Winter Gathering 2022

(Please note the date change above from the previously posted dates of December 27th to January 1st)

tabula rasa  (Latin, literally scraped tablet) – a blank slate, a fresh start

Billy New Years Gathering Dec 27, 2022 – Jan 1, 2023

Saratoga Springs, Lake County

In ancient Rome, students wrote on wax tablets.  By gently heating the wax, they could scrape the surface to smooth it out, create a tabula rasa, and start anew.

If we wait until we are ready, we will be waiting for the rest of our lives. – Lemony Snicket

Cynicism is no longer a choice. It is a danger zone for our psyches and the planet. How will you recognize the source of your pain, embrace it, work with it, and turn it into wisdom?

With the pandemics, politics, and polarization of the last few years, who wouldn’t want a fresh start? While it is tempting to wait for things to return to the way they were, perhaps the time has come to create new paradigms, to embrace change, to let go of old habits, to make a clean sweep, to turn over a new leaf, to inscribe our dreams on a clean tablet.  Let us not choose nostalgia over new ways.  Let us arise to new beginnings! Let’s celebrate!

Please join us at this year’s New Year’s gathering to forge a new vision, to learn from one another, to embrace our differences, to sit in loving community.

This will be the first ever New Year’s gathering at our beloved Saratoga Springs. The gathering is open to Billys, Billykin, and queer folk everywhere.

All are welcome to write on this clean slate!  

Co-Coordinators:

Fred Fishman  fredfishman49@gmail.com

Mark Hoffheimer  mth-sf@sbcglobal.net

We are looking for sub-cos to help make this Gathering happen. Please contact Gathering/Events Committee: gc@contact.TheBillys.org

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COVID Protocol Summary: PROOF of being Fully Vaccinated INCLUDING at least TWO BOOSTERS. Negative rapid test result on the same day you will be travelling to the Gathering. STAY HOME if not well. 

Monkeypox and Influenze vaccinations are encouraged!

Masking will be required in the food line, with gentle policing of each other.  Masks are encouraged indoors at all times unless sleeping or eating (confer with others around you for distancing requests before unmasking at a table).  Masks help protect you and others not only against the spread of COVID, but also against the Flu and the common cold!

Any attendee may gently ask others around to mutually “Please mask up” and/or maintain social distance in any space or session.  Historical behavior of Billys at recent past Gatherings, have demonstrated that it is impractical/unrealistic to enforce/police “REQUIRED masking indoors at ALL times”.  If your health status is such that you need other vaccinated persons around you to still be masked and/or distanced from you, then you need to be comfortable with being gently assertive in expressing that need. If you are uncomfortable in expressing the need for others around you to please mask up and/or distance from you, then you may need to opt not to attend. 

The Full Protocol is on the Registration Form.

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Tiered Price Per Night Selection Guidance:

If you are financially able to help support others, please select the higher nightly rate ($175/night). If you are finding the pricing difficult and still want to attend, select the lower rate ($125/night), but recognize that this choice requires that someone else needs to provide the difference if we are to cover your costs. If possible, please pay at least the middle rate ($150/night). Additional help as needed and available is still possible through the Scholarship Funds. 

In addition to the nightly rate, we have added a fixed administrative fee of $25 per gathering, which partially covers the costs like registration, labor, credit card fees, and technology. The $25 fee is in addition to the nightly rate but will be applied just once per gathering, regardless of how many nights you stay.