“Perfect. Flawless. Etc. Hospitality off the chart.” Matt Drury
TribOriginal is joyfully housed at beautiful Camp Tekoa in Hendersonville, NC, a quaint mountain town close to Asheville and the airport.
All TribO packages include fabulous food, cabin camping, lake access and festivities galore. Kids packages include over 20 hours of childcare. All Access packages offer unlimited access to all classes, at all times. You CAN choose to upgrade from Limited to All Access when the temptation to fully engage in the fun becomes too great!
Security, Medical Needs, Parking & Other Concerns
Locked out of your cabin? Dragon in your trash? Medical issue? Feel free to ask for help!
A walkie-talkie (with operating instructions) is stationed at the Information Oasis in the Lakeside Lodge at all times. For Big Questions, talk to Onça directly; I want to help you!
Lost & Found Lost items can be put under the table at the Information Oasis in the Lakeside Lodge. Anything left one week after TribO will be donated/given to Orcs as chewtoys.
The Law of the Land What is legal out there, is legal here, and vice versa. Please respect our beautiful festival site, and keep this event family-friendly in every way.
Parking For everyone’s safety, TribO parking is strictly enforced. Unless you want your windshield marked with cheap whipped cream, and your name announced at dinner, you will corral your car appropriately. We mean it.
TribOriginal Nocturnal Person on Call We keep one sane person ‘on call’ all night every night in case of emergency. If something needs our attention, call us from the Walkie-Talkie at the Information Oasis. TBA.
The Site
Camp Tekoa offers us a beautiful lake with a gently sloping beach, with sparkly red paddleboats, heated cabins, a small theatre, costume studio, dining hall, vast vending pavillion, fire circle, full contemporary playground, numerous cozy fireplaces, and inviting docks for lounging as we watch the foliage change.
Lakeside Lodge This multi-purpose space is located just above the lake, offering a gorgeous view of the water, the beach, and that stunning mountain foliage. It has sweeping cathedral cielings, a stage, and is home to our kitchen, Dining Hall, and all of our community meals, the evening shows, and to movement classes every day.
Laurel Lodge This is our second space for movement classes, with warm wood and exposed beams. It is always the Hafla hotspot. There are beds for 35 late-night owls here as well.
Music Lodge A historic log cabin overlooking the lake, this is an amazing building. It has a good-sized sitting room to accommodate our musicians, and some private but unheated cabin rooms.
Village Pavillion. This is a simply enormous, two-story high covered permanent gathering area directly adjacent to the Lakeside Lodge Dining Hall and the lakefront. It also features a wraparound porch with numerous rocking chairs. There are classes offered here as well as our glorious vendors.
Laurel Pavillion This is another splendid covered porch and gathering area, located right behind Laurel Lodge. It has an enormous hearth for fires and houses many more classes, especially of the lecture, discussion, and business types.
Kid’s Den in the Music Lodge This is the secret fort for the kids. A cozy room tucked in back of the Music Lodge, the kids will be living, learning and playing with style! Camp Tekoa also has an incredible full-sized contemporary playground for kids of all ages.
Ursa Minor Coffee adjacent to the Lake they run a brisk business in wholesome, awesome, baked goods for sale, tea & kick-ass coffees, juices, and hilarious anecdotes. After last year’s great crowd response, Eli swears they’ll have alot more treats in 2012. They have the corner on the caffeine market, so if you are a coffee-fiend, bring the moolah and the love!
“The cafe was an awesome addition! So excited they are coming back next year!!” Jen Amann
Lodging
Most cabins sleep from 6-14 people each. HEATED, solid, cozy wooden structures with electricity, cubbies, bathrooms, and showers, they are all a short walk from the site of meals, learning, shopping and playing. There are also additional showerhouses and abundant hot water!
Cabin spaces will be assigned prior to the event. If you have special needs, every effort will be made to assist you. We also work to accommodate groups being placed together. To do this you MUST enter the SAME group name when registering. To make a home away from home for everyone, We can try to account for Night Owls and Early Birds.
TribO is in the mountains, and campers are advised to pack for both hot and cold weather, and bring tapestries to personalize and privatize your bunks.
For folks wishing to tent, car camp, or bunk offsite but stay close to the action, a number of options are available in lovely and nearby downtown Hendersonville. Please note that fees remain the same whether you opt to stay onsite or off.
