This article was written by a first time attendee Pat Barton. He was hoping it would fill in the blanks for any newcomers that have questions. instructors and those offering services to attendees vary from year to year. He hits many of the hight points.
First time at Camp Brotherhood 2009.
Accommodations:
- Motel Like Rooms: Basic room, clean, with a shower and three beds. You must make your own bed and bring your own towels. You will share the room with 1 or 2 room mates. When you leave take off the linen for washing. The view from the deck out side of the rooms is of the old farm fields that are now pasture for the animals and soccer fields. One evening a group sat out on the deck, talked art and sculpture, told stories, drank beverages and watched a lightning storm in the nearby hills. All were welcome to join. Most of us never spent much time in the rooms, other than sleeping, there was too much going on to spend your time in the room.
- Large Meeting Room: This room is part of the sleeping room complex. It was open at all times and had a coffee maker, small fridge, restroom and sink. Both room campers and tent campers used it for artist discussions, the benefit auction, and the party/ dance. I used this room early in the morning to write in my diary, so that I didn’t wake the roommate.
- Dining Hall: This building is also a modern building with a great view of the pasture land below and the forested hills across the valley. It has a full kitchen and is where all the meals are prepared. The facility is shared with all the other guests at Camp Brotherhood. Those NWSSA guests staying in the motel rooms and tent camping all ate at the dining hall. We ate breakfast and dinner at the dinning hall. The kitchen staff members are very helpful and had coffee out at 7:00 AM, breakfast at 8:00 AM and let us have ice from the ice machine for coolers used by tent campers. Other groups ate between 7:00 and 8:00, on the other side of the dinning room. For dinner we had wine along with our meals. The dinning room was also the place for the official NWSSA annual meeting and the board of directors meeting. A schedule for the evens for each day was posted, other announcements were made. Sign in, registration is conducted at this facility . Artists lay out photo books of completed works for all to look through and view.
- Tent Camping: The tent camping area is in two grassy areas near the sculpture field and the lunch/party pavilion. Trees and forest surround the tent camping areas. There is also a fire ring and hiking trails in the forest. Sani- Cans are near by. Tent campers have all meals with those staying in rooms and have same use of all meeting rooms.
- The Lunch /Party Pavilion: The pavilion is a covered area that has a sink, running water, a small fridge, picnic tables and an electric plug in for a coffee maker. This facility is close by to the tent are and used by tent campers. Lunch is served at the pavilion and updated announcements are made at this time. The power and air to the sculpture field is turned of during lunch and dinner.
- Swimming Pool: The pool facility has showers, and flush toilets that are a short distance up the hill from the tent camp area. You can either drive or walk to the pool.
- Hiking Trails: I get up early, so with day light arriving I walked some of the trails at Camp Brotherhood. The area is hilly so you can work up a sweat, but also you can observe the quiet of the second growth forest and the wild life living there. I would have liked to have walked more of the trails. Also down in the farm area they have a donkey, emus, geese, goats, and beef cattle. Deer can be seen on occasions in the fields.
Activities:
- Stone Carving on the Sculpture Field: The stone carving field is on a grassy field with ample room for setting up work tents and handling all the other out door activities that take place during the week. A large generator and air compressor supply air and power to the sculptors. The power and air is on all day and turned on again after dinner, it is turned off during lunch. Water is also available. Spaces for working are assigned to keep the noisy and dusty carvers away from the hand carving group and the beginner group.