Camphill Kimberton 4th Annual Talkfest coming up - April 29 at Birchrunville Cafe

Camphill Village Kimberton Hills' 4th Annual Talkfest!

Sunday, April 29 at 5 p.m.

The biggest event of the Birchrunville year is rapidly approaching. I am getting so excited about the thought of wandering around for a few hours sharing deep thoughts with all of you…while drinking a few glasses of nice wine and munching on the never-ending flow of the Birchrunville Store Café’s spectacular oardoors so excellently carried right to my hand by the oh so nice and helpful Birchrunville Store Café wait staff.

We already have a few reservations.  It’s never too soon to call Bernadette at 610-935-8660 or email her, bernadette@camphillkimberton.org  to reserve your place.  As you know, it’s standing room only so no need to ask about the seating plan.  Just a bunch of exceptionally talented and unbelievably interesting folks wandering around sharing stories for a few hours.

Yup, no long PowerPoint presentation, no speakers unable to stop talking, no handing out pledge cards…although it will be nice if you decide you like us enough to donate a few bucks.

There will be:

• amazing and unending conversations with exceptional people…such as you
• wine so good you’ll try and hide a few bottles to take home
• oardoors that have made Francis Trzeciak a world famous chef
• and…No…that’s No program at all to interrupt your delightful chats

Just you…and all the other wonderful people supporting Camphill Village Kimberton Hills while enjoying the best time ever.  Who needs Cirque du Soleil when we have all of you?

All this for only $158.79 per person.  Unbelievable! But remember, this is the early registration price so don’t delay.  Call, 610-935-8660, or email, bernadette@camphillkimberton.org. Stop reading and take a minute to do this right now. This special price is $6.20 less than last year’s price due to my having made a math mistake when I first figured it out.  Take advantage of my mistake.  This extraordinary deal is only available for everyone who makes a reservation.  Save $6.20 now.

Don’t forget, we do have some sponsorships available.  I’m in discussions with one prospective sponsor.  And I’m working on getting a local celebrity to attend for your conversational pleasure. He is shy about my mentioning his name, figuring if we released it the media would be crawling all over our little event. Of course, I want the media there so I’m also in conversation with a local TV news personality. Should be fun to listen to their conversation.

But to listen in you need to be there! I guarantee you will expand your mind. Whether or not you gain weight is up to you.

Steve Smolinsky

President, CVKH Board of Directors

4th Annual Talkfest, April 29, 5-7:45, 

Birchrunville Store Café, 

$158.79 per person

Be there! You’ll have a great time while supporting an exceptional place.

Camphill Kimberton will be recipient of the 2012 Gene Wilson Award

We are pleased to announce that Camphill Kimberton, as well as Executive Director Diedra Heitzman and Administrator Michael Babitch will be awarded the 2012 Gene Wilson Award from the Chester County Citizens for Climate Protection (4CP).

Camphill Kimberton will be honored for outstanding achievements in fulfilling our mission through sustainable efforts such as biodynamic agriculture, sound land stewardship, use of renewable energy sources, renewable building materials, earth-friendly and efficient building designs, extensive recycling, an environmentally focused educational outreach initiative and much more.

Chester County Citizens for Climate Protection is a non-profit volunteer organization dedicated to reducing the county’s substantial carbon footprint.  By educating the community on the severity and consequences of climate change, and by spearheading climate change initiatives, 4CP hopes to acheive their goal of returning
global CO2 levels to 350 parts per million as fast as possible.


The award luncheon will be Wednesday, April 11, 2012 from 11:30 am – 2:00 pm at the White Manor Country Club in Malvern, PA.  To learn more about the award or reserve your ticket for the luncheon, please visit: http://chescocooler.org/online/wp-content/uploads/GWA-2012-Invitation-PDF2.pdf.

Camphill Kimberton celebrates AmeriCorps Week with a Community Volunteer Day on March 18

Camphill Village Kimberton Hills will celebrate AmeriCorps Week – Saturday, March 10 through Sunday, March 18, 2012 – with a volunteer work day set for Sunday, March 18 from noon to 4 p.m.

This is a great opportunity to learn more about Camphill Kimberton and AmeriCorps while giving back to your community. Come experience a day of work on this 432-acre biodynamic farm and help with invasive species removal, estate work and orchard maintenance.