Meals
All meals are included in the cost of registration, and are lovingly provided by our resident culinary genius, Chef Suzy of Gypsy Queen Cuisine. Bringing her worldly sensibility and whole foods awareness to the task of feeding all of our festival goers, she skillfully embraces food challenges of every sort, even gluten allergies and night-shade intolerance.
Please contact Chef Suzy in advance with any dietary questions, needs, or concerns at gypsyqueencuisine@gmail.com.
Remember that all of TribO’s coffee and sweets come from the coffee man – or from your own secret stash.
A Sample Menu We strive to offer up an energetically balanced menu to fuel a fun weekend of movement. We gather for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for meals in this vein:
- West African Sweet Potato Soup
- Kichadee Rice
- Catfish and Chard
- Migas (mexican eggs and tortillas)
- Roast Kabocha Squash with mustard greens
- Baked Garlic Hummus
- Roasted Root Veggies, garlic and tomato with Herbed Polenta.
The ‘Every Darn Thing To Bring To TribO’ list
This event aims to nourish your secret self; bring whatever enables you to have a safe, excellent, educational and relaxing vacation getaway. In the interest of creating a harmonious and family-friendly event, we ask that everyone remember that all the laws of the Outside World still apply at TribO. Illegal out there, illegal in here.
Although indoor spaces abound, be prepared for an all-weather experience. These North Carolina mountain days & nights can be splendidly warm, bracingly cool, even downright damp.
Lodging, Potties, Showers, and Stuff
You do not need to bring a tent unless you choose NOT to stay in a cabin. Please note that your rate stays the same, whether you RV, cabin camp or tent it. TribOriginal offers heated wooden cabins with wooden floors and electricity. Each cabin has shower and potties with curtains. You won’t have to travel more than 25 feet indoors to meet basic water needs. Ample TP will be provided, but do bring towels and shower shoes.
Every cabin has beds-a-plenty, either bunk beds or metal-spring cots, all with mattresses. Bring your own bedding; sheets, sack or blankets, pillows. Couples or families may wish to bring inflatable beds to suit their needs, as the majority of beds onsite are singles.
The savvy camper may wish to bring tapestries to hang around their bunk or over their windows, for a more palatial and cozy stay.
Groups If you wish to camp with particular folks, please determine a group name “Gryffindor”, “Slytherin” etc., and put that in your registrations so we may ensure you are assigned cabin space together. If you have special needs of any variety, please provide us with that info at the time of registration as well: small children, disabilities, hopes of sleeping in or rising early, etc.
Sample Packing List Again, your packing list will depend on your interests in being here: training, performance, unwinding, sword-fighting? swimming and sunbathing? learning to juggle? traveling with friends and family?
Personal Care
- packaged wipes
- biodegradable soap
- shampoo, conditioner
- toothbrush and paste
- mouthwash, tongue scraper
- towels & washcloths
- hairbrush, comb
- makeup & remover
- shaving gear
- mirror
- feminine hygiene products
- contacts and solution
- glasses
- hair ties
- emergency sewing kit
- scissors
- safety pins, bobby pins
- lip balm
- deodorant
- bug spray
- sunblock, sunburn lotion
- hand lotion
- Weekend Clothing
- rain poncho or tunic
- cloak/coat
- comfortable walking shoes/boots
- work-out clothes
- hang-out clothes
- performance or late-night garb
- pajamas
- walking-to-the-shower clothes
- underwear
- jewelry
- extra socks
- extra clothes in waterproof container
- swimsuit
Extras
- address book
- cell phone & charger. at & t has no service onsite
- percussive and melody instruments, zills, Turkish Spoons
- fire arts, circus and dance props
- veils for double veil class
- sword for sword classes
- knee pads
- needlework, craft supplies
- camera and lots of film
- laptop if needed; wifi is available onsite
Personal Use
- sleeping bag, sheets, blankets
- doublebed airmattress (optional) & pump
- pillow/s
- kids sleeping stuff as needed
- flashlight/s
- earplugs
- wallet with ID
- phone card
- spare keys
- notebook & writing implements for classes
- hand fan
- staff/walking stick
- sunglasses
- prescription & other medications
- copies of prescriptions allergy/hay fever medications
- aspirin, ibuprofen
- Cash and credit for vendors and other costs
- site pre-registration receipt
- maps/directions