Campfire Stories Microfestival - 2018
This final weekend of August saw us packing up our van in preparation for its first ever European adventure, a drive from the UK to the Netherlands and the second ever Campfire Stories Micro Festival.
Launched in 2017, Campfire Stories is a small outdoor festival held in the beautiful setting of the Roggebotstaete, an hours drive north of Amsterdam. The festival brings together a group of people who share their stories around the campfire, deliver workshops and teach new skills all designed to inspire, inform and help foster a deeper connection with nature and our environment. We were delighted to be asked along for the second time to teach a woodcarving workshop in the peaceful surroundings of Roggebotstete's young woodland.
The line up for 2018 included a few friends of ours from the UK and Holland that we were looking forward to seeing again, some who were attending for the first time and some who'd we'd met at 2017's event, alongside lots people we were yet to meet who's stories we were really excited to hear.
Rachel and Jody from Another Escape magazine, whom we've had the pleasure of meeting and working with before, were there to share some of the inspiring stories of humans and nature and important lessons they have learned since starting the magazine five years ago. Stef Roberts, an animator and outdoorsman who has spent the last 4 years sleeping outside in a hammock was also there to tell his incredible story - we met Stef at Another Escape's first 'Wilderness' event last year and it was great to have the chance to catch up with them all again around the campfire.
A highlight of ours from 2017's event was the wild foraging tour with Maidie who runs her own wild cocktail company, Bloesembar. She returned this year with yet more delicious concoctions, more stories from her adventures in creative wild fermentations and another tour of edible (and non-edible!) delights to be found around the estate.
Amongst the many new stories we heard, we were particularly blown away by the talk given by Rupert and Elle who have created 'Living Alive' a company dedicated to bring 'More Awe' into our daily lives as a way to benefit us as human beings but also our planet and nature as a whole. They are taking their talk on the road and if you get the chance to see them, do. You won't be disappointed.
We joined forces with Stef on the Sunday to lead an impromptu 'Into the Woods' workshop, showing Stef's hammock set up and teaching people how to make fire using a range of techniques, looking at the trees and other plants along the way and showing how they could be used in fire making and other outdoor tasks.
Add to the above Ukulele lessons, yoga, writing tuition, ice bath training, tiny house building, photography, incredible local food cooked over fire, stories of sustainable business models, diversity, happiness, micro adventures, beer brewing and much more, and you can see that Campfire Stories is a truly inspiring, enriching and joyful event.
Thank you, Selfa and Esther, you've created something really special. Until next time...