Once upon a time we had a dream. It involved a couple hundred of you, 35 of us, a group retreat site in the San Bernardino Mountains and a weekend packed with workshops, panels, classes, meet-ups, activities and performances designed to inspire, educate, entertain and/or make you laugh — basically, it was the spirit of this website manifested in three entire dimensions mixed with a dash of old-fashioned Summer Camp goodness. We wanted to create a special (and affordable!) space where you could be yourself, enhance your relationships within the international queer community, support Autostraddle, be a kid again and make new friends forever.
It was a dream called A-Camp, and it was a dream that came true the last weekend of April, 2012 and again in September 2012 and again in May 2013.
Obviously, we’re doing it again — and this time, we have a website! That’s where you can find the FAQ, our camp blog, the talent/staff we’ve got on board so far and register the fuck out of your unit.
Details
When:
Wednesday October 9th – Sunday October 13th
Where:
Alpine Meadows Retreat Center in Angelus Oaks, California. It’s two hours from Los Angeles, 2.5 hours from San Diego, four hours from Las Vegas, five hours from Phoenix and eight hours from San Francisco. We’ll be running shuttles from LAX to the campsite from 11 AM to 2PM on October 9th and shuttles back to LAX at 11AM on October 13th.
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Who:
You weirdos! In May, our campers ranged in age from 18 to 50 and came from all over the world, including lots of Canadians and quite a few Australians and Europeans. Half our campers were over 25 and half were under. At least 60% of campers are brand new!
Also: us. We’ll be rolling out the staff roster and additional talent gradually over at A-Camp.org and making announcements here as events warrant.
Lodging:
You’ll be having the bestest biggest surprise slumber party of your life in fully insulated, carpeted & heated cabins with private bathroom/showers/baths and generously-sized bunk beds. You’ll be sharing these cabins with somewhere between 12 and 18 others, led by two counsellors from Team Autostraddle. Cabin groups are designed with your happiness in mind.
How
Tuition is $465 and is all-inclusive.
Just $75 down reserves your spot!
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Your tuition includes:
- Four nights lodging (linens included)
- Three meals a day with snacks – we now work with the chef to design a menu and options catered specifically for our group, with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options as well as meals for people with food allergies.
- Full access to a variety of activities, workshops, panels, sports, discussion groups, classes and arts & crafts. You’ll also have the option to get fun one-on-one stuff like an Alternative Lifestyle Haircut, One-on-One Career Mentoring or an Individual Style Consultation, all included!
- Crazy-fun evening entertainment from comedian DeAnne Smith and from our musical talent including the prolific rock star Somer Bingham and esteemed vocalist Haviland Stillwell.
- Tote bag packed with awesome swag including your A-Camp T-Shirt.
What the hell goes on at A-Camp?
For more information about what goes on at A-Camp, you can check out our recaps from April and September and May’s camp and testimonies from campers about the joy of the experience. (Keep in mind that this time around, things will be even more awesome.) But A-Camp is whatever you make of it: every camper writes their own story. Come with your heart wide open and do whatever you want.
A-Camp Daytime
Days at A-Camp are spent participating in a variety of programming options offered by the Autostraddle Team and Guest Facilitators — last camp’s activities included Mind The Generation Gap, Hip-Hop Dance, Safer Sex Q&A, Nerdcraft, Swagger 101, Kickass Heroines in Popular Sci-Fi/Fantasy, DIY Body Scrubs, Real Talk: Your Relationship Doesn’t Have To Suck, Erotica Writing, Car Repair, Music Trivia, T-Shirt Cutting/Stenciling and the Bisexual/Sexual Fluidity Panel. You’re welcome to attend as many or as few activities as you like and make your own path in the world. This camp we’re really excited to host the first-ever A-Camp Carnivalfestival.
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A-Camp After Dark
We open A-Camp with an all-camp campfire, but the rest of our evening entertainment changes every time. In past camps, we’ve enjoyed wet/riotous games of Faggity Feud With Julie & Brandy, hosted Staff Readings, laughed our asses off for DeAnne Smith and put on musical performances like Lilith Flair. What will happen in October? The best way to find out is to come to camp. Or check our A-Camp blog for updates.
