PolyCamp’s activities are a combination of opportunities for learning, connecting, and just enjoying camp. The schedule changes year to year. You can expect to have some combination of the following activities:
Fun on the Lake: There is a beautiful, very private swimming lake with a sandy beach and a fire pit. We also have access to the camp’s canoes, kayaks, paddleboards, sailboats, windsurfers, and water-trampoline! The kayak race is always great fun.
Fun on the Fields: Whether we organize large team games or a few folks just want to play pick-up games, the camp has facilities for baseball, softball, basketball, field hockey, football, kickball, lacrosse, soccer, volleyball, ultimate frisbee, mountain biking, hiking/ nature walks, badminton, boche, pickleball, tennis and platform tennis.
Games and Talents: Bring your favorite board games and card games to share. The talent show is a camp tradition (bring it!) as is a campfire sing-a-long.
Discussions and Workshops: We are planning these on a variety of topics depending on what is asked for and offered by those who register for camp.
CoCreation: We are asking everyone who comes to PolyCamp to consider what they have to share with the community.
Can you lead a discussion group on a poly topic?
Lead a presentation?
Teach a craft?
Lead a yoga class?
Do you have a talent for bringing people together in ice breaker games?
Want to lead a sports activity or a board-gaming session?
Can you lead a campfire sing-a-long?
It is not required that you lead an activity but it is encouraged. When you register, you will be prompted to sign up to share your time and talents with this community. A schedule of activities will be created from what is offered.
Here is a list of prior year classes/events/discussions to give you an idea of the kinds of things that took place. These were all taught or facilitated by people who came to PolyCamp Northeast.
| Title | Description |
| Thai Massage | Learn some thai massage by exchanging bodywork with others. Wear comfortable loose clothing and bring a sheet/blanket/yoga mat. |
| Board Games | A space will be dedicated for playing board games. Training sessions will be available. |
| Mindful Meditation | This gentle and relaxing session will provide instruction/coaching and discussion of Vipassana or “Insight” mindfulness with a focus on in-session practice. Recommend dressing comfortably and bringing a comfortable chair, blanket, cushion or mat. |
| Flow Yoga | Bring a yoga mat, water and anything else you need to be comfortable (possibly a towel). Vinyasa (flow) yoga marries breath to movement, aligning each inhale with a full movement, and each exhale with the next full movement. This class will accommodate beginners to high-level intermediates. (Levels 1.5, 2 and 2.5.) If you’d like hands-on assistance during your yoga, let me know before the class begins. Expect to get sweaty and experience an energizing, full-body workout that raises circulation, sharpens thinking and relieves tension. |
| Voice of Conscience | Come play a card game called Voice of Conscience. This game of ethical quandaries will put you and your playmates into hypothetical situations where you have to make tough calls. Among others, there is a polyamory-themed deck and a fetish-themed deck for a wide variety of fascinating explorations. Arrive any time and leave any time for a slice of intriguing situations and moral dilemmas. |
| Rope Bondage | An overview of rope bondage, with coverage of safety, signs and symptoms, do’s and don’ts. |
| Poly? Positively! | Loving multiple people at the same time! Having all the advantages of an ethical, monogamous relationship AND additional relationships of any kind with as many people as make sense. Defining (or redesigning) each of your relationships to be a perfect custom fit for what is actually true about the way that you feel about each or all of these people. In this participatory workshop, based on our real life experiences of what’s great about being a poly triad, we will describe how our embodied NVC-based (ENVC) polyamorous relationship works. We will talk about: the importance of seeing how the language we use to express ourselves has a profound impact on whether we get our needs met, how to stay connected even when we’re triggered and how to do needs-based negotiation so everyone needs are taken into account. This process will reveal the joys that transparency and vulnerability bring to intimate relating when you have the right skills. We will share how using ENVC as our communication process has supported our relationship. We will invite other polyamorous pods to talk about their successes, and poly-curious individuals and couples to ask questions and pose challenges. |
| Maxx Group | A facilitated set of communication games that create intimacy and build skills such as how to take risks, curiosity and transparency; based on the Morehouse Mark Group model (a 50 year old poly community in CA). |
| STI Discussion | Discussion about Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs). This class will cover the incubation periods, screening process, methods and likelihood of transmission. We can also have a brainstorming session on how best to approach the topic and discuss STIs with future and current partners |
| Negotiating Safer Sex | Not every intimate relationship involves sex. For those relationships that do, this presentation will remind you how to lovingly and openly discuss your desires and fears with your partner(s) with the goal of crafting agreements that benefit everyone.
