May 2017 Newsletter
Invitation to some special events

Barter Faire Summit – at the Okanogan Family Spring Faire – May 19-21

This will be a training about how to put on barter faires.  Michael Pilarski is hosting the Summit.  A lot of people will contribute: Buffalo Mazzetti, John Jones, Peter James, Richard Taylor, Barry Plunker (tbc), Cyndi Benitz, Leilani Kilpatrick. Besides these veteran gathering organizers, many OFF coordinators will share information about their jobs.  We will be doing a lot of observing, parking and other faire jobs. This is for people who would seriously contemplate organizing a barter faire in their area. We will be working together part of the time as well as a fair amount of unscheduled time for people to do other things.

The information will be useful for organizing rural outdoor gatherings of any kind.   There will be some written material.

Let me know if you want to be part of the Summit.

Skeeter Michael Pilarski, friendsofthetrees@yahoo.com   360-643-9178.

17^th Fairy & Human Relations Congress – Methow Valley, North Cascades – June 23-25

If you have been wanting to attend the Fairy Congress this would be a good year. The Skalitude Retreat Center is for sale and this might be the last year the Congress happens there. Out of the thousands of people who have attended the Fairy Congress there are hundreds of people who have attended multiple congresses and have a real sense of family there.  You know who you are. We hope to see all of you this year at our fairy family reunion.

Let’s have a 17^th Year Reunion!  Everybody who has ever attended any of the Fairy Congresses is invited.  14 were held at Skalitude in the North Cascades. The 4^th and 5^th (2004 and 2005) were held at Riversong Sanctuary on the Hood River in Oregon. Over the years, the Fairy Congress has involved thousands of participants and well over 100 teachers.  Together we have made a lot of magic. You could say the Fairy Congress is a repository of fairy knowledge for the human race.  A subset of the very large numbers of general public around the world who believe in fairies and part of the smaller subset of those who consciously work with fairies.

People come to the Fairy & Human Relations Congress to increase their capacity to reach into the fairy realms. To learn how to see, sense and feel them. Beyond simple awareness we want to cultivate ways to communicate, collaborate and cooperate with fairy beings for the good of Planet Earth.  This isn’t just idle curiosity, folks, we are building bridges that affect both of our worlds.

General tickets are $225 before March 21.  Some half-worktrade positions are available. Good to be there on Thursday.  For registration or further information visit our website:

Questions can be directed to Michael Pilarski, friendsofthetrees@yahoo.com  | Website: http://www.fairycongress.com/

3^rd Spokane Herbal Faire
Unity Spiritual Center: 2900 South Bernard, Spokane – Saturday, May 13^th, 11am - 5pm

Promoting the Culture of Herbalism to the Spokane Community, via education, vendors and a socially engaging platform. By Donation.

In our third year now, we began with the following question:

How could a culture of Herbalism become more prevalent in Spokane?

We envisioned of an event that would create community, educate and be beautiful. Corbin Senior Center hosted us the first year, which unfolded successfully. For the second year in a row, the 2017 Faire will be hosted at Unity Spiritual Center. This space is beautiful, and bountiful in its space.

For the second year in a row, the 2017 Faire will be hosted at Unity Spiritual Center. This space is not only beautiful, but bountiful in the amount of space we have access to.

In 2016 there were classes on edible wild plants, composting, medicinal salves, creating your own wildcrafted tea, chinese herbs for cold & flu prevention, seed saving, balancing the fertility cycle with herbs, the history and case for Fire Cider and many more interesting subjects. This year we will continue to bring workshops of value and interest to the Faire, check back to our website for updates.

We look forward to this year's faire and hope to see you there!

Herbally yours,  the 2017 Spokane Herbal Faire Organizing Team

7^th Inland Northwest Permaculture Convergence – Hot Springs, Montana – September 1 - 3

The 7th annual Inland Northwest Permaculture Convergence will take place in the abundant, beautiful and welcoming community of Hot Springs, MT, between Kalispell and Missoula, on Labor Day weekend, September 1-3, 2017. The approximate schedule includes tours and hands-on permaculture classes and demonstrations all day Friday, with opening circle and dinner on Friday evening. A full schedule of workshops and speakers begins after dinner Friday and ends Sunday night with a bonfire and community and regional planning discussions. Stay tuned to the website and Facebook for details on the schedule.

Live music happens every night at Symes Hot Springs Hotel, and numerous hot springs soaking options abound in the surrounding township, as the convergence takes place in the heart of Hot Springs.

We encourage you to bring your kids, as we have an exciting opportunity for them to join the Ravenwood Outdoor Learning Center for daily excursions on both Saturday and Sunday (for ages 6-12) and a full two day and overnight excursion for teens aged 13-17. Please check the website for how to register, pre-pay and complete your child’s paperwork. We have only 30 slots for the younger kids’ program and 16 for the teen program, so register now!

For more details, visit the Inland Northwest Permaculture Guild Website.

All of these events were started by Skeeter Michael Pilarski.

Permaculture real estate. Land for sale. Permaculture opportunities.

Anyone looking for a permaculture Shangri La type of place?

I have been helping people find land in the rural Northwest since the 1970s. I have seen hundreds of properties come and go. I have been wanting to set up some kind of formal networking service to help people find land and land find people.  This hasn't come together, but here are a few situations I know of.

Skalitude Retreat Center is for sale. Methow Valley, North Cascades, Washington State. A 160-acre inholding surrounded by National Forest. A functioning retreat center. Could be an educational center, community or ...? I have visited Skalitude many times over the last 18 years and have a real heart connection. The owner and long-time friend has put Skalitude up for sale and we'd love to see it stay in the family.
www.skalitude.com

Green Wave Gardens, 80 acres. Near the Canadian border in northeast Washington.  Established fruit and nut orchard. Soil water, great exposure. Lots of infrastructure.  Could be an educational center, community or ...?

Farmland for lease with house. Hot Springs, Montana. 20 acres. Soil, water and a permaculture garden established by Michael Pilarski. You can coast to several hot springs from the property. Looking for someone to take over this project.  Family preferred.

If you're interested in any of these or if you have land for sale or are looking for a specific type of property send me an email: Michael Pilarski friendsofthetrees@yahoo.com