Only deep in stillness can one hear life passages, when the clamour has subsided, when the tumult is becalmed. Listen past the ancient silence, strain to the subtle symphony, the immediacy of life beneath the surface.
Hear it? The cackle of flames at the hearthstone, the song of wolves in the distance, the steady drip from rooftops into a still pool. Warm breasts rise and fall 'neath blankets of snow; furry ears prickle through sleep at the creaking, the cracking, as fine cracklings form starry patterns in ice, reflecting starlight through crazed shadows of naked branches.
A crystalline song reminding us that spring bursts through the deepest winter 'ere long....
Come join us at WinterStar.
Registration for the eighteenth annual WinterStar Symposium opens Thursday, February 22 at 6 PM in the Hospitality House (Cottage 17), followed at 7:30 with two simultaneous parties!
At the Lodge we'll hold our now-traditional Chameleon Pool-Party Mixer, so you can enjoy Atwood's luxurious pool, hot-tub, and sauna. Take your time, 'cause we'll be drummin' and jammin' late into the night at the Welcome Wagon Party, where we'll be greeting the late-night arrivals with pot-luck refreshments. A great opportunity to make connections early in the program.
The class schedule begins Friday, February 23 in the Lodge after the Opening Circle at 1:30 (when the merchants finally get set up across from the classrooms), and continues until dinner break. The evening entertainment begins at 7:30 with a special showing of Starwood on Stage: exciting never-before-seen videos of past Starwood musical performances. Then, talented members of the Chameleon Club, including Victoria Ganger & Revelry and Ian Corrigan & Liafal, help facilitate The WinterStar Bardic Circle, where YOU help weave the fabric of our creative tapestry. (Please limit offerings to 10 minutes; sign up at the Registration Table.)
Classes run Saturday (Feb. 24) from 9:30 until the 6:15 dinner break. Then on Saturday night, Joseph Rothenberg and Joe's OM Appliances present Timothy Leary's Brain: an interactive multi-media "aMazing©" based on Leary's 8-circuit brain model! Drawing from material from many sources, including Dr. Leary's book The Game of Life and Robert Anton Wilson's book Prometheus Rising, the presentation combines projection, video, toys, performance, live and recorded music, and much more. And, of course, there's nothing quite like the Friday and Saturday late-night activities at a Winterstar Symposium, the perfect indoor festival to break up those long Winter months. We've set up different cottages to voluntarily hold parties of different styles and musical choices: The Space-Jam Cabin, hosted by Einstein's Secret Orchestra; the Acoustic-Jam Cabin, hosted by Dragonfly Reel, and the Drum-Jam Cabin, with Halim El-Dabh and other Chameleon drummers. Check your schedules for cottage numbers.
Sunday's classes will run from 10 AM until 12:45, pausing for lunch and Cabin Check-out. We'll meet again after lunch for the Closing Circle, the last shopping op, and our final tearful farewells.