We’ve Got Talent:
We’ll be rolling out our staff and talent gradually, you can check out the website for that. But here’s who we’ve got on board right now:
DeAnne Smith: DeAnne blogs for Autostraddle, but mostly she’s known for her hilarious stand-up and prolific career as a comic. DeAnne has appeared on teevee sets all over the universe including appearances on The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson, Last Comic Standing, Good News Week, Canada’s The Comedy Network and HBO Canada. She’s won and been nominated for heaps of awards all over the world, such as the Sydney Comedy Festival’s Time Out Best Newcomer and the Barry Award at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. DeAnne Smith NAILS IT.
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Grace Bonney:
Grace Bonney is the founder & CEO of Design*Sponge, which The New York Times declared “Martha Stewart Living for Millenials.” Founded nine years ago, Design*Sponge is now a cornerstone of the design and craft community, recently publishing Bonney’s Design*Sponge At Home. Grace has worked for publications such as Domino, In Style, New York Magazine, Better Homes and Gardens, Everyday With Rachel Ray and House & Garden as well as being a featured guest on Good Morning America and The Martha Stewart Show. She runs meetups for women running design-based businesses, founded the anual Design*Sponge scholarship to support up-and-coming art and design students, and came out two weeks ago!
Somer Bingham
Somer Bingham almost won Intern of the Year in a self-started possibly-rigged election at A-Camp May 2013 despite not being an actual intern. Also, she’s a rock star you may recognize from the esteemed television situation The Real L Word, where she appeared along with her then-band Hunter Valentine. Somer hosted Somer Fridays on Showtime and is currently one-half of ‘Electro-grunge unicorn-riding badasses from a landy of whiskey waterfalls,’ Clinical Trials.
How Is This Camp Not Like All Other Camps?
If you’ve been to camp before, rest assured that in October 2013 we’ll have plenty of new innovative stuff going on, including the first ever A-Camp Carnival/Festival Situation which will undoubtedly blow your mind. We’re especially excited about the addition of Grace Bonney to our A-Camp Team because she’s gonna take our programming to a whole new level. We’re amped to see what everybody comes up with and the guest facilitators we can rope in! The sky’s the limit. Just kidding! The limit does not exist.
Okay, I’m in. What Now?
If you wanna get on the saddle and trot on over to A-Camp with us this fall, here’s what you’ve gotta do:
1. For the low low price of a $75 non-refundable deposit, you can snag your spot for the fall festivities. Please read the instructions at the top of each registration interface page if anything seems remotely complicated. Your full tuition is due August 15th, but just contact us if you need an extension.
2. If registration fills up, you can put yourself on the waitlist. Be sure to put an e-mail address you check regularly and often, so you don’t miss our note if you’re up! We’ll also be doing a raffle on July 15th to let in ten people off the waitlist.
3. If you’re driving in on Wednesday, please plan to arrive between 2 PM and 5:30 PM. On Sunday, please plan to leave by noon.
4. If you’re looking for flights and will need transportation from the airport, be sure you can be at Terminal 6 by 2 PM on October 9th. If you’re getting in later than 2PM, you’ll have to make your own travel arrangements.
If you’ll need transportation to the airport on Sunday, October 13th, there will be shuttles leaving at 11am. It takes 2.5-3+ hours to get to the airport, so we won’t show up at LAX ’til 1:30 at the absolute earliest, so we advise against booking flights that leave before 4:00PM. If the 11AM shuttle won’t get you to the airport in time to make your flight, you’ll have to make your own travel arrangements. Options exists such as “getting a ride with another camper,” “bribing the kitchen staff” (no really this might be your best option) and “renting a car for a very low in-airport price.” Also, many campers stick around LA for the night or a few days or a few weeks, too, which is lots of fun!
5. If you need to cancel, you can just log back in to the registration interface and cancel!
Camperships
Your generosity has sent over 20 deserving humans to A-Camp over the past year, and you’ll have the chance to make dreams come true again for October. We’ll put up a post soliciting donations and applicants for Camperships the first week of July and the page will be put up on our A-Camp website. This year we’ll be partitioning some of the donated money into partial camperships as well.
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If you have questions, check out our FAQ!
What are you waiting for?
Register Now!
