You are invited to The 34th Annual Convening of the Ozark Area Community Congress…
OACC 33 Oct. 4 – 6, 2013
Ananda Kanan International Retreat Center, Willow Springs, MOzarks
Hi Friends,
All those who love and care about the Ozarks are invited to gather together once again to celebrate, appreciate, and learn from this phenomenal part of the Earth and each other…
Spread the word!
OACC IS....
-The first and longest-standing bioregional congress.
-An ecologically-aware child- and family-friendly community village where together we learn, play, relax, and take care of each other.
-A meeting place for ecologically-informed, creative, talented people, growers, activists, operators of small businesses, musicians, writers and innovators; where you can meet with others about what’s of interest to you. OACC is just plain useful, valuable, and often life-changing!
-A decades-long forum for a sustainable and regenerative economy for the Ozarks.
-A place to network and get informed about significant issues affecting our lives in the Ozarks, in an ecological context.
OACC is a celebration of the Ozarks and all things restorative and ecological!
WHAT TO EXPECT….
- Workshops and presentations on ecologically-related subjects, campfires, music, poetry and readings, and homegrown Ozarks culture in general.
-Good vegetarian food, as locally grown and organic as possible.
-Please come ready to help out daily with your choice of volunteer, community-sustaining work, whether in the kitchen, child care, grounds cleanup, and whatever it takes to keep our little village going. It’s fun to work together as well as play, and this is one way OACC keeps its costs so low. When you register we will sign you up for your choice of enjoyable volunteer opportunities. Your wholehearted volunteer help enables OACC to continue, and be so inexpensive to attend.
For $125 (or more if you are able), you or your organization can be an OACC 34 Co-Sponsor. Co-sponsorships help us keep our registration costs down while giving good people and organizations recognition. Your co-sponsorship gets you 2 free admissions to OACC, a free exhibit table at OACC, a listing on OACC’s website, and recognition at the OACC event.
You can pay for co-sponsorships by online through PayPal here or you can pay by check, made out to: OACC and mailed to: Chris Day, 1734 S Madaline Ter., Springfield MO 65804.
You can submit your cosponsorship information to us online here or mail it to us using the Downloadable Co-Sponsor form here.
For more information, please contact Co-Sponsorship Coordinator Chris Day at OACCleaf@gmail.com.
OACC 33 Co-Sponsors
-Alford Forest, Inc. Brixey, MO
- Mara Bosch and Susan Minyard, of Sweetwater Community Land Trust, Mansfield, MO
- Beatrice Briggs, International Institute for Facilitation and Change, Tepotztlan, Morelos, Mexico
- Chris Day, Springfield, MO
-Sasha Daucus, Golden Light Center, Doniphan, MO
-Thomas Hubbard, Sky Cube, San Francisco, CA
-Ruth and Larry Lewis, Osceola, MO
-Doug and Cathy Strubel of Lick Branch Settlement, Pettigrew, AR
-Mid-Missouri Peaceworks/ The Peace Nook, Columbia, MO
-Ozarks Small Business Incubator (OzSBI), West Plains, MO
-Planet Drum Foundation, San Francisco, CA
-Renaissance Books and Gifts, Springfield, MO
-South Central Solid Waste Management District, Eunice, MO
-Mary Mike Taylor, Mary Mike & Associates, West Plains and Springfield, MO
-Hawk Hill Community Land Trust Drury, MOzarks
Big Thanks to our Great Co-Sponsors!
- A full listing of scheduled programs and presenters will be posted here at a later date. Check out last year’s schedule of presenters HERE.
GENERAL SCHEDULE….
Friday
We highly encourage you to come to OACC on Friday afternoon, register and be a part of the Opening Circle at 6 PM. The Opening Circle is our first chance to be together as a whole group, and one of the most important aspects of OACC. It gives everyone a chance to introduce themselves to each other, find out what others are doing and and are passionate about, where they are from, and start participating actively in OACC right away. It is at the opening circle that you get to see those who you most might want to get to know more and meet with during the rest of OACC.
-Noon: set up begins
-3 pm: registration opens
-Late afternoon: impromptu discussion groups
-5 pm: Early dinner and potluck. (We will have some simple snack-type food, and if you could bring some potluck additions, we will save our food folks much work early on as we are getting set up. Thanks in advance if you can bring something to share!)
-6 PM. OACC overview, Opening Circle. This is your chance to introduce yourself, meet all the other participants, and find out what they are doing. Very important! Tell us where you are from, especially your home watershed, and what you are passionate about!
-7PM or just after Opening Circle, Introduction to Open Space Process- facilitated by Ruth Lewis– for those who are not on the schedule and who want to give presentations at OACC. What is Open Space Process? AT any given OACC, people attend who are working in, for instance re-localization, organic gardening and agriculture, appropriate technology, alternative health, communities, land trusts, ecological protection, forestry, home schooling, conservation, responsible media, sustainable businesses, biodiversity preservation, ecological restoration, culture, music, arts, eco-villages, and the list goes on… OACC’s program will have pre-scheduled presenters PLUS time available for anyone who wants to conduct a session after arrival. These previously non-scheduled presentations will be scheduled during an Open Space process on Friday evening after the Opening Circle. Got something to say? Here’s the place to say it! If you want to be part of the Open Space, be sure to come on Friday.
