Sierra Wildfire Song & Story Fest:

 After the Fire …

July 29 – August 4, 2023

Camp Peaceful Pines, Dardanelle, CA

A Family Camp featuring Brethren musicians and storytellers on the sunny slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains!

Twenty-six years ago, Camp Peaceful Pines hosted the first Song & Story Fest, and twelve years later a second one.  Now we return, to sing amid the ashes under the light of a billion stars and tell stories around the campfire once more.  Just five years ago, the surrounding area was devastated by a raging wildfire, but Camp Peaceful Pines survived due to some prudent thinning of dead trees and the hard work of smoke-jumpers that came to the rescue!  So, this Fest will be one of celebration, but also of contemplation, in a world littered with the scars of many fires.  And it seems like the fire has gone out of our country, our church, even ourselves in a number of ways.  We are left asking, So what’s next?  More fires?  Rest? Renewed hope?  Passion for change, or simply resignation to an ever-warming future?

Psalm 19:1-3 proclaims: “The heavens are telling the glory of God and the universe proclaims God’s handiwork.  Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares understanding…  their voice goes out through all the earth.”

So, What are we hearing?  How is God trying to move us in a time of conflagration, global warming, and the scorched earth policies being pursued by many?  Can you hear God calling you to the mountain to lift up song and spirit in grace and gladness amidst the ashes?  Answer the call! Join us and the moon and stars as we sing together in wonder and praise!

  Storytellers, Musicians, and Workshop Leaders:

Rhonda & Greg Baker    Hannah Button-Harrison  

Matt Guynn     Bill & Jacob Jolliff    Erin & Cody Flory Robertson   

Kathy Guisewite    Jonathan Hunter   Anna Lisa Gross

Katie Loomis-Adams  Mike Stern  Barbara West 

Celebrate the Light of God with us at Peaceful Pines!

An Intergenerational Camp for All Ages -

Single persons and families of any size and shape will enjoy this combination of performance and participation in the mountains of California’s Sierra Nevada.

Mornings - intergenerational gatherings and worship will be followed by workshops for adults, children, and youth to help us:

• Reconnect with the God of all creation and with each other
• Tell the stories that make for peace and rekindle faith
• Sing the words of our hearts in gratitude for the unceasing power of life
• Root and ground ourselves in the Biblical story
• Deepen our connections with each other and the earth
• Celebrate peace, creation, and life
• Dance in circles, lines, and squares
• Learn the skills of peace-making and justice-seeking

Afternoons - will be free for family time, recreation, story swaps, and music-making.

Evenings - campfires, snacks, and concerts or a folk dance. 

Song & Story Fest #27

This is the twenty-seventh summer in a row for these Song and Story Fests and marks our return to the place where we started, Camp Peaceful Pines.  The Fest will begin on Saturday evening July 29 with supper at 5:30 pm, an opening campfire, and some music and dancing.  We’ll close the Fest on Friday morning, August 4, after breakfast, worship, and hugs.  This should give ample travel time both before and after the Fest from and to wherever.

On Earth Peace will again co-sponsor the Fest, providing leadership and administrative support.

Camp Peaceful Pines is located between Lake Tahoe and Yosemite National Park, 7 miles off CA Route 108 and west of Sonora Pass (near Dardanelle) in the beautiful Carson-Iceberg Wilderness Area.  The Camp features rustic cabin camping amidst the pines at 6200 feet above sea level.  There will be plenty of sun, hiking, clear skies, a river for fishing and wading.  Except for two close-in handicap accessible cabins, one with kitchen and shower for persons with limited mobility, cabins are not insulated or heated, so a warm sleeping bag or blankets are required, as folks at the first Fest found out (but we will be a month later and warmer this time)!  Hiking, Basketball, Volleyball, Four Square, Horse Shoes, Ping Pong and chipmunk feeding are the local sports.  Additional information about the camp can be found at www.camppeacefulpines.org .   

Cabins with 8-14 plywood bunks with mattresses are scattered in the woods.  You will have to share cabin space with other individuals or families so please indicate anyone that you want to share space with on your registration. There are a couple of cabins with bathrooms inside, so indicate your need for one of these. Please bring your own bedding and towels as the Camp doesn’t have these.  Hot showers are provided in common bathhouses.  RV or tent camping is available on site with some electrical hookups, but the electricity goes off every night at 11:00 pm.  Camping is also available at the Sand Flats Forest Service Campground just across the road ($11/night, no electricity either).  If you live nearby, please bring a lawn chair to sit in.

Please indicate if you want to eat Vegetarian. If you have special dietary, health, or housing needs, please note them on your reservation and we’ll do our best to meet them.

Let us know if you need to be placed in the accessible cabin or have a CPAP machine that you need to plug in to an auxiliary generator.

Campers will be expected to help serve food, wash dishes, and do other clean up.   

Bring a Table Grace to add to our repertoire.

Contact Clara McGilly at [email protected] if you have a craft project to bring and lead.

Registration for Song and Story Fest at Camp Peaceful Pines is now available, using this online form. 

If you have any questions, please email [email protected]