See you all in October!
not yet out in d closet ;( can’t take that long off….;(
Excited! I’ve never been able to make it to A-Camp before this one. Time to throw $75 into the wind and hope the rest of the money and airfare blows back in my face.
IT WILL
PS – Question about airfare. If I need a shuttle, do I need to give you guys flight information when I register or can I pay for shuttle later when I actually have a flight?
you can pay for a shuttle later when you actually have a flight
“Your registration is complete.”
I love the new design! and the website looks great.
the website looks fantastic! and the FAQ is great and addresses some concerns a lot of campers were having.
Agreed! Lovely design!
It does! So clean and pretty
yeah i’m looking at it now (had to register first, obvs) and it looks amazing, very pretty and complete!
Even on my phone, it looks fantastic!
Perler Beads, I’m coming for you!
yep. this hurts.
katie! aw. spring 2014?
i really, really hope so! depends on the dates, as always.
of course. but also, you need to come again anyway to complete a phd in autostraddling. I just made that up. (autostraddle university. write that down.)
Hurts so much. I hope to see the Runaways, Blackhearts and everyone at 5.0!
The website looks amazing! Very informative for the new kids. I went in May and it was incredible and all my friends are jealous. I can’t go in October and I’m jealous of everyone that can. I’m shooting for next spring!
FYI: One lil spot in the “Ok I’m in, what now?” section needs to be updated to say October, not May.
thank you! i fixed it!
Website is awesome, Helped a lot
I just paid my full tuition so Riese doesn’t have to toss and turn at night worrying I might not be attending.
THANK YOU ALICE
I do what I can, Riese. I do what I can.
YOU GUYS THIS MEANS ALICE IS GONNA LET ME INTERVIEW HER TO BE A STRADDLER ON THE STREET. SHE PINKY SWORE AT CAMP 3.0 THAT SHE WOULD LET ME INTERVIEW HER AT THE NEXT CAMP. IT’S ALL HAPPENING OMG IT’S ALL HAPPENING RIGHT NOW.
I see you actually remembered that pinky promise. Drat! ;)
please be sure to cover her in sweet baby ray’s for the photo
Knowing Alice, she probably thought she was pinky swearing to let you straddle her in the street.
i mean i will do that too, as long as it’s consensual.
My first thought was “I wanna watch” because I’m the ultimate creeper.
omg, I just can’t with you guys!
Alice I miss you right now. October is sooooooooo far away.
<3<3<3
Alice I can’t wait to see your face in October!
Just registered weeee! Now I have to go back to work, can’t even read this post for another few hours hahahaha
SO EXCITED
EVEN MORE EXCITED
Um…you had me at Carnivalfestival!
If ever there was a time to return to A-camp, its for a Carnifest!
omfg Bren I’m so excited you’re coming back.
bren if you don’t show up in october i will actually quit this planet.
no pressure or anything.
NO LOTS OF PRESSURE!! BREN YOU MUST COME BACK!
BREN!!! <3 <3
you’re all going to have such an amazing time!
and the new website… stunning. Absolutely stunning.
This is the second time in a row that my joyous time on top of a mountain with a bunch of queer women has been foiled by a straight wedding in Texas. CURSES! WOE!
… I guess it’s my Mom’s wedding this time though and she’s been waiting to get married for 20+ years, so fair enough. I’ll just have to help sponsor someone else.
Again!?!? Nooooo!
I KNOW right?!
I’ll just have to have another BBQ. If the mountain won’t come to Meghan… Meghan will just have to have all of the queer ladies in the area over to her house.
Me, too! I will be in Laredo for my straight cousin’s wedding during 4.0. MORE CURSES AND MORE WOE!
You could always come back to Toronto for World Pride 2014 after attending 5.0 :-)
I am going to start saving… for a trip to the US that coincides with A-Camp.
Mmm, me too. I’m thinking it’ll be 5.0 by the time I get there…
I’m aiming for 5.0 too… Hopefully we will both be there!
Look out, Mountain.
JEN WILL SAVE US FROM ALL THE BEARS.
(is it weird that i am hoping for a bear at a-camp 4.0 SO jen can save us?)
