Generate 2023
Emergent Alchemy
This call goes out to Queer people
of diverse flavors & forms
whose lives defy the dualities
on which dying empires were built—
Man / woman
Light / dark
Good / evil
Spirit / flesh
We are the slash that unites opposites
We who eat polarities for breakfast
& disprove all dogmas
with our fabulous transgressions
We whose bodies
are used as battlefields
We who are marginalized
even among the marginalized
We who must carve out spaces
at the edges of spaces called radical
The Generate gathering is for us!
This gathering of Radical Faeries & friends
focuses on the experiences of Queers who are multiply marginalized—
Black, Indigenous & People of Color
Trans & nonbinary
Women & femmes
Old, fat, neurodivergent, disabled—
This list is open-ended, porous & inclusive
Wherever you may exist
at the intersection of multiple axes
of identity, oppression & privilege—
Come be welcomed
Come be seen & celebrated
Come share the gifts of yourself
& the unique medicine you carry
This is an opportunity to practice
asking the privileged parts of ourselves
to step back & make space
for those who have been silenced & overlooked
At the center of our circle
there is a crucible
which overflows with golden elixir
whenever we are together
Let us drink deeply
Let us soak & splash
Let us lay down our armor
& be tender together
In defiance of all the forces
seeking to divide & oppress us
We gather to bless the world
by joyously embodying our Queer spirits
We gather to explore our collective magic
& orient to an emergent whole
We gather to immerse ourselves
in a wider field of Queerness
Join us for Generate 2023!
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All Queers are invited, but this gathering centers and prioritizes Queers who have been multiply marginalized, including but not limited to those who are Black, Indigenous, or people of color; trans and non-binary people; women and femmes; and disabled folks.
Folks who identify as white, cis, male, and/or non-disabled are welcome to support our diverse mix and to experience the delight of being decentered for a weekend.
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Generate: Emergent Alchemy will be held Thursday, May 18 through Monday, May 22, 2023, at Saratoga Springs Retreat Center (10243 Saratoga Springs Rd, Upper Lake, CA 95485). Saratoga Springs is about a 2.5 hour drive from the Bay Area: saratogasprings.com
We ask that everyone attend all four nights of the gathering with no ins and outs. We encourage those who enjoy camping to camp on the land rather than taking a room. You can indicate this on the registration form.
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The cost for the entire gathering is $575 per person. This covers accommodations for four nights, twelve meals, use of the hot tub and pool, access to the beautifully maintained grounds at Saratoga, and the labor of Saratoga staff and our caterer. The organizers are unpaid volunteers.
We ask that you pay with an open heart and mind and love for your fellow Queers, especially those who've been left out and/or devalued in Faerie spaces. If you can contribute more, please please do. If you can’t, please contribute the absolute most that you can, keeping in mind the radical generosity of Saratoga, its staff and the land.
At minimum, please contribute at least $75 per night (for a total of $300) if at all possible. If not, please pay the most you can. We want you there with us!
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Accessibility is an agreement we make to have increased joy in each other’s presence by lowering barriers to showing up in body, spirit, and more. Access is love, and there are many different ways that love shows up.
Please let us know on the registration for what your body needs in order to be able to access the gathering comfortably. (For example, someone to bring you meals? Carry belongings? Act as an escort?) We want you and your body to be as well cared for as possible!
We have accessibility point people to check in with about your access needs. There will also be volunteers on site to help with mobility, meals, and other access needs.
For more on accessibility, check out the Accessibility information page on the website. You are also welcome to contact Fagus (jason@jasoncourtis.com) or Dewey (510-287-6690) with accessibility-related questions or requests.
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• We enter into sacred space by keeping our minds and bodies unaltered by recreational substances. We leave all mind-altering recreational substances behind for those four days.
• We are mindful of racial, gender and other power dynamics in the degree of care and respect we show each other on the land.
• We avoid making assumptions about people’s identities, and we apologize swiftly and easefully when we make mistakes.
• Leveraging whatever class, gender or racial privilege we hold, we actively seek opportunities to use those in service of others, and further commit ourselves to stepping back where we can, and amplifying the voices this gathering seeks to center.
• We protect our own bodies and others by upholding the Covid agreements for this gathering:
Minimize your exposure to others in the three to five days before the gathering.
Take a rapid test 48 hours before you plan to arrive and again on arrival. (We will have tests available at the welcome desk.)
Please do not attend the gathering if you test positive or have any COVID-related symptoms.
Masks are welcome but not required in indoor spaces with others.
• We ask for active and enthusiastic consent for any physical contact with others, including hugs and kisses.
• We unplug from technology by not carrying our communication devices or leaving them on airplane mode, and by not checking them except as strictly necessary.
* We agree to not take photos or post them on social media except with explicit consent of everyone in the photo.
• We do not police others’ choices, we respect each other’s agency over their bodies. Trying to control others’ choices can be destructive to our community sanctuary.
• We all take part in making the gathering the imaginative, radical, nurturing sanctuary that we need.