Kindred Connections Collective
Radical Roots Retreat Is Coming!
Radical Roots Retreat takes place in late March 2025!
Current Timeline:
Monday, 1/13: Workshop Proposal form OPENS
Friday, 1/31: Workshop Proposal form CLOSES
Saturday, 2/1: Participant Registration form OPENS
Early February: Workshops chosen/ Applicants NOTIFIED
Saturday, 2/15: Participant Registration form CLOSES
Saturday, 2/21: Registration Acceptance Notification SENT
Sunday, 3/1: Participant Confirmation and Med Forms DUE
March 21 – 23: Radical Roots Retreat!
Questions? Please click here or email us at [email protected]
In care, community, and solidarity,
KCC Crew
In community, care, and solidarity,
KCC Crew
Are You Ready?
Radical Roots Retreat (RRR) is a free weekend wellness retreat designed explicitly for QTBIPOC who are 25 and older. (QTBIPOC = those who identify within the Q/T spectrum and as BIPOC.)
RRR provides safer space for QTBIPOC folk to grow together while claiming respite, fostering joy, and cultivating connection.
This retreat recognizes that true wellness requires a holistic and collective approach. As such, it retreat is rooted in ancestral and creative, and queer liberation practice. RRR utilizes harm reduction and peer exchange frameworks to connect kin as we create pathways toward wellness and liberation between the dirt and the stars.
Radical Roots Retreat is Friday, March 21 (late evening) – Sunday, March 23 (late afternoon).
& Lodging
OVERVIEW
Friday, March 21 (late evening) – Sunday, March 23 (late afternoon).
This section provides a general overview. It includes some information regarding COVID & Respiratory precautions and ADA accessibility in Location & Travel. For more details on these topics, please visit the Access & Accessibility and/or Health & Wellness sections. Radical Roots Retreat Application at the bottom of the page or click here (Opens in a new window.)
COVID & Respiratory Precautions
Please take care of you and each other.
Masks and hand sanitizer will be provided.
Indoors: We ask everyone to wear a mask.
Cafeteria: Masks *typically not required in this space.
Outdoors: Wearing a mask is “as you choose”.
Lodging and Sleeping:
– 1 lodge for persons engaging in regular, consistent mask wearing and/or covid testing (mask in communal space)
– 1 lodge for persons who aren’t (mask in communal space)
– No testing currently being required for attendance.
Location & Travel
RRR will be in a remote location approximately 1 hour outside of Tucson. No alcohol or smoking on site.
The site is ADA-accessible. Main spaces have fairly flat paved or packed-earth, step free routes to them. All indoor and most outdoor activity spaces have flat, rigid floors. No outdoor pathway is entirely gravel free. There is sparse pea size or small gravel throughout.
There is a flat dirt road part of the way to the site (fine for low clearance vehicles.) We plan to rent a van to transport up to 13 people to the site. A limited number of travel stipends (about $50/ vehicle) are available.
Onsite, the van and personal vehicles may be used to transport folks across inaccessible routes.
Workshops & Activities
Various workshops facilitated by QTBIPOC will be offered.
Most workshops will be provided in a group setting and last 45 minutes or less.
Facilitated activities (provided by site personnel) will also be available. These activities are TBD, and more information will be made available during confirmation.
Workshops and activities will take place outdoors and indoors.
Many workshops/ activities will be “as you choose”; however, there will be some that are “all engagement”.
Food & Lodging
All meals will be provided while on site. Additionally, snacks and beverages will be available all day.
24-hour accessible refrigerators for cold snacks and beverage as well as medication will be available
We will be staying in 2 lodges. Each lodge has 6 sleeping rooms. These sleeping rooms are shared between approximately 3-6 people. Each sleeping room has a door and private, shared bathroom with shower and sink.
Sleeping rooms have Twin XL bunk beds. We have to bring bedding (a pillow and sheets and blanket or a sleeping bag). We can provide bedding if needed.
There are several in and outdoor common spaces.
We will try to ensure there are some quiet and cushy zones available.
Rest
Come get you some!
Although several workshops and facilitated activities will be available that center and uplift QTBIPOC joy and support conscientious connection, creation, and cultivation, we will be prioritizing rest.
Stay
Everyone is invited to stay for the whole 2-night + 2-day retreat. We are asking folks to stay at least 1 say and night. This helps us balance pricing.
If this is not feasible, please still fill out an application – you can select the days and nights you can stay and provide additional information. We will do our best to support the needs presented.
Estimated Timeline
Monday, 1/13: Workshop Proposal form OPENS
Friday, 1/31: Workshop Proposal form CLOSES
Saturday, 2/1: Participant Registration form OPENS
Early February: Workshops chosen/ applicants notified
Saturday, 2/15: Participant Registration form CLOSES
By Friday, 2/28: Participant Registration Confirmation
Radical Roots Retreat
Friday, 3/21: Arrivals starts at about 5p; Dinner provided
Saturday, 3/22: Rest, Connect, Workshops/activities; Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner provided
Sunday, 3/23: Rest, Connect, Workshops/activities; Breakfast and Lunch provided; Departure 1 -3p
ACCESS & ACCESSIBILITY
Please note, the site we are going to is remote, out in nature and does not allow non-service or support animals.
We are required to declare all service animals before our group’s arrival.
If you are planning to bring a service or support animal on your health form you will be asked to answer, “What work or task the service animal has been trained to perform?”.
This is a remote desertscape location. The site is nestled among habitats of many animals including javelina, coyotes, scorpions and snakes.