I would be honored to save you from a bear. Then I will sit the bear down and discuss why she feels violence is an acceptable means of expression. I suspect it will have something to do with her dad not really being around and her mom abandoning her when she was two. I will not hug her, though. That’s where I draw the line. Bears are very, very smelly.
we may need you to actually bring the pressure washer this time
I think of you every time I use a pressure washer. #truefacts
Oh thank god. It just didn’t feel right last time without you.
Take that anyway you want.
Are you coming back to us?!?
I may have been obsessively refreshing the page waiting for this all morning while talking with all my cabin mates via Facebook messenger. Now that I’m all registered I can go back to doing something productive. Like re-crafting my resume. Or watching the X-Files.
“I may have been obsessively refreshing the page waiting for this all morning while talking with all my cabin mates via Facebook messenger.”
This is more or less how the 2.0 Runaways operated on 3.0 reg day. A lot of us won’t be returning, so make us proud and keep having those FEELINGS.
WE WILL MAKE Y’ALL SO PROUD! And miss y’all so hard!
Also, we’ve got the feelings on lock down. And by that I mean we have the all the feelings all the time.
Scully>Resume
A-CAMP 4.0 FALLS ON MY BIRTHDAY!! I demand birthday kisses from everyone.
I can assure you that having an A-Camp birthday is the best kind of birthday.
omg we’re gonna sing to you so hard
Cake? Cake!
Well, registration complete, now I guess it’s time for that whole saving money thing.
It’s like 8 bucks a day until Aug 15. Start packing a lunch!
Gah, look at you. You’re so fucking good at shit.
UGH. why must I always have school stuff going on. This is like one month into me starting college and I just don’t know if I can miss classes. Last time it was a week from senior finals. Maybe I just need to sacrifice school for a few days to do this.
I am agonizing over whether to just do this and suffer whatever happens school wise. I think… I deserve this, I’ve spent 13 years in school so far and I’ve never had a problem catching up, I’m a really good student, I need learn to be a good camper now. I’m going!
BEST DECISION
CO-SIGN
Can’t wait to see all your adorable faces in October! Also I’m totally in love with the new website! :)
So. That’s my 21st birthday weekend. It’s like destiny! Now, if only destiny can make my airfare fall from the sky…
Because I want to spend my birthday with hundreds of lesbians in the mountains of Southern California. And by golly, I’ll do what must be done to make it happen.
WE WILL GET A BIRTHDAY BANNER FOR YOU AND IT WILL BE SPECTACULAR
“I like skittles.”
That’s totally less than 500 characters.
I don’t care what’s going on in my life on those dates, I’ll be there.
A-commune, huzzah!
Done! If anyone wants canned champagne you know who to get in touch with. All other booze requests should go through Alice ;)
See y’all in the fall.
They make canned champagne?
Hahahaha! True story! I love supplying booze!
Alice is basically the patron saint of A-Camp
Booze in the TARDIS cup! The best.
sophia coppola makes this canned champagne i used to drink on the streets of new york while thinking to myself hahaha everybody thinks i’m drinking red bull
Yes riese! I drink it when I go to the mall and everyone thinks I’m drinking a fancy energy drink.
ICONIC.
YOU REALIZE I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO PROCURE SOPHIA COPPOLA’S CANNED CHAMPAGNE FOR MYSELF SINCE THE ORIGINAL A-CAMP? please help me torre. i beg of you.
If I drive out again I can bring it. Just remind me closer to camp :)
“see y’all in the fall” made me so excitedddddd!
Im basically a poet.
And also soooo excited too!
Any folks who are coming down from Vancouver: for camp 3.0 we had a “Van to A-Camp” Facebook group to meet up and make arrangements for travel and such. Join in? https://www.facebook.com/groups/530213120333657/ (other BC folks are welcome too!)
I woke up at 5:30 in the morning just so I could register, oh man. Totally worth it though.
So, any other Australians/Melbourne peeps going?
Me! I am! Looking forward to meeting you!
#teamjetlag
Me too! Can’t wait.
!!!
Awesome!
I am super nervous but also SUPER EXCITED. Never been overseas before!
I WISH.
(Seriously, though, it’s worth the lack of sleep.)
I don’t think I’ve ever sprung out of bed at such a heinous time before… But so much excitement!
Definitely with you on the nerves, though!
And yes, I’m also a Melbourne girl!
