Dear QuinkFairers,
As some of you have likely heard, Twin Oaks Intentional Community (the site of QuinkFair 2023, and current and/or former home to the majority of QuinkFair organizers) was impacted by the devastating 450-acre W Old Mountain Rd wildfire on March 20. The people, pets, and farm animals who live at Twin Oaks are all safe, and (while there were a few close calls) there was no damage to the residential buildings, ZK kitchen & dining hall, the tofu hut, the office, and other key infrastructure.
That’s the good news… here’s the rest.
The fire destroyed the majority of the Emerald City warehouse complex, including Twin Oaks’ industrial zone and much of their hammock business inventory. The conference site was destroyed completely, including the pavilion, kitchen, showers, storage areas, and all other amenities. The damage is major and cleanup will take time, but Twin Oaks is already recovering and will rebuild. Twin Oaks is still planning to host their usual three events this year- the Queer Gathering, the Women’s Gathering, and the Communities Conference.
Thus there will not be a QuinkFair in 2024- even if we could find a new affordable site in time, few of the current QF organizers have the mental or emotional energy to put together an event this year. However, a number of people have said they wish to come and help with the fire clean up and reconstruction of the kitchen and other structures at the Twin Oaks Conference site. There will be a build camp during QuinkFair’s originally scheduled dates of June 20 thru 24, 2024. This build camp will be a camping event, without any ticket cost, though donations (of cash, as well as snacks and other supplies) are welcome.
Folks interested in helping with this work or setting up the large dome Camp Contact has generously donated which will be used for events later in the summer, should feel encouraged to come. Other build camp work will include light construction of various site infrastructure (showers, prepping campsites, building the outdoor kitchen). If you are interested in more information about this event, or to let us know you are thinking of coming, please write to buildcamp@twinoaks.org or call 541-505-0803.
If you cannot come to build camp you can still help in other ways, from physical build help, to cash contributions, to business expertise, to loans and/or donations of tools and gear. Here is TO’s wish list, and here is where you can make financial contributions. The list is broken into smaller items (which you might find around your house) and larger items needed for rebuilding. TO is especially interested in used and/or refurbished items, so if you have something to offer but are unsure if it’s useful or needed, please write to gifts@twinoaks.org .
We do intend to have a QuinkFair in 2025, and we hope that will be at Twin Oaks. That’s all we know at this point in the recovery process, and likely all we will know for several months. QuinkFair has also lost thousands of dollars worth of gear and supplies (stored near the conference site) that we’ve purchased, bartered for, and/or have been donated to us since 2019. While the impact of the fire on QuinkFair is tiny compared to what Twin Oaks has lost, it’s still a major blow for a shoestring event like ours. It will take time for us to figure out what is most essential to replace first, what we’ll need to replace eventually, and to find substitutes for items which are irreplaceable. But that is a task for the future, for now our focus is on supporting Twin Oaks and the Louisa region as they clean up and begin to rebuild.
We plan to have a meeting for QuinkFair organizers (old and new) shortly after the November 2024 election to discuss planning for 2025. Look for info on that organizer meeting sometime after Labor Day.
For an overview of the fire and damages, as well as info on how you can support the recovery efforts, see the Friends of Twin Oaks Facebook Group, the Twin Oaks Communities Conference blog post Wildfires and New Beginnings, and Paxus’ blog posts Fire at Emerald City or Fire Update 1 of the recovery process.