us discover.

Friends met together on Friday afternoon to a successful surprise: the much-loved Ping-Pong table was currently replaced by a bunch of cardboard boxes, tape and paper. Although beginning with just ordinary materials, the very creative attenders of the January "07 Dreaming conference transformed the cardboard into walls, tunnels and houses. This set the tone for the rest of the weekend: using imagination inspired by our elaborate dreams to make worlds from scratch.

Once our friends were all settled, we got acquainted with newcomers by a name whip about something we dream about doing in the winter, and fed our appetite for excitement with a lively game of elbow tag. Later, we came into small groups to an interesting exercise: building in silence. During this, each group received a bag of K’nex and, without speaking, assembled the pieces into a shared structure. As easy as it sounds, the activity let the subconscious take control while creations were made.

After the traditional Pata-Pata, Sardines and massage/story time, it was off to bed to end the first and begin the next PoHo day.

Saturday morning was great. After everyone got up we started the day with some oatmeal for breakfast. Then we had a session with a lot of games like "Honey if You Love Me". Later in session, we got into small groups and everyone in the group made their own little room. Then each small group put together their rooms to make houses. After session the kids went into cardboard structure in the game room which had been christened "The Barn". We had lunch and then another session with "Streets and Alleys" and "Four on a Couch".

On Saturday afternoon, we played a very exciting game where the Junior Counselors (JCs) hid in the HUMONGO woods behind Powell House and pretended that they had been abducted by aliens. This awesome game is just one of the many cool games you will play here. One thing that I love is that some people didn’t want to play the game and that was OK too.

We warmed up with hot chocolate and homemade bread then had a relaxing three-way massage session.

Later that evening we had a cabaret. It was filled with hilarious skits, great talents, many laughs, and just a big bunch of fun! We had an imitation of a Shakespeare class, a skit where some people sat behind different people and tried to feed the people in front of them, a couple fun games led by kids, the JC skit, and a whole lot more.

Sunday arrived as the final day of the conference. After the grueling work of making beds, packing bags, and cleaning up, laugh-bringing games of Primate Bellows and Molly’s Game were played. Finally, the last Pata-Pata was done, a long singing and worship finished, and unfortunately, good-byes said.

We arrived to a delicious spaghetti dinner after some of us had been delayed by hectic parents and the snowy weather. Then we had session, a name whip and a very entertaining version of What are you doing? We had a chance to meet new faces with musical clusters. Maizy led us in the Pata Pata. We were asked and were told the rules about safety, drugs and put ups.

We were then released into free time with large couch piles, snack and a great game of Sardines. We settled down to quiet time, stories and an optional massage. Huggle preceded a talkative and sleepy bed.

We woke up to a wonderful breakfast of oatmeal followed by session and a much-enjoyed Honduran Hat Game. We were called off to our small groups where we discussed values and problems. Franklin showed us how to act our image and we molded ourselves into "Respect."

Suddenly we were off to the legendary master of scraped knees, that’s right – wink’em, wagon wheel style. A quick lunch and we started to choose our skates and sleds, but had to shovel off the pond. A check-in session and a game of Head Honcho warmed us up for three-way massage, self-space and supper. Small groups reconvened to plan a skit for cabaret using the issues they had chosen in the morning. Cabaret was phenomenal. We chilled for a while and went to bed with Irish giants in mind after the quiet time story.

A long and sleepy blessing, then a yummy breakfast of not-plain-white pancakes came before our clean up jobs. This wonderful, "smells of tarromin seeds" weekend was capped off by several messages given during worship. As one friend said, "Hopefully the last day will last."

This weekend’s fantabulous Powell House Youth Program conference was called "Spinning Circles". The purpose of the weekend was to discuss the 60’s, a.k.a. the Hippy Era, in which Powell House was created and its influence on the modern Powell House Community. Attenders arrived Friday night and were warmly welcomed by the welcoming crew, headed by Mike and Chris. Dinner was served shortly after by the wonderful goddess of the kitchen, Jacki, whose hippy heritage is reflected in the delicious organic food.

After dinner and free time we gathered for session and shared our thoughts on our view of the 60’s, everything from Sex, drugs, Rock and Roll to Nixon. After a great story at quiet time, we headed off to bed to have dreams almost as trippy as some hippy drugs.

Saturday morning we woke up to another groovy meal made by our in-house hippy, Jacki. Then in much enjoyed small groups we talked about our experience with drugs and the spiritual world. We also got our hands messy, experimenting with bright and exotic tie-dye.

After lunch we enjoyed a few hours of free time, highlighted by sledding and ice-skating, some of the favorite activities of the weekend. After being outside we mellowed down and settled into meditation and an hour of "self space". Supper was great as always and was followed by a session in which we played an awesome game, which we dubbed Solitaire but was really quite different from the card game. Session included another meeting of small groups in which we shared our spiritual spiral and enjoyed more deep conversations.