WHOOO HELL YES. And here I thought I’d be the only one!
you guys SIX people from australia and one from new zealand have already signed up and we’re not even full yet!
that’s so rad
Ok, so question, how long do you think before registration fills up? I know this is just me being silly, but I feel like I need a few days to digest that I’m probably going to sign up for this even though I’m super nervous/scared/excited to do so!
you should swallow the nervous fear and GO FOR IT for real!
but for real it’ll probs fill up within the next two days, we’ve got 91 people signed up as of this moment (1:18 PM PST) — but we’re also leaving some spots open and are gonna do a raffle on july 15th to let in ten people off the waitlist, and if you’re pretty high up on the list then you’ll probs get in soon? but if you wanna be extra-positive that you’ve got a spot asap i’d recommend registering soon. i’ll keep the thread abreast of where we’re at!
haha, “abreast”
That’s like boobs.
Kind of depressing. The only way I can go is if I can get a campership. :(
Kacey!!! I need you at camp. No one is better than you at calming me down…Especially during my Jagermeister induced tearful twerking <3
AHHHHH I REALLY WANT TO GO but won’t know if i can until i figure out exactly what will or won’t be happening job-wise for me this fall. fingers, toes, and all other cross-able appendages are being crossed in hope that it will work out!
Half the fun of every new camp announcement is watching the comment section explode in joyous, wonderous, glorification like a vagi…Uh..You get my point.
I’m all registered! I’m so excited. Now I just have to hope that the universe helps me figure out how to pay for the rest of it. Even if I have to sell a kidney I am going.
A) Your username is the best user name.
B) Don’t sell a kidney.
Kidney no but plasma is doable
I am not above that.
( C) Still come because we can’t wait to meet you, but just don’t sell a kidney)
Ali, how do you manage to always be the most excited voice of reason? Ali makes being reasonable look cool.
*whispers to self* Next year this will happen. I will start saving and will have the money for flights next year. Next year.
YES PLEASE NAME TWIN. YES PLEASE.
You can always apply for a campership!
I am the saddest human. :(((((
Umm, let’s talk about how Laura Wooley is confirmed on the staff page!! Laura you’re coming back to us!! Excitement abounds!
Everyone who wants to talk Sociology at camp come find us!
My credit card has been forgotten at home and I can not make a paypal until I have it!!! oh no! saaaaad day! I hope there is still a spot left tonight, because I will make it work with my job schedule even if I have to freaking beg!
you’ll make it!
HOLY SHIT. Ok, I just went for it. Registration Complete.
After A-Camp, this decision will be marked in your personal history as THE BEST DECISION EVER.
I know you have no reason to trust me when I say, TRUST ME! BEST. DECISION. EVER. This is quite honestly the most welcoming community I’ve ever encountered. And the staff are phenomenal. I went to the first camp mainly to see if they would manage to pull off making this online community a 3D reality. They more than managed it. THEY NAILED IT! And they keep getting better at it. Go. Everyone, go! Do this thing!
Registered. Is anybody else from Toronto going?
I’m “from” Toronto but don’t live there. Seems like there’s always about 2 dozen Canadians?
I’m from the GTA, I WISH I was going again (attended 2.0 and 3.0). You just made the best decision.
AHHHHHH!!! I just registered! so so so so so excited!
WE’RE EXCITED TOO! :0)
we are 45% full as of 3:24 PM PST!
wow! ok, now I feel less ridiculous for registering from my phone while in the middle of taking notes at a meeting.
Haha don’t feel ridiculous. I religiously refreshed my browser from the middle of the desert because I was afraid that by the time I was done working no spots would be left!
Crying forever because Pacific Ocean
You’re a swimmer!
I’M NOT THAT GOOD
How will you know unless you try?
I am making my first comment here to say I just registered for A-Camp and I am so excited because I have been lurking here for like a year and hi omg CAMP!!!
HI OMG CAMP!
I AM SO EXCITED I KEEP GRINNING AND LAUGHING OUT LOUD AND SCARING MY CATS
I lurked Autostraddle for like over two years before my first comment/Camp. I can’t wait to meet a fellow former-lurker! Also, looking at pictures of your cats -is that ok? I hope that’s okay.
That’s sooo more than okay. I’ll start preparing the slideshow of their cutest moments right now.
