2020 In-person Memorial Day Campout CANCELLED – we’re online instead
The 2020 in-person Memorial Day Camp has been cancelled due to the coronavirus situation. We’re going online instead.
The information below is now for reference only.
RATES
Adults: $25 a night per person. Day use rate for adults (no overnight stay): $15 per person. Kids under 15: $8 a day per person (overnight or day use). No advance registration: register at camp.
DIRECTIONS
Camp Herms is at 1100 James Place, El Cerrito. From the “Circle” in Berkeley, follow Arlington Blvd. for about 2+ miles. Past Arlington Park in El Cerrito, about 0.6 miles north of Moeser Lane, turn off Arlington Blvd. onto Thors Bay Road, then into the camp at 1100 James Place.
FACILITIES
The camp’s capacity is several hundred people, so we’ll have plenty of room. Highlights are:
• Large Lodge (Main Hall), which will be a shelter for day use in case of wet or cold weather. In the Lodge: North Room, a stage and restrooms.
• Large kitchen adjoining the Main Hall.
• RVs are welcome; they park in the parking lot across from the Main Hall, but no hookups.
• Spaces for tents are at the Redwood Grove, a large fairly even lot about the size of a football field. Campers can drive to Redwood Grove, park in the designated area, unload gear, then drive back to the parking lot.
Camping will be only in Redwood Grove on Memorial Day weekend—all other areas are closed to SFFMC for this campout only. (See map.)
There is a bathroom building at one end of Redwood Grove, one grill and fire ring and picnic tables.
The camp has nearby neighbors, so evening music after 10:00 p.m. must be inside the Lodge (Main Hall) with the windows closed.
REGISTRATION
No advance registration; register at camp. Registration will be opposite the Lodge (Main Hall); in case of wet or cold weather, it will be inside the Main Hall. Look for the sign: REGISTER HERE—SFFMC. If there’s no one there, find a member with a yellow STAFF t-shirt.
ACTIVITIES
Jams and workshops, informal jams in the daytime and evening, two nights of open mics, and a variety of workshops. Potluck dinner.
• Open Mics: Usually on the second and third nights of camp, 8:00 p.m. The sign-up list will be at Registration. Open mics will be at the indoor stage in the Lodge (Main Hall).
• Workshops: Anyone can lead a workshop. Sign up at camp at the workshop bulletin board near the registration table. Workshops will be scheduled at camp.
• Potluck dinner: A community potluck dinner will be held on Saturday night, 6:30 p.m., in the Lodge (Main Hall). We can use the camp’s kitchen—with refrigerator and freezer, three stoves, oven and microwave—to store and heat potluck food. The kitchen also has plates, silverware, pans, and serving utensils.
IMPORTANT: The kitchen must be kept clean if we want to continue using it; this is a do-it-yourself chore for anyone who uses the kitchen at all. Please clean up promptly.
PITCHING IN
Everyone over 12 (except day-use attendees staying less than four hours) does at least an hour per camp of duty: registration, cleanup after the potluck dinner, kitchen cleanup on the last day, and setting up and putting away camp chairs and tables in the Main Hall.
The Scouts (who own the camp) also have a checklist of chores that we will need to do. Please sign up for a chore at the registration table as soon as possible after arriving. And please show up for your chore. If you can’t, then please leave a note at registration so we can cover the chore.
PUBLICITY
We want to publicize this campout widely to increase attendance so we can afford to keep coming to this camp.
Spread the word to all your friends who are interested in folk music! It is not necessary to be am SFFMC member to attend, though we appreciate new memberships. (Membership forms will be available at the registration table and are always available online.) There will be a Facebook event page for the campout sometime soon.
You can also help us distribute post cards about the Memorial Day weekend. You can pick them up at SFFMC musical meetings and SFFMC Board meetings. Or we can mail you several post cards: contact folkniked@earthlink.net. Some possible places to distribute them are music stores, libraries, music classes, folk music events and venues such as the Freight and Salvage, and to interested friends.
Thanks for your help!