Afternoon Activities

Block A: Bloody Hell 2: High Tea, Low Tide (Laneia, Carolyn, Lizz R & Claire) // This is a Holdup: Make Your Own Suspenders (Laura Wooley) // QPOC Speakeasy (Gabby, Yvonne, Elicia, Kaylah, KaeLyn, Cameron, Carmen, Cecelia, Brittani, Laura M, Jasika Nicole, Whitney, Djuan, Mey, Carolyn W & Kai) // Sex in Video Games (Morgan) // Creating a Community Newspaper for Weirdos (Grace, Hansen, Chelsey & Heather)

Block B: Celebrity Dance Grooves (Kaylah & Djuan) // Sciency Bar Tricks (Laura Mandanas) // Gender Pronoun Crafts (Whitney & Mey) // Feels Academy (Taylor, Heather, Liz C., Gabby) // A Conversation with Brittani Nichols & Lauren Morelli

Carolyn Yates, NSFW Editor and Fun Home Counselor: I missed the first Bloody Hell but I was super excited for Bloody Hell 2, in which we got the chance to talk about alternative menstrual products and new moon rituals and people of different gender presentations reconnecting with their bodies regardless of whether or how they bleed, and it seemed like everyone could have kept going for hours.

Lizz Rubin: It was so much better than Bloody Hell 1 because we made it more feelings focused and less medical which I LOVED. I did however draw a huge uterus, cervix and vagina in the dirt for everyone.I loved hearing so many women’s feelings about their periods. Their struggles and their moon ceremonies.

Laneia Jones, Executive Editor and Runaways Counselor: We had everyone come down to the table and play around with the many products donated from Holy Sponge, Luna Pads, and Glad Rags, and we are so grateful to those companies. I think a major hurdle with sustainable menstrual products is that they’re foreign to most of us and we just don’t have any idea where to start or what we’re dealing with in terms of like, the size or look of these products. Campers shared stories and practices and asked questions — not just of us, but of each other, which was amazing.

Lizz Rubin: It just felt like everyone was coming from a really similar and really different place. I can’t explain it. It was incredible. Most importantly: I was actually technically getting my period during the bloody hell period feelings atrium. It was so right.

Gabby: The QPOC Speakeasy is my heart and soul. I’m so honored to be a part of the queer/trans people of color space on the mountain.

KaeLyn: The Speakeasy is the most beautiful thing on the mountain. Better than the fiery #nofilter sunsets. Better than the cool, still silver mornings. Definitely better than the veg options at dinner.

The QPOC Speakeasy // photo by Robin Roemer

Carolyn W.: I thank God every day that I was asked to be on this random panel last camp for QTPOC Straddlers, which turned out to be the speakeasy.. My life hasn’t been the same since. I’m so grateful to Gabby for letting me be her deputy. Or her Vice-Principal. Or her deacon (cause The Speakeasy is damn near a religious experience.)

Yvonne, Senior Editor and Shark Week Counselor: This was QPOC Speakeasy’s second year at A-Camp and just like the year before, it filled me with so much love to be in a QPOC-only space!

Carmen Rios, Straddleverse Editor and Rodeo Disco Counselor: I’ve loved doing QPOC activities at A-Camp since our very first panel way back when, and it was amazing seeing how many people and how much love came to this year’s Speakeasy.

Trent: It was so great to see all of the QPOC gathered on the mountain, getting to know each other and sharing their feelings.

Gabby: From friend-speed-dating to making an A+ Bee to breaking out into small and large groups just to talk, the entire Speakeasy workshop was a lovefest.

Carolyn W: When the session started we were literally bursting out of Deer. There was barely space to move.

Gabby: We could use a two-hour block and still need more time and a bigger space. God, everyone is beautiful and open.

Carolyn W: I was nervous and excited to see how many folks showed up to the space. Gabby lost her voice that morning and asked me to open the space which was never a question. We had a great discussion about why The Speakeasy exists and our hope for the space.

Yvonne: I can’t believe the Speakeasy doubled its size from the last camp. The entire time we were together at Deer Lodge I was just like fuck yeah! we’re gonna take over this m*therfuckin camp!

Gabby: I loved it when the A-Camp staff squad introduced themselves to everyone and found a group to speed-date with and I loved Elicia being the host.

Carolyn W: Elicia held it down during a rowdy speed-dating session. I loved looking out and seeing all those QTPOC folks connecting. It was so beautiful.

Elicia: I love the QPOC Speakeasy, even if every time I called stop on the speed-friending rounds everyone got pissed at me. Sorry, ya’ll. I was just doing my job!

Yvonne: Friend speed dating was excellent! I met so many new faces. The only bad thing about the speed dating is I wanted to keep talking.