I’m another lurker coming out of the woodwork to register. We’ll have to form a club or something…
Now you guys know where I’ll be in October
I am still giggling at this comment, an hour after reading it. (Okay not really or I’d be exhausted but in my head I still am.)
no this was really really funny i am still laughing too
just try not to steal anything, ya big klepto!
do it rockapella!
alright tell the truth for reals: is this basically a school kids club and anyone over 35 is gonna feel like an ancient and possibly creeper dinosaur? What percentage of A-campers are in this older age group? Thanks.
I’d like to go, but I’m imagining how much of a drag it could be to feel like an outsider at A-camp, so thanks for your honest take on this from previous campers/staff.
I’ll be 34 in october. We can hang out, maybe?
Well, I’m over 35 so if you go we can be creeper dinosaurs together. Even if it is lots of young people that’s great because young people are awesome. And old people are awesome. Okay I just think everyone is awesome. (Also I have never been to camp before so I am not really helping you with your decision making, am I? Oops sorry…)
I went to the first 2 camps and both times our cabin were all over 30.
(i’ll be 32!) about 15% of our campers are 31+, but fall camp generally skews older. all our talent and most of our senior staff and a lot of our regular staff is 30+. also somer bingham is 34 and she had the best time of all the times at a-camp in may, according to somer bingham. you will definitely not be a creeper! you will have the most fun. (as digger can attest)
Speaking as a senior citizen of Camp, I did have the best time. Truly. And I even got to take home something from Camp as a parting gift. But I don’t keep her in my hall closet like I do the Camp swag bags.
It would be cool to have updated statistics like that with the camp updates. Like, what % of campers are from what geographical area and % age brackets.
I am definitely over 34 and have been at all three camps (1 as a camper/2 as staff). Yes, you will be older than the majority of campers BUT there will still be lots of people your age! I don’t think you will feel ancient or like an outsider. I think that age is something less important at A-Camp than the many other things that bring people there if that makes sense?
I’m 30 and I was far from the oldest at either of the camps I went to!
Ahhhh I’m so excited to come back to camp!! RUNAGAYZ 4EVAAAA!!!! But seriously, I love you all so much, and A-Camp was the greatest experience of my life, and October can’t get here fast enough.
THIS IS THE FIRST CAMP I CAN’T GO TO
AND I DON’T KNOW WHAT THIS FEELING IS
BUT IT HURTS
Carnivalfestival?!!?!?
ok so I have a weather question: Are the mountains of California cold in october? Also, would a Minnesotan such as myself think it was cold?
Strangely, it felt more chilly in May than last September. At least to me. Pack layers, etc. and you’ll be fine.
a minnesotan such as yourself would not think it was cold
i say this as an ex-michigander
california is weird, like october is more summery than august in some places
it’ll probs be in the 70s or 80s in the day and the 50s at night
i feel like it was pretty hot in september
Thanks guys!!! =)
Don’t suppose Camperships cover flights to and from England, do they? When I finally go and explore the US I am definitely, 100%, arranging my trip around A-Camp. See you all after about a decade of saving up!
55% full as of monday 7:00 PM PST
Look at this beautiful thing you’ve made happen! I hope you see how amazing both it and you are!
…son of a butt. I don’t get paid till next week, so at this rate it looks like I’ll be waitlisting it!
there’s a really good chance you will get in off the waitlist! i think almost our entire waitlist got in last time? because plans change and people have conflicts and all that jazz? do not despair, if you wanna be at camp in september then you will be, I BELIEVE IN YOU.
I think you’ll be fine. I am in the same boat and as a result of witnessing the progression of the waitlist last camp have a adopted this super zen “que sera, sera” mindset. I want to go to camp. I will hopefully at some point get off the waitlist and if I just plan as if I am already going it can work out or I’ll have $465 and a plane ticket and that is cool too.
i think there might still be spots at the end of the week! and if not, you’ll get in off the waitlist eventually. we usually do get through the entire waitlist by the time camp comes around.
I literally sprinted home after my morning class and sweated all over my computer to register. I frightened my cats for you, A-camp.
worth it
TWO MONTHS. If I was born a mere two months earlier.. and could skip days off college. Alas. Sucks to be too young.
