The QuinkFair 2024 workshops & events listing is still in progress and will be available in early 2024. It will likely be similar to the 2023 offerings which are available below.
Our list of workshops and events at QuinkFair 2023 is growing quickly, and we’ll be adding new information as additional workshops & events are offered. The final workshop schedule will be available a week or so before the event begins.
Afro Flow Yoga – Katherine
Experience live music, meditation, yoga and dance of the African Diaspora. Connect with our Earth, Sky, and Heart in an inclusive and diverse circle of non-judgement. Join teacher-in-training, Katherine, and live musicians for this grounding, energizing and transformative flow. Learn more at afroflowyoga.com <3
Poetry Jam – Katherine
Katherine will share some of her poetry, including pieces published on blakblan.substack.com and others. Others are welcome to share as well!
Drumming – Arnaud Lauture & Joseph Robert Josil
Haitian Folkloric Drumming workshop with Haitian master drummers, Arnaud Lauture & Joseph Robert Josil, who have performed with world-renowned bands and dance companies, including RAM, Kòd Kreyòl & JAE.
Fungi & Friends: Intro to Mushroom Identification – Jules
If you’ve always wanted to learn about mushrooms but did not know where to start, this is your opportunity. In this workshop we’ll explore the vocabulary of fungi, learn how to use a field guide to identify species, and discuss foraging safety and ethics, all while wandering through the beautiful woods of Twin Oaks!
Bio: Jules is a fungi fanatic with an active and sometimes viral blog. They’ve eaten over 50 species of wild mushrooms and regularly contribute to Twin Oaks meals with their fungi forays.
The Art of Consent – Elephant
An interactive workshop experience where participants can learn and practice the basics of consent culture. In this session we will explore the fundamental elements of consent culture and practice what it looks and feels like to honor boundaries, intentions and desires. A Garden of Delight Invitation card will be awarded to attendees
The Art of Play – Elephant
In this workshop we will explore deeper into the practice of consent culture with a focus on what you might expect, how you might prepare and what to think about when attending a play party or other intimate gathering. A Garden of Delight Invitation card will be awarded to attendees.
The Art of Delight – Elephant
An evening play party guided by the intention to build community and connection through play, pleasure and delight. You are invited to be an active participant in this space and co-creator of moments of delight while holding the highest level of integrity and modeling the highest principles of consent culture.
A Garden of Delight Invitation card is required for attendance. Garden of Delight cards can be obtained by attending either the Art of Consent or Art of Play workshops or by attending an event that happens just before the Art of Delights.
Visualizing and Mapping the Ecologies of Healthy Communities – Charles
Come join us as we play with designing and mapping what constitutes and flows within the living ecologies of healthy communities.
Every community comes together around shared values, desires or purposes. Similarly every community has specific needs, resources, systems (both natural and created) that exist interdependently in the creation and living of a community’s goals or ways of being.
The same can be said of each individual who lives or participates in a community, as well as how the community connects and exchanges with outside communities, groups, systems (i.e economic, political, etc.) regionally, nationally, globally, or through other spaces and contexts.
We know that everything is connected to everything else. And if we tried to create a map, visualization or taxonomy of all of these elements and how they connect that it would probably end up being a wild mess.
Let’s do it anyway! Bring your dreams and ideas. We’ll bring the art supplies.
Breathwork for Altered States and Healing – Randy
Breathwork is a therapeutic breathing practice that is intended to help with emotional healing and personal growth. It allows one to go into a trance or altered state of consciousness, where profound insights can be had. Sometimes called Rebirthing or Holotropic breathwork allows one to let go of stress and big emotional blocks.
Contact Improvisation – Spacious
Contact Improvisation is a Moving, Flowing, Embodiment Practice that allows for connection in dance. This immersive experience encourages you to explore movement, balance, and connection. Be in spontaneous, collaborative dances, learning to respond intuitively to others’ movements. Enhance your body awareness, develop trust, and foster creative expression. Suitable for all skill levels, our workshop promises an empowering journey of physical and emotional discovery. No prior dance experience required, just an open mind. Join us for this profound exploration of movement and connection.
