Our 2nd Libertyseed at Prepper Camp was another great success. Prepper Camp is a 3-day total immersion event in preparedness, survival, camp craft, off grid living, and homesteading skills. The hosts, Rick and Jane, made it easy to find our booth spot and set up. Our communication before the event helped us know right where to stage our supplies for our class. This year we were able to be one of the presenters - we held an hour long libertyseed each day in addition to talking with people at the booth from sunrise to about 6:30 each day!!! Devereux and Cinncinatus met me at 4 on Thursday, making set up quick and easy. The 3 of us camped with several hundred other attendees, vendors, and speakers. Tar Heel is a local, so he commuted each day, bringing ice and a fully charged laptop for our booth to display event pictures and videos from around the country all weekend - plus, we got to meet his wife. She helped at our class and the booth - Thanks!
The weekend was muddy and damp. Fortunately, we didn't have nearly as much rain as was forecast. It didn't dampen the mood - everyone was happy and ready to learn and talk with each other. People began to arrive by 7am and meandered through the vendors every break they could until about 6:30pm. Shortly before classes each day everything stopped as a veteran played our Star Spangled Banner on his trumpet. It was moving to see roughly 2000 or more people turn and face the flag with their hands over their hearts. The patriotic stance of a lot of the attendees seemed to line up perfectly with Appleseed's history lessons and the shooting program lined up with their desire to hone their skills. The class was a hit. We had a handful of repeat Appleseeders, but many of the 85 or so attendees were learning about our program for the first time. They were taking notes and asking questions as Tar Heel and I walked them through some history, sling use, 6 steps, NPOA, prone, talking targets, and IMC (that's a lot in one hour!). Special thanks to wileycoyote for the awesome platform so we could demonstrate the prone position and loop sling in full view of everyone. The closest event sold out as soon as people could get to some solid internet service.
Prepper Camp and Project Appleseed seem like a perfect fit. We were able to tell plenty of history and share about Appleseed with hundreds of people from all over the country. I can't wait for next year!
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Cinncinatus and Devereux hold down the booth. Hundreds of people stopped by to chat with us.
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Our booth got better and better each day as we tweaked it to make it more inviting while still protecting us from the rain and wind.
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An Appleseed instructor in the wild. He can tag himself if he wants to. It was great to finally put his face to his name (and his wife's).
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Tar Heel and I demonstrated the prone position
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Tar Heel taught the 6 steps of Firing the Shot
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Tar Heel on our last day of class, telling us about NPOA.
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Orchard Lake Campground, where the event is held each year, is just gorgeous. It's clean, there are showers, fishing, swimming, boating, 2 playgrounds, a climbing wall and more that we don't see since they move things around to fit all of us.
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This is the smaller fishing pond and is so peaceful.
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Saturday night Rick and Jane go all out to thank people that make the event a success - their crew, the presenters, the vendors, and the volunteers. They gave electric chainsaws to all of the presenters this year.
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The chainsaw was a really nice gift - we are treated really well here.
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Dan vs Dan - who will survive?
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The gang - these guys are so easy to work with. Each day everyone was so accommodating and helpful. It was great to get to know them better.
Outstanding!
It was a Very Special Weekend and having the event lead by our Regional Leadership (UpaCreek) And State Coordinator (TarHeel) leading from the front is a hallmark of Appleseed and very evident here!
Hanging out with Devereux was an education in itself. His wealth of knowledge of history during the revolution and his connection of past historical relatives really made things come alive. He's such a wealth of knowledge. It was a joy to work with each of you!
Also, UpaCreek mentioned as an aside that it was her 100th event! What an amazing accomplishment in a few years!
AWESOME!!! Good job, Everyone! :partytime:
I'll second that this was three days of great folks at a well-run event. The attendees we spoke with seemed quite receptive to the Appleseed message and our daily class. It was a pleasure as always to work with some inspiring fellow instructors. Additionally, I know we will get to see some of our visitors on the line at Appleseed events soon, since several registered immediately. Others are in communication to make sure they can join us in the near future.
Great job, all! Let's do it again next fall.