Gabby: Carolyn made sure that everything was going smooth. Like everyone pitched in and did their thing. Thank you for everyone who brought their real life into the space and made connections with others.

Carolyn W: I was and AM in awe of what The Speakeasy has grown into.  I had to hold back the tears. I agree with Gabby the sky is the limit!!! I’m ready for next year!!

Trent: I was mostly there to just chill and observe and I thought I would get away with doing so until Jasika convinced me to actually mingle and participate. I’m glad she did because I really enjoyed it! You know, we all have feelings. And sometimes, we don’t realize how many feelings we have until we find other people who share our feelings and experiences.

Grabby: Ev’Yan from the Beyhive brought out the feels in the larger breakout group. She was the one who started things off by being honest about her feelings and what articles from Speakeasy members and the Speakeasy FB group have brought into her life. I was grateful to her for that.

photo by Nurse Viv

Laura Mandanas, Staff Writer & Outsiders Counselor: I have learned so much about myself and the world through the conversations we’ve been having on facebook, and it was so wonderful to have that support and love carry over into a physical space.

Trent: Pretty much everyone who goes to A-Camp knows what it feels like to exist in the world where everything around us promotes heteronormativity — sometimes you want to see things and people that reflect your queerness. And in that same regard, being not only queer but also a POC, you want to see things and people that reflect your QPOC’ness- and this is what the Speakeasy provides, this is why it is so necessary and important.

Whitney: I had amazing conversations with about QPOC role models, jobs and life with other queer and trans people of color at A-Camp.

Carmen: Then we spoofed the A-Camp Bee and I turned the Schwartzcast into a Drakecast as per Brittani’s suggestion. Sorry Stef, but I’m not sorry at all.

Elicia: I am always inspired by the community leadership skills of Gabby and Carolyn. Also, thanks Yvonne for helping out with questions and a shout out to my zine team who did GREAT WORK creating the backside of the Speakeasy Bee!

Whitney: The Speakeasy is a really wonderful and safe space, and I’m so happy that I can be a part of it.

Gabby: We went from 34 queers of color at last year’s speakeasy to about 66 this camp. The sky’s the limit y’all. Let’s double our numbers for next camp!

Liz: I went to Laura’s “This is a Hold-up: Make Your Own Suspenders” workshop, which not only had the cutest name, but also gave me the cutest pair of suspenders!

KaeLyn: Jae came over to me and was like, “Lauren Morelli just helped me make suspenders. LAUREN MORELLI JUST HELPED ME MAKE SUSPENDERS.”

Liz: Lauren Morelli and I made matching leopard print suspenders and I definitely want to wear them every day.

photo by Robin Roemer

Laura W: Dear Lauren Morelli: it was really fun making suspenders with you. I think you had fun too. If you ever feel like a suspender-making workshop would be a good bonding experience for the cast of Orange is the New Black, I’m your girl. Sincerely, Laura W.

KaeLyn: …and then Jae and I sat next to each other at The Lauren Morelli & Brittani Dinner Show Experience. My butt hurt from sitting on that log, but it was worth it.

photo by Robin Roemer

Stef: I’m excited that we finally somehow convinced Lauren Morelli to join us in our mountain paradise.

Yvonne: Omg, I was so excited to listen to Brittani and Lauren Morelli speak because I knew it was going to be so hilarious.

Riese: Basically the idea was that Lauren and Brittani were gonna have their weekly dinner date in front of us, on a stage. Everybody got to submit suggested topics of conversation. Apparently a lot of them were about Samira Wiley, but a lot of them weren’t, and they answered them and they laughed and everybody laughed and it was incredible.

photo by Robin Roemer

Brittani: The dinner talk with Lauren was a true blast because I felt like I was showing off my best friend to the world. (Never let her read this because I will never hear the end of it.)

Ali: If Britani could interview everyone forever, I’d be cool with that.

Stef: The teasers she gave us about Season Three of Orange Is The New Black helped remind me that I’d still have something to live for when we got back down to sea level.

Cecelia: I laughed, I cried, I thought a lot about the important work of writing honest queer narratives into mainstream media. It made me think about something a writing teacher once told me, which is that you write because you need to figure out a personal question that you don’t know the answer to. The fact that Lauren’s personal coming out story aligned so beautifully with her writing was a really great reflection of the “answer the question within you” lesson. It made me feel like I don’t have to have it all figured out yet, and as a writer, that’s kind of the point.

photo by Robin Roemer

Cecelia: Also it gave me great insight into Los Angeles taco culture.

Kristin: It was very fun. My biggest takeaway was that there was a callout to Brittani in the upcoming season of OITNB, and also that there were so many ants on the logs that we used as seating. Ants on a log as a snack is real cute ‘til you see lots of monster ants on an actual log. NOT SO CUTE.