To help you towards negotiating those agreements, Rose will be covering the following topics: Defining negotiation |
| Chainmaille | A introduction to making butted chainmaille. This class will cover the European 4-in-1 weave. Each person will get to make a small patch of chainmaille to take with them. |
| Radical Sustainability and the Native American Seventh Generation Concept | A lively and candid presentation and discussion on how we can improve the living conditions of our planet for the future. |
| Volleyball | Informal pick-up volleyball game. |
| Kayak Race | Race kayaks on the pond. I’ll muster up a prize for the winner. |
| Talent Show | Sing, dance, tell a story, share a poem, or anything else you’d like to share with everyone. This is a great way to get to know the sometimes hidden talents of your peers. |
| Dance Party | Music and dancing … and partying. |
| Campfire Songs | A gathering around the campfire. Bring an instrument, your voice and/or just come and enjoy. |
| Body Painting | We’re going to have some fun painting each others bodies, faces etc. No requirement to be an artist. |
| Yoga | An offering of a relaxed version (Iyengar) and/or a vigorous version (Ashtanga) depending on people’s abilities/interests. |
| Fly Casting | Demonstration, discussion, and hands on introduction to fly rods and fly casting. |
| Communication & Jealousy Management (Talking to Your Green-Eyed Monster) | At this largely discussion-based session, we will learn about common communication strategies (and pitfalls); and specific methods to use those communication skills to help manage jealousy. Content is designed to be helpful no matter if you are the one who is often jealous, or the one more often helping someone cope with jealousy! |
| Aromatherapy Basics | This workshop will cover the fundamentals of how essential oil aromatherapy works and its benefits for emotional support. A variety of essential oils will be available for testing and discussion. Attendees will get to “make and take” a sample as part of the workshop. |
| Sailing | Come for a sail boat ride or lesson. (weather permitting) Additional times available by arrangement. Be prepared for the possibility of ending up in the lake (life jackets provided). |
| Ultimate Frisbee | Ultimate (Frisbee) a non-contact team sport played by players with a flying disc. Points are scored by passing the disc to a teammate in the opposing end zone. Other basic rules are that players must not take steps while holding the disc, and interceptions, incomplete passes, and passes out of bounds are turnovers. |
| Upcycling with Plarn | Introduction to making plarn (processing bags into yarn and telling the story behind the project) I’ll show you how you can help people by making sleeping mats out of re-purposed plastic bags and/or making other things such as water bottle holders, beer cozies, wine coolers and more…I will supply some plastic bags, scissors and large crochet hooks for the class. Requires crocheting knowledge. |
| Moment of Pause | 10 minute guided meditation on love, and a discussion about living with positivity and mindfulness. Helpful tips to get you centered and information to take with you. |
| Belly Dancing | Bring a scarf (preferably one with jingles) for your hips. If you have a veil, bring that too. Learn to move your hips in provocative, elegant ways. Men and women are both welcome. Showing your stomach is encouraged but not required. Spectators are welcome. |
| Blind Contour Drawing | Blind contour drawing is a drawing exercise, where an artist draws the contour of a subject without looking at the paper. People will pair off in groups of two or more. The purpose of blind contour study is to help see an object/subject in full detail. At the end, everyone will have an abstract portrait of their partner/s to take home with them. I will be providing the tools for the class (paper, pencils). |
| More Than Two Knots | Learn how to tie “more than two” knots. |
| Arts & Crafts | Learn basic knitting and/or crocheting, gimp/boondoggle lanyards, Friendship bracelets, Para-cord zipper pulls |
| Race & Gender in Polyamory | A discussion on race and gender with regard to polyamory. |
| Tie-Dyeing | Make some amazing, creative, and colorful pieces to wear or display! We’ll provide white clothing garments of all sizes and all supplies. If you have your own light-colored items, bring them along! No experience required. |
| Intro To BDSM | An introduction to bondage, discipline (or domination), sadism, and masochism. Topics covered will include, rope play, firecupping, wax play, impact play, and others. |
| Cuddle Party | Cuddle Party is a new kind of workshop/social event, that creates a safe place to give and receive non-sexual touch in a fun and affectionate setting. |
| Stars & Constellations | Star-and-constellation tour for the naked eye. May include a wide-field telescope. |
| Sock Wrestling | Each person wears one sock, first one to get the sock off the other person wins. |
| The Gender Binary | Everything You Know About Sex is Wrong, Part 1. This talk is funny and easy to understand and full of weird zoology. No scientific background needed. |
| Piano Sing-a-long | Join in as piano (keyboard) songs are played while we sing along. |
| Poetry Writing Workshop | Time to write about love, yourself/relationships, and a chance to share in the lovely, supportive, and non-judgmental space of PolyCamp |
| Queering Gender, Queering Relationships | “Queer” is a verb. Reclaimed as its status from the old slur, queer culture revisions gender and sexuality by challenging dominant binaries and dichotomies. As our genders queer, so do our relationships. What does that look like? What can that look like? Join the discussion and the process. Turn what we’re talking about and what we do inside out. |
| Polyamory, It’s Evolving Public Image & Where to Steer the Movement | Hosted by Alan MacRobert who has been following polyamory in the media for years and runs a popular site listing events around the world (http://polyevents.blogspot.com), including PolyCampNE. This will be a lively discussion on polyamory’s public image including ways to shape that image. |