To my fellow pagan community,
Wow! I am finding it hard to describe what an amazing weekend we had this year! It is now May the 4th and I am still surfing on the abundance of energy, magic, and love from our gathering in the high desert of Sage, CA. The Ecoshire was the perfect setting for our 2024 event 11:11: Make a Wish! Connection and Manifestation Through Building Community! Blue skies and mild temperatures combined with the view of wildflowers and snow-capped mountains made our weekend even better. PCR’s mission statement is to bring the pagan community together in nature for an enlightening, spiritual, and educational experience to be enjoyed by pagans and their families. Our committee of 18 volunteers worked hard throughout the year to manifest community for this event and by the Gods we did with over 150 registered attendees making this our most attended event ever!!! If you have a second, stop by our private page PCR Camping and share your favorite photos of the event and chat about all the fun workshops and new friends you may have made.
We began the weekend as most of the committee and their families arrived on site on Thursday morning. We set up the check-in, info/sweepstakes, and community booths- as well as our own camping spots.
In the evening, we shared a meal facilitated by our 2025-26 Director Allison Lovecraft and we had our last meeting before the event. Thank you Allison for the grub and for all the amazing graphics this year! I can not express how much I appreciate the ups and downs our committee has endured over the last few years. There were many tears and hard work put into making this event happen and I am honored to have worked with you all. Thank you all very much.
Attendees from all over Southern California began to arrive on Friday as early as 8 am. Some campers came from as far as the Bay Area, Los Vegas, and even Michigan. Most campers chose to stay in the community camping area. We had lots of RVs and moving the RVs to the front was new this year. By moving them, it allowed for more space and more RVs. The Eco-shire is ever evolving and we hope to see some new exciting changes for next year. Jim, Dawn, and Mallory had the campgrounds looking amazing and with all the rain we had it was wonderful to have green hills and wildflowers to sweeten the views. workshops, rituals, and demonstrations. The first full day of events kicked off with the Opening Ceremony. We were treated to a Chipotle-style Supper provided by the Eco-shire for a fee. We were not expecting this and it was a welcome surprise! I for one do not have time to cook so this was amazing to me. For reference here is a quick list of events for Friday:
Opening Ceremony: 11:11 Make a Wish! PCR Committee
Manifesting Health through Magic and Movement! Debbie Sanders
Earth Connected Mudra Meditation! Teh Magee-Hill
Spinning & Other Wyrd Fiber Arts! Karen Margaret
What is Magic? Tig Munger
Tapping into the Magical Planetary Squares! Raymond Becker
Honoring the Earth Mother – An Earth Day Rite! Ravens Cry Grove
Get to Know the Spirit of Cacao! Whispers of Cacao
Pagan Karaoke! Allison and Ian Lovecraft
After a quick nap from the previous days’ events and shenanigans, Saturday started off with bagels from the Eco-shire! (Thanks Chef Jim! He wears many hats.) The sun came out and warmed us quickly in the desert as a full day of events progressed. Our Altar contest winner, picked by our wonderful Programming team at random is Thea. Here is the winning altar:
With any event, there are always hiccups. This event was not spared this truth. Nonetheless, we persisted on. Dinner was graciously provided again by friends of the Ecoshire.
Here is a quick reference of all the events that took place on Saturday:
Dance of the Dandelion! Madison VanDerLindeHealing Your Inner “Stolen Child” Reclaiming Faery Folklore & Religion! Kayley Whalen
Pulling the Sword from the Stone! Fritz of Gofannons Smithy
Building A Henge: Connect to the Earth! Feraferia
Harken to the Witches Rune! Allison and Ian Lovecraft
Something Fun Ritual! Griffin and Carrie
50 Years as a Pagan! Ann Finnin/Roebuck
Chaos Water Ritual! Krystal Rains
Basics of Runic Divination! Rodney Basler
May You Never Thirst: How CUUPS Builds Community! Open Heart Grove
An Intro to Dowsing! Rick Johnson
Pennsylvania Dutch Stars (Hex Signs)! Ocean Lee
Pagan Community Revival Ritual! The Temple of Love
At Hekate’s Crossroads: Illuminating Pathways! Crooked Mile Coven
Drum Circle! Community Event
Sunday is the final day of PCR and is short, sweet and hot. We started with coffee at 7:30 am. Then right to the Closing Ceremony and Sweepstakes Drawing. Many campers actually stopped and helped the committee with tear down of booths and loading into the Hauler of Things! Thank you Darin and David!
As some of you may have figured out, public speaking is not my strong suit let alone leading others. Taking on the role of Director was definitely outside of my comfort zone. I have learned so many lessons while serving my pagan community as a committee member for PCR and have met so many amazingly talented and interesting people. I hope that I have inspired others to take a chance and be the change you want to see. I am forever inspired because of this time with PCR and eternally grateful for the experiences and community I have shared with you all. Thank you to every one of our wonderful 2024 committee members: Allison Lovecraft, Ian Lovecraft, Krystal Rains, Jennifer Morris (PCR Founder), Rich Bertram, Terry Fowler, Cheryl Pump, Lisa Gentry, Michaela Quinby, Talen (Chelsea) Reyes, Debbie Sanders, Gordon Lewis, Kanzeda Crenshaw (PCR Founder), Karen Margaret, Rebecca Bertram, Paul McCartney
PCR could not happen without you! Thank you! Next year will be even better, I just know it! Many Blessings to the community as we look to the future!
Chelsea Osbon