The highlight of the night was Cabaret, a showcase of talents, featuring many great musicians and others of the sort including knee-slapping stand-up comedy. The fun continued with dancing in which we busted out the disco ball and got down with our psychedelic selves. We soon lost fire and settled down to hot mugs of cider and buttery popcorn. After that was quiet time in which we heard an inspiring story of an "aeroplane". Hugs and goodnight we headed off to bed to rest before our last day at PoHo.

The next morning we gathered for a rather "burnt out" version of "Rise and Shine" followed by another tasty feast from Jacki. We then "cleaned up shop" and met for our final session to decide on the "minute" of the weekend. Although the discussion was tabled after awhile, we were glad that we could openly share our thoughts on the matter of drug use in the Powell House community.

On a lighter subject we played "Honey if You Love me" while the epistle was being wrapped up and we were excited to finish our "awesome" and "trippy" weekend. Overall, attenders claimed that the weekend was a "roaring success."

We woke up on Saturday morning to a delicious breakfast of oatmeal, session, squirrels and trees, and then got small groups. We then discussed the theme of the weekend: sliding away out of control in our emotions. One of the things we did was finding things through magazines, drawings and writing that made us happy, scared and out of control. From that, we made up a story. After that, we played a game of Head Honcho. Then we got into the free time on the theme of the weekend - sliding away.

We headed outside to race down hills on sleds, skate on the frozen pond and start a snowball fight. After returning for an incredible lunch, we played three exciting and successful games in a row: What Are Your Doing, Honey If You Love Me, and the Honduran Hat Game. Then we discussed in partners these very important questions: Why are bagels round? What would you do to make kids feel good if you were a teacher? What can you do to make other kids feel good? What do you enjoy doing outside?

One of the things many attenders agreed they liked to do outside actually took place in the following free time: a snowball fight between junior counselors and youth attenders that was later called the "Quaker War." (Quite an oxymoron, although it was pointed out that we were all able to gather after the battle and discuss it as friends and share the good time.)

We calmed down to a three-way massage and self space. We gathered for a scrumptious dinner, the Blanket Game, and the final small group with giving an affirmation to each of the members. An extremely popular Cabaret followed. Free time came, then quiet time, a huggle and a real sleep.

After the work of making our beds on Sunday morning, we indulged in a heavenly meal of pancakes. The day wrapped up with games, singing and worship. And of course, after an amazing lunch, the good-byes!

EarthSong XXXiii
May 25-27-07
Jr/Sr High

So we came here on Friday, seeing new and old faces, dancing in the rain and eating the delicious traditional spaghetti cooked by the fabulous Jacki and Chris (with Sean and Martha assisting). After dinner we had a session where we played a rousing game of snake pit, which was a strange contortion of Rattler and Miner and Snakes in the Grass. After playing a fun game filled with rattles and cackles we shared about storm experiences, thoughts and feelings beneath a star-filled sky, and the songs we heard the earth singing. We had news of me which varied from education to dropping out to exciting adventures. Later that night, everyone started to wind down, some by giving massages to those in need and all by listening to a story of a teacher, his family, a king and cooked geese.

After wake up a.k.a. foghorn/fire alarm in Pitt Hall at 7 am, we headed for a breakfast of cream cheese fun and don’t forget the eggs. In session we had a name whip. After hearing about everyone’s favorite aromas, we split off into workshops. Some of us worked on the quilt, which is almost complete. Others went over to Pitt Hall to prepare the one and only dress up dinner. There was a walk to Dorson’s, planting of flowers, movement and play, card-making, and the seniors worked on their graduation celebration.

During free time, rug burns were common place in the game of wink’em. After a long and tiring, yet fun, free time we filled our bellies with bread and condiments and amazing cold soup (gazpacho). Then it was off to more free time where we swam. We were astounded by the unfortunate tragedy when a friend, Dylan, was injured at the pond.

We had afternoon small workshops of games, poems, quilting, coin counting, finger food prep, deep discussions on deep ecology, more planting and senior prep. Afterwards we had watermelon, or some of us did, followed by check-in of course and a choice of 3-way massage or a silent labyrinth walk. A lonely but loads of fun self-space preceded our dressing in princely (and princessly) fashion for our dinner which consisted of delicious chicken for carnivores, delicious tofu for the herbivores, roasted vegetables for the adventurous and carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.

You know what came next, CABARET. Acts ranged from music to dance to beautiful poems of awesomeness sprinkled with humorous improv. And then it was the Dance Party with chips and salsa. More stories of the wise teacher from the east…somewhere…and it was bed.

Sunday we woke up, made our beds and worked (after a good breakfast of course). We were led across the grounds in search of our seniors to finally find them waiting for us in the play ground/orchard. Their pear tree looked happy planted near the old fountain. The weather was a wonderful mixture of sun and clouds and a sprinkle here and there which mimicked the emotions many of us felt as we said good-bye. Seniors shared about learning how to love and be loved. About finding themselves and sharing themselves. We thanked one another for being who we are. We laughed and cried. The presence of Powell House graduates from previous years and carpooling parents completed the scene.

Then it was finger foods, pizza and good-byes for now but not forever.