Yvonne: I was right! The whole talk was hilarious and also very insightful into how TV works and also weirdly inspiring about writing and pursuing your dreams. I was most fascinated by Brittani and Lauren’s friendship and their preferred tacos in LA.

Brittani: Hannah Trees described the talk as “us trying to out-embarrass each other” which is fairly accurate. I spilled my drink no less than three times and I blushed no less than five.

Morgan McCormick, Sea Otters Counselor: I had given my Sex and Videogames seminar the week before with San Francisco Sex Information at the Center for Sex and Culture and it was really splendid to give it again. Everyone had super neat questions and was kind enough to put up with my health problems that meant I had to stop an hour and fifteen minutes in and just sit and drink water until the room stopped spinning on its axis. Cut that out, room. No time for your tomfoolery.

photo by Robin Roemer

Morgan: People came up to me a lot over the week telling me how much they enjoyed it (the talk, not my dizzy spell) and considering how niche a subject it is that is a really fucking swell thing to hear.

Mey Rude, Trans Editor & Hogwarts Counselor: I’m kinda terrible at crafts, but I always end up helping people with their craft workshops (and often leading my own, but more on that later) and so this time, I found myself helping out Whitney with the Gender Pronoun crafts. These were a resounding success.

Carmen: After this block, everyone was wearing these gender pronoun crafts and I was just so jealous I didn’t have one. Next time, I am going to Gender Pronoun Crafts.

Mey: Anna Bongiovanni skipped right over the traditional pronouns, and even over non-traditional ones, and just made perler beads that spelled out “Anal.” Right on. Also, CJ made a really great “B’Day Boi” pin, because apparently in England people wear birthday pins? It ended up looking really great.

photo by Robin Roemer

Morgan: Taylor Hatmaker, radiant dove of wonder, asked me if I would be willing to join Liz, Heather, Gabby and her on the Feels Academy/Mental Health Panel. I had never talked about my brain things in front of a group of people before, really I had only ever talked about it to partners and very very close humans. I wasn’t sure I was ready. I might as well have been at Waffle House I was waffling so hard.

photo by Robin Roemer

Rory Midhani, Illustrator & Rodeo Disco Counselor: I liked The Feels Academy. It was impressive to see Morgan, Heather, Liz, Taylor and Gabby talking about difficult things so openly. I took the drawing of this out of my sketchbook and pinned it on my wall cos I don’t wanna forget their strength.

drawing by Rory Midhani

Morgan: I mean, wow, Heather and Liz just sat and talked with me for a goodly while helping me to parse out my thoughts into something I could share and I decided to just go for it. I said things I’d never had the courage to open up about before and I got such ample hugs and thank yous for it. More than anything though I feel a special kinship now with my fellow Feels Academics, a sense of community about a part of me I wasn’t sure I’d find community for and so I didn’t even know what I wanted it to look like. It looked like the five of us, and it looked like all of y’all in the audience. Thank you for helping me unshoulder an old burden.

Chelsey Petty, Editorial Assistant & Blackhearts Counselor: We held a Bee workshop in the afternoon and it was so, so cool! There were about six attendees and they broke into groups and each tackled a section and we created the coolest community newspaper for weirdos together! It was such a cool and quiet moment just watching everyone dive into their assignments and create something great. I was so glad to be in the presence of everyone who attended.

Gigler: The campers who came out for Celebrity Dance Grooves were a stone cold crew of babes, and though I can’t accurately describe the magic, I don’t need to because in a few days there was gonna be a video of you guys killin it at the state fair!

Gigler: So now every time I hear Feelin Myself I start doing Kaylah’s choreography, which I suspect has resulted in some absurd security footage at my storage unit last week.

Laura M: I was so nervous about Sciencey Bar Tricks! Megan was super patient with all my setup needs, including asking the kitchen last-minute for toothpicks I didn’t end up using. I think the activity went okay? Honestly it’s not always easy to tell when you’re leading the workshop. It was really cute watching some of the teams get super into figuring out the tricks.

Nikki Smaga, Intern: I was Megan’s helper in the afternoon. It was actually a lot of fun. I really like helping and I have background in event coordinating. I have not worn that hat in a while so it was nice to learn how easily I can slide back into that role. I tried to be helpful but not overly helpful. Sometimes it is more stressful having someone keep coming to you asking, WHAT CAN I HELP YOU WITH? I tried to be overly watchful and read body language for moments when I could jump in. That sounded a lot more creepy than I had intended…… I also wore a shirt I made that said: AUTO RAD INTERN, so there’s that.

Megan: Why didn’t I think to make a shirt? Next camp, I’m making a shirt.

Bren: Sidenote: After seeing how much work it all is, I can’t believe Megan used to do all this pretty much on her own. What a superhero.

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