I canceled my May registration because I was short on funds and also didn’t know how to explain what I was going to do and why to my parents (living at home at age 23 sucks, folks). I still want to go and I still have much the same problem although I did just get a job so maybe I will have funds eventually. But then I am also trying to save up to move out…
ARGH.
(This has been today’s ineffectual complaining. We now return you to your regularly scheduled Autostraddle.)
you should probably come to camp
I live at home too, at 22. LA (and california in general) is where I am saving up to move to in like 2 years. I told my Mom I was going with a friend (who knows I’m gay) to California in October. She said why? and I said because I have some money and need a vacation with a friend. Is it a lie? sort of. However I feel like going to A-camp means I will be making a whole lot of new friends (!!!!!!) who I will be vacationing with at camp… so its not really and I still get to go and no more questions. =)
Good Luck!
http://develop.autostraddle.com/top-10-lies-you-told-to-get-to-acamp-137527/
Employ any or all of these lies.
Hope to see you at Camp!
oh god I just registered god help my bank account I am going to Autostraddle 4.0 and I am inordinately excited except for the part where my 21st birthday is literally TWO DAYS after the end of camp and I was really hoping it would be on the following weekend so that I could celebrate my birthday with queers on a mountain but that’s okay I’m still pretty psyched and by “pretty psyched” I mean I am currently getting in a whole lot of practice at Having Feelings
you will have the best of times!
i’m in a serious state of turmoil i have been freaking out and seriously considering just plunking down the deposit but i am really concerned about my ability to come up with the rest of the money, airfare especially just puts me right over the edge. i want to go so badly, it sounds like such an amazing experience and i miss this kind of community so much!
wow so uh apparently i dont care about responsible decisions because i just put down my deposit.
hopefully going to camp???
HOPEFULLY GOING TO CAMP!!!
by which i mean we are all very hopeful and excited that you are going to camp
i am just this quiet little lurker who has really really wanted to go ever since i first heard about it but i am going to make this work!!
Ahh just registered!! Totally peeing my pants! Don’t worry, I’ll bring plastic sheets to camp to catch my excitement.
amazingggg
So sad I don’t have the money this time! Also, hoping that next time A-Camp will be happening at a time when people who can’t take time off work (like teachers!) can get there…
(please please please?)
Woohoo! I’m registered! Can’t wait for October!
I know! Is it too early to start the countdown?
I don’t think it’s ever too early!
My countdown started the minute I registered! Never to early!
Website is boss. Everybody is so cute. See you at Camp 10.0 you lovely people (main feeling is not sad, is excited). SOON.
I just went from being afraid to comment and being a lurker extraordinaire to registering for camp and planning an entire west coast road trip to go along with it. Because camp and I’m inspired and overwhelmed and I just wanted to join in with everybody cause I have too many feelings to even process a thing!
Autostraddle is awesome and road trips are awesome and the West Coast is awesome and I like everything this comment chooses to be
GODDAMNIT GRAD SCHOOL.
I would have only missed ONE DAY of class, but because of the way my program is set up I would have to RESTART THE ENTIRE SEMESTER.
grr.
Just registered! Ugh, I’m so excited! This is going to be my first camp, and I’m coming by my lonesome, so be sweet to me! Not like I have any doubts tho ;)
you will have tons of fun!
I already know it’s going to be truly amazing. I can’t wait to be around so many lovely, beautiful fellow queer women :)
You’re going to have a blast!!
Neat! It’s not really my thing, personally, but I do hope that everyone who goes has a good time. After all, west coast = best coast.
HELP! I’m considering registering for my first A-Camp but won’t be able to arrive at LAX until Wednesday at 8pm. I have 3 classes on Wednesday and Thursday and want to avoid missing both days – hence the late Wednesday arrival.
Since the camp site is far away from LAX, it seems like the shuttle is the only cheap way to get there…are there (or in the past has there been) any cheap alternatives for the people who are getting in a few hours or even a day later than the scheduled A-Camp shuttle pick up? (I did not see this in FAQs).
Any other Philly straddlers making it out this time? We should be friends!
See you in October, I’m coming from London, UK. :)
As a poor English college student, I am looking at my bank balance and weeping lots. But maybe if I won a campership I could afford the plane ticket?! I’ve watched the last two camps happen without me and now I’m so desperate to join in. Gosh.
