CARPOOLING/PARKING
We are asking everyone to PLEASE CARPOOL! We will have lots of out of town participants who don’t have cars and need a ride from the Bay Area. Please register your carpool online(whether you need a ride or can offer one); our RIDESHARE PROGRAM is here. If you are having urgent issues in getting up to Hopland please email Susan: susan@norcalresilience.org.
There is no on-site parking so we are arranging off-site parking adjacent to the property. Campers will be able to pull in to register and off-load their camping supplies and then park off-site. Vendors will also have time to unload their vending and camping supplies and will then need to park off-site. The Convergence parking fee is $5 per car, which car drivers will pay when you register on site.
PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING
- PLATE, CUP, BOWL, UTENSILS, H2O BOTTLE: Let’s try to make this a Zero Waste Convergence!
- SEEDS AND CLOTHES FOR OUR SWAP: Please bring gently used clothing, seeds, envelopes and pens and join us in a ceremony celebrating our seeds and our diversity.
- MATERIALS ABOUT YOUR ORGANIZATION: Bring your flyers; and be ready to share your needs and offers (jobs, events, needs, etc.) for your project or organization! The bioregional hub will have a bulletin board and a collaboration space. It’s all about the networking!
- OTHER ITEMS: Ear plugs (our late night music ends at 12:30 am), sunscreen, day pack, cooler with ice, comfortable shoes, camp chair, personal first aid kit, anti-bug supplies, camp chairs
- TOILETRIES: Towel, soap, shampoo, toothbrush, etc.
- CASH: There is an ATM with only limited amounts of cash on site, so please plan ahead and bring CASH.
- WARM BLANKETS & CAMP CHAIRS: For evening time sessions
- …and label all of your personal items!
CLOTHING
The entire conference is outside. It will most likely get hot during the day (in the 80’s) and really cold at night (in the 40’s). Please keep yourselves comfortable with clothing for hot days (hats, sunglasses, etc) and really cold nights! Our evening programming is all outside so we recommend you bring a warm jacket, a hat and a blanket to keep yourselves warm at night! Bring one to share, if you are able. Please note that this event is RAIN OR SHINE. If it does rain, we will have overhangs to accommodate the weather and to be on the safe-side, bring rain gear!
CHILDCARE AND FAMILY PROGRAMMING
Don’t forget to bring your child(ren)! And your child’s friends! The Convergence is a kid-friendly environment, from our childcare during workshop sessions to multiple workshops for kids of all ages. We ask that you pre-register for our childcare, which is offered by-donation. More information can be found here.
CAMPING (ON-SITE ) & ACCOMMODATIONS
Camping on-site is $5/night. Please be sure and pay for your camping in advance, when you register on Eventbrite. We have specific areas set up for our Speakers, Sponsors, and Work Trade Volunteers. We will have 350 spaces available on-site, and spaces available across the street. If you want to camp with your friends, we encourage you to arrive together as you won’t be able to hold space. Be sure to bring a tent, ear plugs (for late night music), tarp, camping chair and a flashlight (or headlamp) and anything else you think you might need to be comfortable.
What To Do:
- Check in at registration. You will be provided a map with camping areas and check in with the camp host in a specific area before setting up your tent.
- Tent camping only (10’x10′ or less). No RV or car camping is permitted on-site.
- All attendee vehicles must park at the off-site parking area.
- No cooking, smoking, wood fires, or generators on-site.
- The campgrounds will have port-a-potties, and restrooms on site as well.
- The campground is unlit at night; please bring a flashlight or headlamp with you.
- Try out our solar shower! Suggested $3-5 donation per use.
- Label your personal property.
Note: Due to the dry arid climate you will not be able to use a camping stove or burn any type of fuel or have an open flame in the camping area.
ON-SITE RVs & SLEEPING IN YOUR VEHICLES
There are approximately 15 spaces for RV parking along the back Eastern fence of the property and 10 spaces in the middle aisle (east side). The fee is $5/day (all days paid in advance during check-in) and is on a first-come, first-served basis. There are no onsite hook-ups for electricity or other services.
