Arcadia Frequently Asked Questions
General Questions
While our activities are aimed at Queer men, we welcome men of all orientations as well as masculine identified Transgender folks. We welcome men of all orientations who believe they would gain from the weekend. While our main focus is on Queer men, we also welcome our allies. We might even hold workshops on allyship at some of our retreats.
No. We welcome all respectful seekers. Our activities and workshops are geared toward Pagan and earth-centered religions, and we will be hosting a few Pagan rituals during the weekend. If you are okay with this and if the topics of the weekend catch your interest, please do join us for the weekend. Most of us don’t bite! We might even offer a Paganism 101 workshop for Pagan newbies at some of our retreats.
We will not turn anyone away who feels they would gain from or contribute to the weekend. That said, the goal of our weekend is brotherhood, and our workshops and activities will be largely focused on men’s experiences and ideas.
Virtual Retreats
Arcadia always takes place in the fall – usually a weekend in September, October, or November. We alternate between virtual and in-person retreats each fall. Virtual Arcadia retreats usually take place in odd numbered years and in-person Arcadia retreats usually take place in even numbered years. Virtual retreats allow us to reach a larger audience who may not be able to attend our in-person retreats.
Virtual Arcadia retreats are FREE as we have low overhead. We do not need to reserve campsites or provide food or supplies for attendees at our Virtual retreats. If you like what we are doing and would like to make a monetary contribution, please do, but this is not a requirement to attend our virtual retreats. Any monetary donations would go to marketing our events or toward the costs of our next in-person retreat. While Virtual retreats are Free, in-person retreats do require registration costs to attend.
Workshops, rituals, and activities take place over Zoom. Most activities are real-time, though some workshops and rituals might be pre-recorded. We make announcements and share Zoom links in our Facebook group. We also use a private YouTube channel to post videos related to the retreat.
Please let us know ahead of the retreat. We will email you the daily schedules with Zoom links. Please realize that without access to the Facebook group you might miss important announcements – technical difficulties, last minute changes or cancellations in the schedule, and so forth.
Most workshops, activities, rituals, and entertainment will be recorded. Generally, this is done in “speaker view” where only the presenter or those making comments or asking questions are answering questions are shown. To protect the privacy of our attendees, recorded video placed in the private area of our YouTube channel and only available via private links shared to attendees in our Facebook group. All recorded workshops, rituals, and other activities will be shared sometime after their scheduled time at the virtual retreat. This might be during the retreat or shortly after the retreat has concluded.
Times in the retreat schedule are Eastern Standard Time. From the times listed on the schedule, subtract 1 hour for Central Time; 2 hours for Mountain Time; 3 hours for Pacific Time. If you are outside the U.S., you will need to determine the time difference from your location.
We welcome our international brothers. So long as you are able to access our Facebook group and Zoom links, you are welcome to attend.
Physical Retreats
Arcadia always takes place in the fall – usually a weekend in September, October, or November. We alternate between virtual and in-person retreats each fall. Virtual Arcadia retreats usually take place in odd numbered years and in-person Arcadia retreats usually take place in even numbered years. Physical retreats allow us to meet and bond in the real world.
No. We do not stream in-person retreats for a number of reasons. The main reason is that we just don’t have the staffing to manage both simultaneously. Another reason is that Wi-Fi and cellular service can be spotty or even non-existent depending on the campground where the retreat is taking place. Streaming would also be a distraction to the discussions and bonding taking place as we gather together in person. There is some possibility that select workshops and activities will be recorded for posterity, but there is no guarantee that this will happen at any given retreat.
While we are able to offer free virtual retreats, we must charge for folks to attend in-person retreats. Your registration costs go toward reserving a physical space to hold the retreat and toward food and supplies needed to host the retreat. Basic meals are included in your registration fee. As some of our attendees are day trippers from the local community and because other folks may wish to reserve their own private accommodations, tent and/or cabin space is an extra charge only for those who wish to stay with us. Our goal is to make our retreats affordable while still covering our costs.
Some years we may offer tent camping options. Other years we may offer space in a main cabin or bunk house. Much will depend on the location we have chosen and the budget we have available ahead of time to make reservations. Most of our in-person retreats take place in a Virginia State campground, though we are open to hosting at a private campground. Most private Pagan campgrounds we have approached in Virginia either could not support full retreats or gatherings, did not respond to our inquiries, or were too expensive to consider given our limited size and budget.
You are welcome to seek other accommodations directly from the park (campsites, cabins, RV spaces, yurts, etc.) or to seek other nearby accommodations (hotel, AirBNB, etc.) If you seek your own accommodations, you are still required to pay for your regular retreat registration, but you will not be charged extra for overnight space at the retreat.
These may be available in the park. If you secure an RV site directly from the park, you are still required to pay for your regular retreat registration, but you will not be charged extra for overnight space at the retreat.
We will not be accepting at-the-gate registrations to this event. We need to have an accurate count of guests, tents, and vehicles ahead of time to determine needed food, supplies, and other logistical concerns. Be sure to pay your registration by the registration deadline listed on our registration page.
That depends on whether we have any spaces left. Overnight cabin, bunkhouse, and/or campsite spaces may be limited. We may also limit the size of in-person retreats to allow for a quality experience. If there is space still available and if there is still suitable time to process your request, you may still be able to attend. Any requests to attend that are made after our posted registration deadline will be on a case-by-case basis.
Yes. We will always host our events at campgrounds where there are bath houses with toilets, showers, and hot water in the park. If we host a retreat in a cabin, these will typically have a bathroom and shower within the cabin itself.
Yes. One of the retreat planners is vegetarian so this is always a consideration. If you are vegan, have food allergies, or other diet restrictions, please let us know BEFORE the retreat and we will try to accommodate you.
We usually post the staff contact number in our Facebook group and often in an e-mail sent out to attendees prior to the retreat. Calling or texting this contact number is the preferred way to contact us once the retreat has started and generally the 24 hours prior to its scheduled start time (staff might arrive up to a day ahead of the retreat). Because Wi-Fi and cellular service can be spotty or non-existent depending on the campground, we do not recommend trying to contact us by email, Facebook, Messenger, or other social media once the retreat has started or up to 24 hours before the retreat.
That depends on the campground and type of site we get. Tent camping sites usually do not have electricity. Cabins and bunk houses might. There might also be places within the chosen campground with charging stations. Unless otherwise stated, don’t expect that electricity will be available. Please consider bringing a car charger that you can use in your vehicle or purchase a portable battery charging pack and charging cord compatible with your device.