Camp Harmony Survey: Looking Beyond 2022

Camp Harmony Survey: Looking Beyond 2022

September 2022

Based in part on results of a survey sent out earlier this summer to SFFMC members and recent camp participants—responding to general reluctance about indoor gatherings with group dining, sleeping, singing, and dancing—the Camp Harmony committee has determined that Camp Harmony 2022-23 will again, as in the past two years, be held online rather than in-person. We hope this situation will change in the future.  While we are deeply disappointed in reaching this decision after careful deliberation, there were too many variables for the months ahead to warrant the financial risk and planning quandaries in proceeding to organize an in-person camp this year.

With this follow-up survey (fill it out here!) we are reaching out to the Camp Harmony community to gauge preferences, possibilities, and limitations regarding future Camp Harmony gatherings.  Please take the few minutes required to complete and submit this survey.  You may have answered some of these questions in the previous survey; please answer them again here.  We depend upon your feedback for upcoming decisions, and assure you that all responses will be read and considered.

We are alert to certain basics that are valued by everyone in the community (and so are not going to ask you about them here): good meeting spaces and dance floor, nourishing food for various diets, accessible site and facilities, reasonable sleeping accommodations, and the fresh air and acoustic space of a rural retreat.

Be assured that Spring Harmony Online, newly established as our virtual spring gathering and soft fundraiser for camperships, will continue into the future. Welcoming our larger global community into our musical circles is valuable and important for the inclusive mission of SFFMC.

We face a number of challenges ahead—not only the unknown progression of the global pandemic but also the changing availability of venues that are appropriate for our needs and our enduring traditions spanning over a half century.  We had thought we’d found an ideal home at Walker Creek Ranch, but that site is no longer available to us over New Year’s.   The results from this survey will inform our decisions ahead.

— The SFFMC Camp Harmony Committee