Overcoming Inhibitions to Sustainability
What if Stopping Climate Change Means Living a Better Life? – Alexis
Cooperation makes renewable energy systems work, but capitalism isolates and controls us. We need to build a conservationist society, but that means changing how we relate to food, energy and each other. What gets in the way of community self sufficiency and connection, and how do we overcome it? After an introduction by the presenter, the workshop participants will share what they need and want in order to live in a conservationist culture. As resources and needs arise in the group, we will make plans for how to further meet those needs and move forward.
The haha game – Caroline
A simple game that will almost certainly leave you in hysterics. Involves laying on the ground and physical contact with other participants.
Can Festivals Save the World? An intro to Funology – Paxus
If you ask people what is important to them, a surprising people will say fun or a sense of humor. Yet with all the many academic fields we have we don’t have a formal study of fun – of parties and festivals and celebrations. In informal quasi-science of funology has a number of rules, the first of which is “Move the Furniture” control the space you are in and make it different from what is normal.
Transformative festivals have the capacity to make us better people. So clearly we should be organizing them. But how do we evaluate whether we are creating the right events and how does this guide us in building the better party?
Thai Massage Jam – Tim
We will be exploring the principles of Thai massage
Tim spent five years studying with va teachers throughout South Asia and since has been teaching these community jams as a way of building community and exploring quality of touch in a safe non sexualized container
Family Constellations — Randy Goldberg
Family constellation work is a therapeutic approach that explores the hidden dynamics and unresolved traumas within our lives. It is based on the idea that our ancestors, even those we have never met, can have a profound impact on our lives. By revealing and resolving these hidden patterns and traumas, family constellation work can help people find healing and a deeper sense of personal growth.
Basics of Ritual — Kelpie
Are you interested in learning how to “ground and center,” and make sacred the space you’re in? We’ll practice the basics of making sacred space, which is an easy tool for keeping your cool, and can be used discreetly wherever you are. We’ll practice grounding, casting a protective sphere, and calling of the five directions (Air, Fire, Water, Earth, and Spirit), and talk a bit about allies as well. We can remind ourselves of the sacred, whenever and wherever needed.
Authentic Relating — Mike
Authentic Relating (AR) practice helps us feel connected and understood by others. It explores a method for solving social problems while listening to our needs and those of others.
AR games provide an easy and fun way to help us practice relational conversations and to experience deeper connections with others so that we can enjoy life more. We will use several games to practice in pairs or triads in order to gain tools to help us build deeper connections.
Living a Fuller Life with Less — Strings
What does life look like when you downsize into an alternative dwelling?
Have you ever dreamed about leaving your “normal” home and moving into something a lot smaller and weirder? You should. We think you’ll like it as much as we do. Come listen to us talk about our experiences living in alternative structures (including a tipi, a sailboat, sheds, garages, and school buses), and explore some of the pros and cons of these and other different options.
Reducing expenses allows for the freedom to work fewer hours and live the life you want. We will talk about what systems have helped us eliminate utility bills and minimize rent, and open up a discussion to share and brainstorm ideas on how you could break into the tiny lifestyle.
Enjoying Energy Independence — Alexis
What’s the best way to protest the fossil fuel industry? To not use fossil fuel. But isn’t that expensive?
Not if you use the Direct Drive DC Microgrids (D3M) developed at Living Energy Farm in Louisa Virginia. Our D3M energy systems cost about 80% less than conventional off-grid kits, and will run for the rest of your lifetime with almost no maintenance costs. We will give a brief technical overview of how these systems work, and what a D3M lifestyle is like. We will talk with participants about their home situation and how D3M might work for them.
Trust and Relationship Games, Community Building through Team Challenges — Gil of Cambia Community
Exploration of our unconscious barriers through kinesthetic and interactive games. These games are intended to help us understand the ways in which we show up in groups, in relationships, and as individuals.
Call Me By My Name — Paxus and Jade
As a rite of passage into adulthood, many people choose a new name from the one they were given at birth. We embody our essence fully when taking on a chosen name. This is a workshop for folks interested in sharing personal narratives on identity to discover the meaning of the name(s) we are known by.