Information on nearby Hotels and off-site RV Camping can be found here.
FOOD AND BEVERAGES
Meals are not included in the ticket prices. We have a variety of possibilities for meals; each requires you bring your own plates, bowls, cups and utensils for eating and drinking and your own water bottles. We will have a place to wash dishes. We will also have the following options, to help keep you all well-fed:
- The Garden Café: We will have a chef on site preparing delicious meals Thursday lunch through Sunday dinner; and leftover breakfast on Monday, Oct, 9 Meal can also be purchased on site for $8 breakfast, $12 lunch, $15 for dinner. Discounted meal packages can be ordered in advance, which you can purchased during registration.
- The Community Kitchen: The community kitchen will be THE place to hang out, chill out and cook your own food; or cook with others. In addition, we will be trying out some alternative methods like solar cookers and hay box cookers; and hosting Daily Inter-Generational Cooking workshops for kids, parents and families. Please note that cooking is not allowed in the camping areas. If you intend to bring and cook your own food, you must do so in the Community Kitchen.
We will be setting up a medium sized kitchen with prep tables, pots, cook stoves, burners and a basic pantry with some staple ingredients like herbs, seasonings and oil. Please bring:
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Your own food; and pantry donations to donate for others
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Donations of gas canisters for camp stoves
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Cooking supplies if you have them (stoves, frying pan and pots); we will have some supplies, but people are encouraged to bring more.
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Your own plates, cups, silverware and knives
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Ingredients for the community stone soup (veggies)
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- Food Vendors: We will have a limited number of food vendors on site, to buy food items. Please bring cash to buy delicious food!
- Beverages: We will be selling coffee, beer from Lagunitas Brewing Company, wine from Frey Vineyards and beverages from Guayaki Organic Yerba Mate and House Kombucha.
OUR COMMITMENT TO A LOW-WASTE EVENT
In respect of the Solar Living Institute we ask all attendees to be mindful and aware of the space around them, including all areas of the premises (including the porta potties, shower, communal areas, the garden, etc.) and the surrounding environments (i.e. parking lots located adjacent to SLI, etc.). What does it mean to go green? Our goal is to create as low waste a Convergence as possible and we thank you in advance for your support:
- Bring their own plate, cups and silverware; there will be a designated washing station near the community kitchen and food vendors.
- Bring your own reusable containers for water, coffee, tea and other beverages. Real Goods, the retail store on site, also has these and other items for purchase.
- Before arriving to the Solar Living Institute, we ask that you take the time to separate packaged foods into reusable containers and recycle the packaging.
- While at the Convergence, we ask that you separate out your recycling, trash and compostables on-site in the appropriate containers located near the lavender labyrinth and around the property.
- And most of all — what you bring to the event, we ask that you take home — pack it in…pack it out.
Thank you for your help and assistance in a Low Waste Convergence!
ANIMALS
No animals are permitted on site, which includes: No emotional support animals and No therapy animals.
Trained Service Animals, defined as dogs, are permitted on a case-by-case basis. All service animals need to be registered upon entry of the Convergence and will be issued specific credentials. All service animals must be housebroken and under the care of their handler at all times.
A certified Service Animal is defined as dogs that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding their human owners to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task dog has been trained and must be directly related to the person’s disability. Dog whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not quality as a service animal under the ADA. Click here for more information.
We love you and your pets and they need to stay at home. If you need to make arrangements for your pet locally, here are some options close by:
WIFI
We hope you’ll turn off your device. One reason that might help is that there will only be limited internet access on-site (mostly through your smart phones). More information to come so check back with our on-site information booth during the Convergence.
BE OPEN TO THE POSSIBILITIES
Our hope is that we both deepen and expand our networks, our relationships, and our understanding. As we come together with diverse community resilience leaders from across North America from various areas of expertise, histories, generations, demographics and cultures, we invite respectful inclusivity and deep listening as we learn to build authentic new alliances for the work ahead. Please come with an open mind, big heart and gracious humility as we co-create this historic event together! Don’t forget a notebook and pen to record all of the innovative ideas you will be hearing about.