AmeriCorps offers opportunities for adults of all ages and backgrounds to serve through a network of partnerships with local and national nonprofit groups. AmeriCorps week recognizes the commitment of AmeriCorps members and alums by highlighting the extraordinary impact they make across our nation every day.  Each year, Camphill Kimberton is host to approximately 20-25 young adults who receive a year-long intensive, hands-on experience living and working in this community that includes adults with developmental disabilities.  Of this group, half are AmeriCorps participants. 

Volunteers are asked to bring their own lunch and shovels, gloves and trowels, if able. Some amazing snacks - made at Camphill Kimberton - will be served.  If attending, please RSVP to shaylyn.decker@gmail.com.  Volunteers should meet at Rose Hall at noon. Work will happen rain or shine.

Camphill Village Kimberton Hills is located at 1601 Pughtown Road, Kimberton, Pa.  Follow signs for Rose Hall, located at the top of the hill on Camphill Drive.  

Camphill Village Kimberton Hills' 4th Annual Wine and Dine Talkfest: Sunday, April 29 at 5

To my amazement, and due to quite a few requests, we are now talking wineries into helping us out with a few fine bottles for the upcoming Talkfest - Version 4.  Before you forget, put it in your calendar: Sunday, April 29 at 5 at the world famous Birchrunville Store Café in…Birchrunville, Pennsylvania.

And then immediately email your reservation to our most excellent Bernadette Kovaleski, bernadette@camphillkimberton.org, or call her, 610-935-8660.  You probably should do both just to make sure you have a place reserved.  I am pleased to report that we have had a full house the first three times and expect another one this year.

If you happen to be in the horrible situation of finding something already on your calendar on April 29…be calm.  There is plenty of time for you to get out of that other event.  If you can’t think of any great ideas for how to do this, call Bernadette (610-935-8660) and she will share her complete list of ways to politely tell people that you found a better place to be.  And while you’re on the phone with her, don’t forget to make a reservation to Birchrunville’s best event of the year.

You show up.  We will provide:

• Scintillating conversationalists there for the talking
• Exceptional wine to lubricate your ideas
• Spectacular hors d'œuvres flowing continuously from the kitchen of renowned chef Francis Trzeciak
• And…NO…that’s No program at all! 

We think you are the most interesting people with the best ideas and experiences to share.  Who needs someone yakking at you from the front of the room with a PowerPoint behind them?  We have you!  All of you.  All to yourselves.  (We'll certainly tell you all about this wonderful place called Camphill Kimberton, but within the context of other fascinating conversation.)

We thought a lot about the proper fee for such an exceptional event. And after all, it does support a wonderful place.  Finally we decided to offer the spectacular early registration fee of $158.79 per person. This is $6.20 less than last year!  (Mostly because I still have a few bottles of wine left, but don’t tell that to anyone.)

We also have our sponsorships:

• $748.25 gets you 2 tickets and 1 minute 13 seconds to say something to the group.
• $1746.50 get you 4 tickets, 1 minutes 45 seconds to share your thoughts, and best of all I will take you and three friends to dinner at the Café…on him!
• $2287.75 gets you all the $1746.50 stuff but you get to leave Steve home…and talk to the group for 2 minutes 8 seconds.

See you there,

Steve Smolinsky
President, Board of Directors

4^th Annual Talkfest, April 29, 5-7:45, Birchrunville Store Café, $158.79 per person

Be there! You’ll have a great time while supporting an exceptional place.

Join us for a year or a lifetime...

Have you ever considered life in Camphill?

Camphill communities are made possible by the many volunteers who serve in various capacities to support each other and build a strong and ethical community.

People with diverse backgrounds, skills and personal goals join our community for a year of service or for a lifetime, volunteering their time and energy; they live, work, learn and grow with us.

There are many opportunities to contribute meaningfully to the life of the village.  To learn more about how you can become a part of Camphill Kimberton, visit  http://www.camphillkimberton.org/volunteer/index.php.

Camphill Kimberton presents "Noah and the Flood" and "Everyman"

Camphill Village Kimberton Hills presents Noah and the Flood and Everyman, two musical productions on one stage, from March 24-25, 2012.   

The musical Noah and the Flood was written by Eugene Schwartz with music by Lawrence Rosenthal.  Schwartz wrote the play for his third grade class. When a third grade teacher in California started to work with it, Lawrence Rosenthal, who had a child in that class, was inspired to write music to it.