We’ll hear inspiration from those who’ve changed their names, and see what kind of energies and stories are encapsulated in those names. We will help volunteers who would like for the group to select a name by getting a feel for what they want in a name, we ask for suggestions and run a vote until we find a perfect fit.
If you want to find out what is in your name, come to this friendly space where we simultaneously unravel and build character.
Liberation Arts — Macaco
Our structure and layering of musical group improv and warrior dances are adapted from South American Quilombos resistance culture. We use theater frameworks to transform the workshop space into alternative realities where the skills and culture of the peaceful warrior shine.
We sing, we drum, we dance stories. Being together in the arts manifests community energies. The vision is a community in which artistic processes are more a part of large group gatherings.
How to do a Tarot Reading for Yourself
A group of the Tarot Readers from the Temple of Oracles will share with you some tips for getting a clear divination and talk about the different ways they use Tarot or other divination tools in their self explorations. No experience with Tarot needed.
Effigy Building 101 — TBD
This workshop explores how to make flammable sculptures out of natural materials that have a minimal impact on the land. We will create one or more effigies to burn without using nails or wire, leaving nothing but a scorch mark when they are done. Folks are welcome to come and go as they please to lend a hand creating our effigy.
Can Festivals Save the World? An intro to Funology — Paxus
If you ask people what is important to them, a surprising number of people will say fun or a sense of humor. Yet with all the many academic fields we have we don’t have a formal study of fun – of parties and festivals and celebrations. In informal quasi-science of funology has a number of rules, the first of which is “Move the Furniture” – control the space you are in and make it different from what is normal. Transformative festivals have the capacity to make us better people. So clearly we should be organizing them. But how do we evaluate whether we are creating the right events and how does this guide us in building the better party?
Balloon Art — Jade
Come get in touch with your inner child at this hands-on tutorial of how to twist and sculpt inflated balloons! With all materials provided by our professional balloon artist, we will be making animals, flowers, hats, swords, and anything our imaginations can come up with during this class. The craft appeals to all ages. Children under 12 will appreciate the balloons gifted, and the teens and adults can learn a fun new skill. All finished works of art are yours to keep!
Quink Print Shop — Piera
I will be setting up a print shop so we can make shirts, stickers, posters, buttons and more. Bring your own garments to print on, and any donation clothing that you would like to share with others. Light colored fabrics work the best–avoid synthetics or anything that you can not iron. We will be doing a combination of block printing and screen printing, so please wear clothes that you don’t mind being permanently inked.
The Basics of Tarot — Mike
Do you ever wonder about the meaning of Tarot cards? In this workshop we cover the basics of Tarot cards based on the Rider Waite Tarot. We will also discuss the difference between the Rider Waite Tarot, other Tarot decks and the Oracle cards. We will also talk about how to use Tarot and look at the different ways to lay out the cards. This an introductory workshop, no previous Tarot experience is required.
Hot Yoga — Jade
In this 45 minute group exercise class, we will do restorative stretching and muscle building. Hot yoga is a healthy middle-level workout for people with an active lifestyle who want to sustain high energy and feel good. We will move and grove, sweat, and have fun.
Other events
Meet the Communities
Several of the intentional communities, mostly around Louisa, Virginia, will come for an ice cream social, talk with you about their communities and you can set up times to go visit the ones close by.
Temple of Oracles
Divination Tools and Readings, Open every afternoon and evening
Talent Show
Welcoming a variety of entertainment, our stage surrounds a supportive audience featuring you!
Eclectic acts in music, poetry, comedy, dance, storytelling, theater, and the like come together in this open-mic style showcase.
From first-timers to seasoned performers, you will find an array of enjoyable sets, and perhaps a spark of inspiration for your quink.
Sign-up anytime by emailing the host of the show: jadetyde@gmail.com
OR Sign-up at the event by getting in touch with your host, Jade Tyde. We will accept new acts up until the talent show begins
Opening Circle Ritual- Friday July 21, 7:30pm
Closing Circle Ritual- Sunday, July 23, 1:30pm
Kids’ Space and Activities
The kid’s space at the site is adjacent to the center pavilion and kitchen. This area features weird woodland climbing structures and is a good spot for open-ended play. During the hours of Morning Workshops we will offer supervision and various games and activities for young ones in this area.