Workshop Information

Thank you for making a special contribution to Elderflower! Your workshop provides Elderflower participants with the unique opportunity to meet you personally and benefit from your special skills and wisdom. Its also a great way to network.
Only some workshops are lead by seasoned and professional teachers and workshop leaders. If you have never led a workshop or discussion before, there are guidelines and ideas we have ready. Speak to the workshop coordinator if you would like some support. She is there to facilitate your needs.

Discounts

Discounts are available for approved workshops. Once your workshop is approved, you will receive a $15.00 refund if you have requested it. Please speak with the Workshop Coordinator for details. The maximum number of discounts available for one woman is 2 (total $30.00). You are welcome to do more than two workshops/rituals etc., but it is important to remember that at Elderflower every woman has an opportunity to relax and refresh herself away from the pressures of everyday living. We have other ways to make the festival affordable.

Questionnaire

The Workshop Questionnaire will help the workshop coordinator to do her job. Please fill it out completely and return to her as soon as you can. The workshop description is important. If you wish all Elderflower participants to read about your workshop, you must get the Questionnaire and Description in by the deadlines. [It is possible to choose to do a workshop later than the listed deadlines. However it will not be listed on the program, only on the schedule board at the festival]

Scheduling

The workshop coordinator will do her best to get you scheduled into one of your best times, however this is not always possible. If you have a conflict let her know as soon as you can.

Length

The workshops are generally one hour and 45 minutes in length. Shorter or longer times would be acceptable. If you are planning to do a workshop longer than three hours, please speak to the Workshop Coordinator.

Facilities

There are places for crafts that need to be done at a table. Electricity and running water are available in th dining hall. There may be a VCR available, if your workshop includes videos. You will need to bring your own boom box if you need to play taped music. Speak to the coordinator about your special needs.

Location

Once at the Festival, allow plenty of time prior to the workshop to check out the location. If it is not suitable for you, you can exchange locations after you have cleared it with the workshop coordinator. Be sure to announce the change at a meal, and mark the location change on the Board. Changing the time or day of your workshop is discouraged. Here is a short description of some of the usual workshop locations that we use at the Mendocino Woodlands.

Workshop Policies

Please don't use workshop time for selling merchandise. That activity is limited to the crafts area and we ask that you observe this. The Workshop Coordinator can put you in touch with the Elderflower Staff person in charge of the merchants' selling area.

Please end your workshop on time. Many of your participants will want to go to something else after your workshop. It is disruptive to have most of the group leave because they are sticking to a schedule. Another workshop is probably scheduled to happen in the space that you are occupying.

It has always been part of Elderflower's mission to have workshops and rituals that focus on the Goddess/Divine Female and women's empowerment. We know that women from many different traditions come to Elderflower. This diversity is one of the things that makes Elderflower a good festival. If your spirituality includes work with male energies, we ask that you not invoke them at Elderflower. Elderflower's mission emphasizes a focus on earth-based spirituality, and honoring the feminine.

If you wish to, you can restrict or specify requirements for the group. State your requirements in the program or on the schedule board. You can ask for a certain level of experience or familiarity with the subject. You can ask that everyone bring something in order to participate. You can set whatever standards you wish. Certainly feel free to offer something at an advanced or intermediate level and exclude beginners for the greater enrichment of those participating.

If a participant poses a serious problem or get into emotional difficulty, and she has no friend there to help her, you might want to refer her to festival staff. The Workshop Coordinator or the Well-being Coordinator or one of the volunteers might be able to help with ideas.

If you require supplies for your workshop, please bring some extra supplies and materials for those women who may be unable to afford to bring supplies.

You may NOT charge a materials fee for workshops. It is Elderflower's Policy that once a woman arrives at the festival, she should not have to buy or pay for anything unless she wishes to purchase something from a merchant. If you need a few dollars for material, you may apply to the Workshop Coordinator for a grant from Elderflower.

Here are some areas of interest and popular topics for workshops:

Arts & Crafts - useful or decorative objects, musical instruments, toys, charms, jewelry, use of found objects, expressive art based on dreams, emotions or symbols

Nature Study - plant identification walks, birdwatching, moonlight hike, star gazing, geology

Psychic Skills - meditation, telepathy, visualization, aura sensing, dowsing, scrying in water, mirrors or stones, tarot, rune or other forms of divination, dream circle, past life regression, angel & animal powers/guides/allies making & charging magical objects, crystals

Natural Healing - herbalism, homeopathy, aromatherapy, flower essences, massage, bodywork, laying on of hands, movement therapy, rituals for recovery from truma or addiction, life passages rituals, body image & sexuality discussions & ritual

Music - songs, chants, songwriting, power of music in spituality, percussion

Movement, Dance and Bodyspeaking - self-defense, martial arts, folk/ethnic dance, ritual movement, moving meditation, body language and energy work, games and sports

Religion, Mythology, Herstory - archetypes, ancestors, myths on a particular theme, Goddess Art, historical women/movements

Discussions - political/class issues, activism, cultural and spiritual diversity; life passages, personal identity; ecology; lifestyle; networking, etc.

Short Rituals

How to Contact Elderflower
P.O. Box 410236
San Francisco, CA 94141-0236
(510) 848-1460
infoatelderflower.org*

* [please note: to prevent the harvesting of our email addresses by spammers we have replaced the "@" symbol with "at" in all the email links. When you click on the link, your email program opens, and you can fix this by changing the address in the "To:" field before you send your message. Replace the "at" with an "@" symbol.]