Like all productions at Kimberton Hills, this one also features a cast of children and adults from within the Camphill Kimberton community, and from the wider community. The children carry the main part of the play, either as Noah's sons and their wives, or as naughty town children who taunt Noah's sons while they are working on the ark, or as angels in the very first scene, when we hear how all is planned on a spiritual level.

Members of Camphill Kimberton’s music workshop are involved both on stage and among the instrumentalists. The play, in its relative simplicity as a class play, offers immense possibilities as a community play for a cast of very different ages and capacities.

"I want to express my gratitude to Eugene for offering this musical to me," says Veronika Roemer, director. "Every new musical, from looking at it for the first time until it's ready for performance, is like a journey, or making a new friend. This musical has been a journey of discoveries and delights."

The second piece, Everyman was composed by Colin Tanser for children's choir and lyre orchestra. "I felt inspired to add this beautiful piece of music to the program because it carries a similar message as the musical," says Roemer. "I arranged it for a small instrumental ensemble, instruments that are already needed for the musical like flute and oboe, and others played by cast members. I added bordun lyres and bells, so that everyone cast in the musical can also participate in Everyman."

This is the seventh show produced by Roemer, who lives and works in Camphill Kimberton, an intentional life-sharing community that includes adults with developmental disabilities.

Show times are:

Saturday, March 24 at 3:30 p.m.

Sunday, March 25 at 3:30 p.m.

All shows are in Rose Hall.  Suggested donations are $10 for adults, $5 for children, and $25 for a family. 

The Camphill Cafe will have extended hours on performance days. On Saturday, March 24, the Cafe will be open from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. On Sunday, March 25, the Cafe will open from 2:30-3:30 p.m. The Cafe will also be open both days during intermission.

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Camphill Village Kimberton Hills is located at 1601 Pughtown Road, Kimberton, Pa.

Daria in concert: a free music performance for the special needs community, March 10

Daria, an internationally-known folksinger, will present a free concert at Camphill Village Kimberton Hills on Saturday, March 10 at 4 p.m.  Children and adults with special needs and their families are specially invited to be a part of this performance where Daria shares a wonderful mixture of favorite songs from American and world folk music traditions.  She introduces unique authentic instruments and allows the audience to take part in the performance.

For the last two decades, internationally- known folksinger Daria has traveled the globe, learning, sharing and making music while building communities and encouraging a new view of hope and peace for all the world’s children. In the United States, she has won national awards for her children's CDs including a Parent’s Choice Award, a NAPPA (National Association For Parenting Publications) Award and a Children's Music Web Award.

Daria has spent several days this month working with Camphill Kimberton’s residents to create and learn to play their own instruments. The culmination of this workshop is the concert on March 10, where the Camphill Kimberton villagers will perform live with Daria. 

Reviews of Daria include:

“When Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou makes music, the world listens -- literally!”  -- Christian Science Monitor

“A NAPPA Award-Winner, Daria delivers an eclectic mix of multicultural tunes with strong hooks and sing-alongs in many languages.”  -- www.Parenthood.com

“The children at Melmark have varying special needs, but the music performed and the constant interaction between performer and audience reached all who were present at the assembly. Children who are normally lethargic were moving and dancing to the music. Children who are normally reserved were singing along. The children were actively engaged.”  --  Heather Holt, Music Therapist, Melmark School

The concert is free but donations will be accepted.  Seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis and is limited.  Rose Hall is wheelchair accessible. 

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Camphill Village Kimberton Hills is located at 1601 Pughtown Road, Kimberton, Pa.  The concert will be held in Rose Hall. 

The mission at Camphill Kimberton is to encourage individuals, especially those with special needs, to discover and fulfill their greatest developmental and creative potential within a farming and handcrafting community.  In valuing persons of all abilities, Kimberton Hills seeks to foster a living and working environment that is sustainable, productive and beautiful.  Residents and volunteers uniquely contribute to the community through meaningful vocations such as gardening, dairy farming, and working in the café, bakery and craft workshops.  As the community cares for one another, it also nurtures and improves the land by practicing biodynamic and organic agriculture and raising environmental awareness. 

For more information on the artist, visit http://www.dariamusic.com/.

For more information about Kimberton Hills, visit www.camphillkimberton.org.

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