VIRGINIA: GO Gathering! August 7-9, Sign-Up Begins!
By Mike Boisvert.
Our 7th annual GO Gathering is built for incredible memories. This year we have joined forces with Gay River Camping's annual Fab Fest. You'll never forget the exhilarating Fireworks Extravaganza Saturday night; and three delicious catered meals including a continental breakfast with fresh coffee, a mouth watering riverside lunch barbecue and an eye-popping fully catered dinner reception starting with appetizers. And did we mention there will be kegs of beer flowing all weekend? We'll spend the weekend camping along the Shenandoah River on a private farm 10 miles south of Front Royal, Virginia, with tubing, swimming, sunbathing, fishing and canoeing right outside your tent door. If you don't live nearby make this a mini-vacation and take the extra time to hike in Shenandoah National Park, drive the scenic 105-mile Skyline Drive, visit civil war sites and explore Washington, DC.
The GO Gathering is our big annual party where we really like to spoil ourselves in the woods. The GO Gathering is where GayOutdoors' members from all over the country gather together to introduce themselves, finally get to meet members they have chatted with in the forums or met online, and to plan future events. This year we'll be meeting new folks outside of GO since we are part of Gay River Camping's annual Fab Fest. Every year our gay camping group enjoys good food, friends, and fireworks and every year our group gets a little bit bigger.
The GO Gathering is held on a working cattle farm. People with a fear of cows would not have a good weekend. The farm has 11 campsites spaced far apart along a 1.5-mile bend in the river. Each campsite is very private. During the GO Gathering, we are not the only group on the farm. The GO Gathering is a planned camping date with the farm owner at the very beginning of the season for campsites #9 through #11. You must have a ticket to attend the GO Gathering. You can purchase GO Gathering Tickets online; any gay-friendly guy can sign-up! The GO Gathering is an annual event and purchasing an advance ticket is mandatory.
If this is your very first GO Gathering, or you've got questions, email us your questions. We'll send you a personalized reply.
Email us with information>
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Our last three GO Gatherings have been held in New York so the following photo albums are not exactly reflective of what you'll experiece this year. However you'll get a good sense of the comaraderie that occurs:
2008 GO Gathering Photo Album >
2007 GO Gathering Photo Album >
2006 GO Gathering Photo Album >
Fab Fest Photo Album > **********************************************************************************************
The GO Gathering weekend starts on Friday with an all day tent pitching party and campsite setup. We are expecting around 100 people and that equates to around 70 or 80 tents. The best spot for setting up your tent is along the shoreline. The earlier you arrive, the better the campsite you can have. This is not a KOA type campground. No Showers are Available! There are not any picnic tables. Clean outhouse bathrooms are the only facilities. For Friday and Sunday, you will need to bring your own food and soft drinks. Grills for cooking and cold beer will be provided all weekend long.
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Imagine the dog days of summer.
Maybe it's one of those sweltering days where everyone's talking about their weekend plans just to get out of the city..and while everyone seems stuck in their common routine, it's your turn to offer up what you're doing...
"I'm going camping along the Shenandoah River with over 100 gay guys."
Yeah. When it comes to bragging rights, it's hard to top a summertime camping weekend with a bunch of gay outdoozy guys. Your GO profile photos of this event afterwards will inspire envy of everyone who did not attend. It's all about GO-ing Outdoors and Making New Outdoorzy Buddies in a safe, comfortable atmosphere.
Saturday morning begins with a continental buffet breakfast of fresh juices, coffee, fruit, muffins’, pastries, and cereals at 10:00 AM. Afternoon activities will include, sunbathing, canoeing, kayaking, tubing, volleyball, fishing, drinking, dancing, or just reading a book.
At 1:00 PM a cookout with BBQ chicken, Pork BBQ Sandwiches, Hamburgers, and Hot Dogs will be served with side dishes, desserts. Lunch will be served riverside, buffet style.
Saturday evening is the main event and begins with a fully catered reception of appetizers and dinner at 7:00PM. As dusk falls upon us, you will want to grab your chair and head up to the field for a professional Fireworks Extravaganza. Enjoy the sights, sounds, and music as 1000+ high flying shells are launched into the star filled sky. The show will last for an hour or so and conclude with a massive grand finale. At the conclusion of the fireworks show, we will retreat to the river for a bonfire dance party on the river until whenever. ***********************************************************************************************
We always camp riverside, on a private farm, located 10 miles South of Front Royal, VA. The farm has the ultimate campsite with its own mini-waterfall (The Ledge). The Shenandoah river water is warm (75 – 85 degrees) and clean. If you like fishing, do not forget to bring your pole. If you like a casual float down the river, remember to bring a tube or other floating device. Something with a cup holder is always nice. It is a great place to meet other gay guys and make lifetime friends. As long as you're gay-friendly, even straight guys are welcome to sign-up for the GO Gathering and join our group.
Camping on the farm in Bentonville, VA is primitive camping. The farm owner provides outhouses only. These tiny little wooden boxes are a toilet seat and a hole in the ground. You get the picture. Most people only visit the little boxes for number two. There is ample private woods space for your quick personal session with nature. If you really want to clean up, you should grab some soap and head for the river. With that being said, the answer to what should I bring is everything you might possibly want while stranded in the woods along the Shenandoah River. While some people bring everything and the kitchen sink; other campers come only with a tent and a few supplies. There is a definite balance between comfort and convenience. If you drag too much shit to the woods, you will spend a huge portion of your weekend on setting up and packing up. No matter what your camping style is, the following is a list of highly recommended basic camping supplies:
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After you purchased a ticket, be sure to let other GO members know that you are going by also signing-up on the GO website. This is a good way to contact other members for carpooling and allow you to recognize the other GO members attending. Do not sign up here until you have confirmed reservations from GayRiverCamping.
9AM: Campground Opens
7PM: Greet 'N Meet Party
10AM: Continental Breakfast Buffet with coffee 11AM-1PM: Various activities to do include swimming, sunbathing, canoeing, kayaking, tubing, volleyball, fishing, reading a book 1PM: Riverside Lunch BBQ Buffet 2-7PM: Various activities to do include swimming, sunbathing, canoeing, kayaking, tubing, volleyball, fishing, reading a book 7PM: Fully catered reception of appetizers and dinner 9:30PM: Fireworks Extravaganza 10:30PM: Riverside Bonfire Dance Party
Pack-up and chill-out day. Various activities to do include swimming, sunbathing, canoeing, kayaking, tubing, volleyball, fishing, reading a book 4:00PM: Campground Closes ***********************************************************************************************
Tickets for the GO Gathering Weekend are only available at the Gay River Camping Website. Tickets cost $90.00 per person for the entire weekend. The Festival begins Friday August 7th, 2009 at 9:00 AM and ends on Sunday at 4:00 PM. Your ticket price includes camping fees, Saturday night fireworks show, cold beer on tap all weekend long, community grills, and Saturday breakfast, lunch, & dinner. You must bring your own food and soft drinks for Friday and Sunday! Extra ice for your cooler is available at the campsite for an additional charge. Tickets must be purchased before the sales closing date of Saturday August 1, 2009. There is no raindate for the GO Gathering 2009.
Camping in the rain is no fun and we have tried in years past to make sure we had a backup raindate. Unfortunately, this does not work with most peoples schedules. For many people the GO Gathering is a planned summer mini vacation and their schedules are just not flexible. Because of this, we will not have a scheduled rain date for the GO Gathering 2009. If you buy a ticket you are taking the chance that Mother Nature will screw all of us and you will loose $45.00 per ticket, 50% of what you paid. This will only happen if a freak of "M" nature occurs between the Saturday of the ticket sales closing date and the follwing Friday of the GO Gathering. We will only cancel the GO Gathering if we are guaranteed a TOTAL RAIN OUT weekend.
We understand that shit happens and plans change, we have no problem giving anyone a 100% refund as long as your refund request is received before the Ticket Sales Closing Date. Your money will be prompty refunded in the same manner we received it. After the Ticket Sales Closing Date, All Ticket Sales are Final. No tickets will be sold after this date. No refunds will be given after this date unless we have a TOTAL RAIN OUT weekend. This year, the Ticket Sales Closing Date is Saturday August 1st, 2009. In the event the GO Gathering has to be canceled, Gay River Camping will only provide a 50% refund for each ticket. If this refund policy is not acceptable to you, please do not buy a ticket. Please understand that we have non-recoverable expenses. We are also a Not-for-Profit Corporation that is trying to give back to the GLBT community.
Your host, Mike Antonelli GayRiverCamping.com
© 2009 Gay Outdoors ; All Rights Reserved.