Saturday
- Breakfast
- 9 AM to Lunch: Workshops, presentations, events start.
- 12 Noon to 1:30: Lunch
- 1:30 PM to 6 PM: Afternoon workshops, presentations, discussion groups, other events;
- 6PM: Dinner
-7:30 PM: Coffeehouse. This is our own talent show, where everyone, from the smallest child up, is encouraged to perform, be it with music, poems, theatrics, dance, or jokes. (Major fun.)
- Campfire – after Coffeehouse
Sunday
-Breakfast
- Morning: workshops, presentations, discussion groups
-10 AM: OACC 33 CONGRESS PLANNING SESSION. All are encouraged to attend this session of the congress which determines the future of OACC, and even if we will have another OACC!
-Noon to 1 PM: Lunch
- After lunch: Silent auction for leftover food (great bargains possible!), clean up, closing circle. Please stay after if you can to help clean up. Thanks!
FOOD….
We serve vegetarian meals from Friday dinner to Sunday lunch, prepared as much as possible with organic, local, or fair-trade ingredients.
Please help us keep registration costs low by donating food and/or bringing food to share. You can let us know if you have food to contribute by visiting our food donations page which lists food we would like, or by contacting Juli, Food Coordinator at gazoooli@hotmail.com.
It could be a covered dish for Friday night, if convenient, or perhaps your garden produce, or bulk food, or wholesome items like bread, fruit or cheese. Visit the food donations page to see a list of foods that are particularly needed to fill out our menu for the weekend.
WHAT TO BRING….
- food donations
- drums, musical instruments, your songs
- acts for the coffeehouse talent show
- your kids, your friends
- life jackets– there’s a lake, and your canoes and kayaks are welcome. [No children in canoes or kayaks without adult supervision.]
You will need
- your own soap, shampoo, towels
- sleeping bags and bedding
- cups — dishes, trays, and silverware are provided, but cups are scarce
- Clothes suitable for being outside in the Ozark fall weather: Be prepared for Ozark fall weather, which can range from mild and dry to cool and wet.
Childcare will not be provided. Parents are welcome to work together and with us to organize cooperative childcare during the Congress.
WHAT NOT TO BRING….
PLEASE DON’T BRING DOGS AND OTHER PETS
PLEASE DON’T BRING ALCOHOL OR OTHER DRUGS
LODGING….
Ananda Kanan Ozark Retreat Center has dormitories, bathrooms, hot showers, a dining hall, excellent group meeting places, play area, large pond with canoes, and more. If it rains, we are well covered.
Bunks and mattresses are provided in the dorm rooms.BRING YOUR OWN BEDDING, SLEEPING BAGS, PILLOWS…
Tent sites are also available.
DIRECTIONS….
Ananda Kanan is approximately 5 miles southwest of Willow Springs, and 18 miles north of West Plains, Missouri.
On a Missouri map locate the junction of Highways 60 and 63 (about 2 miles east of Willow Springs). From this junction, take Highway 63 south four miles to “UU” Highway. Turn left/east on “UU” (Coming in a northerly direction from West Plains, turn right on ‘UU.)
Go about 1.5 miles to County Road 1670, turn left/north on this dirt road and go about 1 mile. Look for the Ananda Kanan gate on the left, and turn left here on the driveway up to the Retreat Center.
We will have “OACC” signs at the Junction of Hwys 63/”UU”, “UU”/Co. Rd. 1670, and at the Ananda Kanan gate.
(CAUTION: If you go too far east on Hwy. “UU” you will come to Hwy. “U”. If you come to “U”, turn around and retrace to Co. Rd. 1670. Don’t take “U” highway. Obviously it could be easy to confuse these similarly-named roads.)
Ananda Kanan’s phone number is: 417-469-4713. The address is: 3157 County Road 1670, Willow Springs, MO.
View Map
COSTS….
Registration fees for all three days, covering everything (meals, lodging, programs, etc.; still cheaper than staying home) are:
-Adults (ages 17 & up): $45;
-Young ones (ages 5 to 16): $25
-Youngest ones, 4 and under: no cost
Attendance for the whole three days is encouraged, but day rates will be pro-rated. Please help us out and register as soon as you get to OACC.
Attendees under 18 must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
Registration Rates for Partial Attendance. For those of you who want to come for less than the whole time, such as a day, or part of a day, we will pro-rate in a fair and equitable way.
WHY IS OACC DIFFERENT AND EXCEPTIONAL? WHAT IS A “CONGRESS”?
OACC as a “congress” is distinguished clearly from a run-of-the-mill “conference” in that it is a gathering of peers (not just conference attendees passively consuming information from paid “experts” and “professionals”) who inexpensively and on a volunteer basis organize and conduct the event themselves as a temporary green “village,” take care of themselves (preparing food, providing their own entertainment and presentations from within the group itself, cleaning up, etc.), and decide among themselves by consensus the present and future directions and content of OACC as an informal “organization.”
HOW YOU CAN ENSURE A FRUITFUL AND INSPIRING OACC 34…
1) Come to OACC and contribute your talents and energies to the community!
2) Invite and bring one or more like-minded folks who you would like to be there with!
For Further Information:
Stuff We Need If You Can Bring It.
-We need a portable projection screen
-We need Firewood
If you can bring either of these please contact David at the email below
OACC 34 Coordinator:
David Haenke
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