There is a flat dirt road part of the way to the site. All roads into and vehicle paths throughout the site are fine for low clearance vehicles, do not require 4-wheel drive, and are suitable for most size of vehicles.
The whole site is characterized as uneven terrain. There are many paved, or packed earth, flat outdoor paths and areas – no outdoor areas are completely gravel free.
The whole site is characterized as uneven terrain. There are many paved, or packed earth, flat outdoor paths and areas – no outdoor areas are completely gravel free.
Most main buildings sit on paved or packed earth.
To Indoor spaces, most pathways and routes are no to gradual, low incline routes that are paved or packed-earth and have stair-free access
To most Outdoor spaces, most are no to gradual, low incline routes that are packed-earth and stair-free with sparse, pea size or smaller gravel. A few have moderate incline routes with loose dirt with patches of loose gravel and some larger rocks
The van can be used to support travel to and from spaces and personal vehicles may be used.
Indoor spaces have:
– flooring is flat and rigid smooth tile or concrete or tight knap carpet
– at least 32-inch doorways, aisles, and pathways
– sturdy, hard plastic chairs and benches provide seating
– are heated and air conditioned
– have windows that open for ventilation
most Outdoor spaces for group workshops and activities:
– are on packed earth or concrete
– have wood or concrete bench seating -> some only have ground seating; chairs can be made available (in most) spaces
All main space bathrooms are all gender, ADA-accessible.
Each sleeping room has a shower and sink + additional vanity & sink outside of the bathroom.
2 ADA-accessible showers with sink and vanity are available, 1 in each lodge.
Indoor spaces have overhead florescent lights and windows provide significant natural light during the day.
most Outdoor spaces have minimal to no built-in overhead or ambient lighting at night. L lanterns and firelight will be provided for after sunset.
No strobes or flashing lights will be used during any workshops or activities.
Amplification is available for all sound during workshops and activities.
Some indoor and outdoor activities will involve music played through speakers.
Folks with auditory sensitivities are encouraged to bring earplugs.
Most of the workshops and activities will occur in spoken English. Please let us know if you need ASL interpretation or language translation.
In general, we will not be using a lot of printed materials or projected text or visuals during the retreat.
For printed materials provided, large text and accessible contrast, color and background formats will be available.
For projected text and/or visuals accessible contrast, color, and background will be used and printed formats will be made available.
All meals will include options that support all identified food requirements.
Snacks that support identified food requirements and water will be available 24hrs.
A full-size refrigerator is available in each lodge. These refrigerators provide storage for cold snacks and beverages and additional foods that participants require for health needs but cannot be provided by the site. They will also have designated space for participants to store medications.
HEALTH & WELLNESS
Please note, the site we are going to is remote, out in nature and does not allow non-service or support animals.
We are required to declare all service animals before our group’s arrival.
If you are planning to bring a service or support animal on your health form you will be asked to answer, “What work or task the service animal has been trained to perform?”.
Masks and hand sanitizer will be provided.
Indoors: We ask everyone to wear a mask in all indoor activity spaces except for the cafeteria.
Cafeteria: Masks *typically won’t be required in this space. There is space to spread out, ways to increase ventilation, and indoor alcoves and nearby outdoor spaces to enjoy a meal.
If a workshop is held in the cafeteria wearing a mask would be required.
Outdoors: Wearing a mask is “as you choose”
No testing is currently being required for attendance.
We have 2 lodges. Each has a shared communal space with attached sleeping rooms. Each sleeping room has a door and is accessed from outside. Each sleeping room has a private bathroom with toilet, shower, and sink and additional vanity and sink to be shared by the people in the room.
Sleeping rooms are shared between up to 6 people; most likely it will be 3-4 people. You will most likely be able to choose your sleeping room buddies.
We recognize there are many reasons folks may not find it supportive to share sleeping rooms or bathrooms. We have some flexibility to design lodging and sleeping arrangements to meet identified needs. We cannot accommodate 1 person lodges and are not likely to be able to accommodate single sleeper rooms.
Please let us know in your application if you have sleep related needs. We will also ask additional questions about this in the Health Form.
Current COVID/respiratory illness-related plan:
– 1 lodge for persons engaging in regular, consistent mask wearing and/or covid testing (mask in communal space).
– 1 lodge for persons who aren’t (mask in communal space).
– You will most likely be able to choose your sleeping room buddies. We are not likely to be able to accommodate single sleeper rooms
We have some flexibility to design sleeping arrangements to meet identified needs. Please let us know in your application if you have sleep related needs. We will also ask additional questions about this in the Health Form.
If persons begin to feel sick while on site, we will assess and follow indicated health protocols. We have space that provide secluded lodging and sleeping arrangements during recovery.
Numerous first aid kits are available. Persons trained in first-aid, CPR, AED and /or mental health support strategieswill be on site for the duration of the retreat. A nd thereis a landline that provides stable access to EMS.
Meals are intended to be balanced, yummy, and nutritious. All meals are designed based on the dietary preferences and requirements provided. If you require specific food items to support your health and wellness, please let us know.
RRR PARTICIPANT APPLICATION
We are committed to doing everything we can to make this retreat as supportive and accessible as possible. We know this does not mean we can meet all needs or requests. And we will be honest when we cannot and timely in our communication.
We will do our best to increase accessibility and health and wellness precautions based on needs. Please let us know in your application or by email at [email protected] if you have needs that were not addressed and/or questions. We will get back to you with further information or questions.
Support for Radical Roots Retreat Provided By:
