flownote / november 10, 2022 edition
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the free-flowing Elwha River, Washington
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A few weeks ago I took a trip to the Salish Sea. I met an old friend on the Olympic Peninsula, and we did some scouting for future Freeflow courses. It was a trip for dreaming and planning, but also for seeking movement among the Sitka spruce and cold water. We rode our bikes up the Elwha, to see the old dam sites, to see where concrete once occluded the river and where now there are rapids, river noise, and salmon on their way home. Upstream, we swam in the sweetwater of the Elwha, and then we followed the river to its mouth, to that point of salty exchange where the river meets the sea. We swam there, too, in that place where gravity, tides, and waves collide, our bodies small within a sparkling confluence of moon and mountain energies.
As autumn flows into winter, and the warmth of inside spaces grows ever more enticing, I hope we revel in the magic of the cold months. This season of eclipses and permeating darkness brings with it an invitation to settle in, to sit still - and also to move in new ways.
Here at Freeflow we are conjuring some new concepts and intentions, and I hope what we have in store will stir you into beautiful wintertime motion.
With love,
Chandra
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Get excited about the cold months and keep your practice going through the winter.
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SHIFT | our five-week 2023 Winter Community Workshop Series, focused on building creative community, reconnecting with process, and addressing the question of how we use our art and words to catalyze positive change
hosted by Chandra Brown
Tuesday evenings | January 17 – February 14, 2023 | 6 – 9 pm Mountain Time
[ learn more + register ]
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SPRING | an intensive three-week kickstarter course in building stories out of ideas
hosted by Heather Hansman + Chandra Brown
Monday evenings | March 6 – 20, 2023 | 6 – 9 pm Mountain Time
[ learn more + register ]
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SUPPORT THE FREEFLOW FOUNDATION
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Francia McCormack from Georgia, on the sunny Blackfoot River last summer
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Of the 64 total participants in our 2022 season, 15 were supported by SCHOLARSHIPS from The Freeflow Foundation. The Community Scholarship Fund is fueled 100% by donations from our community. Your support helps the Foundation chip away at barriers to participation in outdoor education. Thank you for helping us make Freeflow programming accessible and inclusive for all!
Check out our 2022 Impact Statement to learn all about our work!
We have big goals for 2023:
- Hire a Director for The Freeflow Foundation (keep reading to learn more!)
- Craft a substantive, longitudinal mentorship program for our scholars
- Create a gear-lending library for participants without access to quality outdoor equipment
- Build a travel fund to offset the cost of getting to and from Freeflow courses
- Make an online resource hub to help demystify gear and outdoor skills
You can help us reach these goals! Here's how:
- Can you help us find funding to hire Kami Bakken as Director?
- Do you have something unique to donate to our online auction? (Email us at info@freeflowfoundation.org.)
- Will you help spread the word about our Winter Fundraiser?
- Will you attend our live celebration (online) on December 8?
Save the dates:
ONLINE AUCTION November 25 - December 9
VOICES OF FREEFLOW EVENT December 8
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MEET KAMI
Kami Bakken is a superstar. She guided on several Freeflow courses in 2022, and we are so grateful to have her on our crew. She's been working tirelessly this autumn to organize and mobilize The Freeflow Foundation into an organization that will serve our participants for years to come. PLEASE HELP US FIND FUNDING TO KEEP KAMI AS DIRECTOR OF THE FOUNDATION!
YOU can make a general donation HERE to help us retain Kami as Director!
You can also share this ask with friends who find our work compelling and who might have resources to help!
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THINGS WE LOVE + CELEBRATION OF THE PEOPLE AND PLACES IN THE FREEFLOW ORBIT
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Hood Canal, Washington
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KEVIN BREEN
Kevin Breen, a recent alum from Freeflow's 2022 San Juan Islands Workshop, has founded an independent book publisher (which is so RAD!). Madrona Books endeavors to publish resonant stories from the Northwest and beyond. The press seeks submissions of literary fiction, place-based genre fiction, and memoir-plus writing (manuscripts at the intersection of memoir and outdoor recreation, environmentalism, science, or other nonfiction topics).
Here is a word from Kevin: "After working in publishing for several years, I decided to hang out my shingle for a couple reasons. My primary motivation is to serve authors and readers like the ones I encountered on my Freeflow trip. In my experience, it's so hard for authors to a) find collaborative editorial support and b) connect to audiences overlooked by acquisitions teams at Big Five publishers. When I go to the bookstore here in Olympia, I wish there were more choices that aligned with my interests: adventurous novels set in the North Cascades, books about water conversation in the American West, memoirs written by aspiring mountaineers, weekend warriors with lapsed WFR certifications, and whitewater paddlers. I hope Madrona becomes a publisher that folks associate with ambitious, adventurous storytelling. Whether you're polishing your manuscript one last time or chewing on an early draft, I'm always happy to chat with fellow Freeflow writers. Reach out at kevin@madronabooks.com."
ISABELA GARCIA-ARCE
Check out what Environmental Studies Master's candidate, Camas Magazine co-editor, and Freeflow scholar Bela Garcia-Arce is up to in this article from the University of Montana. Bela is exploring some big issues with her writing, and the story she workshopped on her Freeflow course with Brendan Leonard in 2022 was recently accepted to Outside Magazine.
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Orion is accepting submissions through November 15.
Madrona Books is accepting submissions of book-length manuscripts.
River Teeth is accepting submissions from September 1 to December 1, and again from January 1 to May 1.
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Hey, you!
Please send us your good news, emerging projects, writing, photos, and relevant opportunities. We'd love to share them with the Freeflow community via our newsletter: info@freeflowinstitute.com
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