*crosses fingers and hopes*
I just put commenting on AS more and saving for a-camp 5.0 at the top of my priorities list for the next year.
Plane tickets have been bought! yay! Also if anyone else is coming from Minnesota, I did two one way tickets and it was so much cheaper! Flying out on Southwest is very inexpensive, and there are like 4 flights that get in before 2pm that day. Flying back is trickier, I chose Delta because Southwest didn’t have any flights after 3 pm, and the other airlines that did were all really expensive.
Can’t wait to meet everyone!
Glad I’m not the only one who already bought tickets! I’ve also been making mental shopping lists, packing lists, considering new hair styles, what color nail polish goes best with being in the woods and all of the other minor details it’s probably way too early to be thinking about.
In addition, I’ve been doing sums in my head trying to figure out how many bottles of wine I can fit into a suitcase with a volume of ~6800 cubic inches and a weight limit of 70lbs…It might be more efficient to go with box wine though…
HAHA! I am just too excited! And also, I have terrible luck with plane ticket prices… they never seem to go down just up up up for me!
Also, they said in the FAQ section of the A-Camp website that if you are taking a shuttle from the airport that they will be stopping at a grocery store to get food and alcohol if we want it! So save the room, buy booze at the store when we land and pack more outfits =)
Ahh, that’ll teach me not to skim the FAQ and actually read everything. Though, I’m not hurting on space (very frequent traveler, so I get 2 free 70lb bags), but buying locally sounds better so I don’t have to lug two giant heavy suitcases on the train to the airport and then across the camp to my cabin on arrival.
I know I’m a little late to the party but I just registered! I need to start preparing myself now to meet so many amazing queer folk! October can’t come soon enough!
This may have been answered in this amazing sea comments, but when is the A-Camp after October, in spring 2014?
Can’t get it together for this one, and have been meaning to go for what feels like years!
Also, wait, there are shuttles from LAX go to the campsite?!
(Or are they regular shuttles that simply get you out of the insanity that is LAX and onto rent-a-cars…)
They don’t announce the dates until after or during the current camp and they probably don’t even know themselves right now. I think it’s safe to say that we won’t know until October – and that the spring 2014 camp will be either in April or May, as they usually are.
Shuttles go directly to/from camp. It’s super easy.
Quick question. Are there going to be lockers of any kind for use to use to keep our valuables in. I ask mainly because I don’t think I can make it through a 7 hour flight with my sanity in tact. Haha.
Without my computer that is! Whoops.
Nope, no lockers. I feel like I say this a lot, but we’re a pretty good bunch at camp. Cameras and phones get returned to people, unattended macbooks sit in plain sight without disappearing, and I’ve never had any of my personal belongings get stolen after three camps. Which isn’t to say that you shouldn’t be cautious, but… you’ll probably be fine.
Oh, great. Thank you for the info. I already know everyone is amazing. I’m just super paranoid(It’s the city girl in me). Hahaha. I can’t wait to meet all of you :)
Yessss! First-time camper…wayyyy to excited! All of my friends went to the last camp and none are going to this one… Should be interesting!
I want to be here! But I can’t in October… Will A-Camp continue to be an every six months-ish thing?
Holy crap! I just signed up for camp. I have never been to ANY CAMP EVER, YOU GUYS.
Ok, so this is the beginning of step 1. Step 1 is to quit being such a lurker. Step 3: go to A Camp. I don’t know what step 2 is, but I am going to figure that mess out and DO IT. And then GO TO A-CAMP someday. Someday, y’all.
I’ll be at school :( Damn
If only I was in the USA for this, do a camp in the UK please :D xxx
I know this question is a bit late but I can’t find the info and it really should be somewhere so: How accessible is this event to disabled people? would someone who uses a wheelchair be able to go? Is there accessibility info anywhere on the website? I just can’t find it (but let’s be honest it’s still 6 something AM I can’t even find my cereal)
ooohhh i so want to go! i’m seriously applying for an exchange semester at my uni to be in the us next year, so hoping to go then. northern Europe is a fucking expensive place to fly from (and omg the time difference. but most of all OMG 3rd year of law school. KILLING ME!)