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Frequently Asked QuestionsCamping - are trailers and campers ok? Q: Can I bring a camper, pop-up trailer, etc. to camp in? No, sorry. All onsite camping will be primitive tent camping only. All of the camping spots are accessible only by foot, so there's no where to pull a camper into, and there are no hook-ups. We also will be very limited on parking space for the cars, so there's not even room for campers in the parking lot. You may want to look around the Brooksville area to see if there are offsite camping options, and then drive in during the day. (Note, there will be no place to park a RV during the day... so this only works if you have a separate vehicle or can carpool in with someone.) Q: I can't afford the rates, are there any work exchange options or ways to reduce the costs? We've opted to keep the rates as low as possible for everyone, instead of doing a work exchange option. We put a lot of effort into finding a location that offers a quality setting at a very affordable price (there are not many places you can get 3 nights of lodging in a private room with air conditioning and 8 meals for $190 per person AND pay for use an entire facility dedicated to only FPR for the entire weekend - pool, conference space, fire circle, etc. ... That's quite a value for a long weekend conference/retreat.) And we've provided a lot of options for reducing your costs - such as attending only 2-nights, camping onsite, staying offsite and day passes. You can attend FPR for as little as $30. We also widely announced the costs of attending FPR midway through the previous year, to give folks as much time as possible to budget attending. FPR is a not for profit event, we are not making money off of the retreat and can not afford to compensate people for working at the retreat. Those of us organizing the retreat are volunteers ourselves - organizing the event in our spare time, and all of us are paying the full rates too. Most of the fees you're paying are going directly to UU in the Pines for facility use and meals. We also understand that budgeting to attend FPR may be a challenge, and we do offer Payment Plans to help spread out the costs over time. We typically ask for a $50 deposit per person upfront with final payment being due in February 2007. Also keep in mind, you can pay via PayPal and use a credit card to defer your payments as per your creditor's terms. Q: I'd like to present a workshop at FPR, can I attend for free or get a discount? No, sorry. FPR is a community organized event. The event is by the community for the community. As such, we prefer to make presenters out of attendees, not make attendees out of presenters. We're encouraging all attendees to contribute to FPR in some way - whether that be presenting a workshop, volunteering to help out (registration desk, clean-up, set-up, etc.) or simply by contributing to the atmosphere. Q: I have special food requirements, will you be able to accommodate those? The facility's chef prepares meals using fresh produce, and attempts to make meals where at least the side dishes are vegetarian friendly and plentiful enough to make a meal out of. We can not guarantee that people with very restrictive diets will be able to eat at every meal. When you register, please put any food restrictions you have on the registration form so that we can attempt to create a menu with the chef that meets as many people's needs as possible. However, since all meals are prepared and served 'family style' - very strict requests may not be able to be accommodated. If you are choosing a FPR package that includes meals, we will not be able to refund you if you choose not to eat at any of the meals. They are inclusive rates. The facility does provide a refrigerator for attendees to keep food items in during the retreat, so you are welcome to bring your own food. And folks staying in the Cedar cabin will have access to a full kitchen for food prep. Sorry, no one will have access to the main kitchen during meal prep times - as the chef will be using it :). There are also restaurants nearby. Q: Who attends FPR? How many? Age? Gender? Orientation? Relationship Configuration? The facility has 65 beds onsite, plus room for many campsites and some folks stay offsite. The meal hall can accommodate about 100 people max. In 2006 we had 80 people attend and in 2003 we had 97. We anticipate next year will have similar attendance, and because of the available space we will be putting a cap of 100 attendees in pre-registration. In both 2003 and 2006, attendance was pretty much even between males and females. In fact, in 2006, it was exactly even. We have had many relationship configurations attend FPR. From singles, individuals, couples, triads, quads and extended networks. While there are many couples, they do not seem to be the dominant relationship configuration. And besides, a person's current relationship configuration is not a reliable indicator as to their availability or openness to new relationships. FPR attendees are a mix of gay, straight, lesbian and bi-sexual. There is a wide range of ages, in 2006 our youngest was 26 and our oldest was 72, and the median age was 44. Making money is not a goal of FPR and we don't want vending to be a major focus of the retreat, however we will be having a few tables set up in the back of the main hall that any attendee can put items on to sell. We're handling this quite informally. Anyone who chooses to bring stuff to sell at FPR needs to be aware of the following:
Please contact coordinator@floridapolyretreat.com for more information |
