Rajanaka Camp 2025 Invitation
Details About Our Annual Gathering in Bristol, New York
Friday, April 25, 2025
RE: Rajanaka Summer Camp 2025
Aho’ Rajanaka,
I hope this finds you well. This is the Rajanaka Summer Camp invitation. It’s fun to read through if you don’t know what Camp has been—-we’ve had 20+ years of this gathering. Also, I’ve been mentioning Camp in emails and Zooms for months: the dates are Thursday July 10th through lunch on Monday July 14th. Come for all, come for some.
Feel free to skip the prelude that describes Camp if you just want the 411. There are only two principal innovations this year. First, I’m sticking to the deadlines because we need to know how many are committed. If you can’t commit by the deadlines, that’s okay. Just gotta be clear, we need less stress. Second, I am reverting to the original lecture outline---in the early years I didn't announce the topic because I was working on plenty of things. This year I’ve not quite yet settled on a title/topic and anyways I’m gonna talk about what I think is worth the effort. So you gotta trust me and I think this has worked out fine over these many years. Camp is about being together and going deep. Come for the ride.
Prelude:
A long time ago in a yoga world that no longer exists some folks invited themselves sto our house for a weekend in July. The deal was I'd talk about something interesting, and we’d figure out the rest. Next thing you know, it’s Rajanaka Summer Camp. It’s been more than 20 years since. We’ve never lost the plot: Camp is still a low-key affair and it’s reallyreally fun. This is a family affair. Camp belongs to the community. Newbies are most welcome. I hope the information, dates, registration, tuition, etc. is clear but ask anything.
(Sorry for the Capital Letters but, NO LAST-MINUTE REGISTRATIONS THIS YEAR. Parentheses to soften the hard policy choice. It’s just too hard to deal with planning. Please just make a plan, it’s all good with me.)
THE DETAILS ABOUT REGISTRATION AND COMING TO BRISTOL, NEW YORK
Here’s how it works. PLEASE READ unless you know all this stuff.
WE provide the venue with bathrooms, water and tea and snacks, lunch every day, Curry Night, things start in the morning and end at about 5pm each day. Lunch is vegetarian but not vegan.
YOU provide your own transportation, accommodations, and any breakfast or dinner plans. We provide lunch on Friday, Sat, Sun, & Mon). We have helpful suggestions about travel and accommodations, but we can’t provide airport pick-ups or to-the-venue rides. (It’s expensive to Uber to Bristol from the airport.)
Camp is in and around our home in Bristol, New York (about an hour from Rochester.) The venue Bristol Valley Vineyards, our venue, is our very good neighbor, the Anselms. Bristol is near the proper town of Bloomfield (6mi north), Naples (6mi south), Victor (10mi north), and Canandaigua (10mi east). Rochester (about 1hour) is the nearest airport about 40miles north of the venue, Syracuse is closer (1.5hrs east) than Buffalo (under 2hrs). There is ample parking at the Vineyard and our gathering place is their lovely “tasting room,” which has AC, wi-fi, and bathrooms. There is shade and blankets , but you can bring a folding chair if that’s your style. No camping on site or at our house, please. There is an excellent campsite nearby (information below) with all the facilities, including cabins.
*DATES: CAMP STARTS Thursday, July 10th at 2pm and concludes Monday, July 14th with lunch served. You can come for the full time of course or for any portion but tuition is the same.
*VENUE: Bristol Valley Vineyards, 7235 Lane Road, BLOOMFIELD, NY 14469. (The vineyard is actually the town of Bristol, New York but do note that this is the correct mailing and maps address.)
*ZOOM AND RECORDING: There will be a live Zoom feed for every session and archived recordings made accessible on the day of. You can attend live or access the recordings, available anytime, foreva’, for all. Tuition for Zoom and/or Recordings only is listed below.
*SCHEDULE:Thursday, July 10th: 2pm gathering, but of course come when you can. We conclude by 5pm. No problem coming late even by a day or two!
Friday and Saturday, morning session begins about 9:30am. Lunch is served on site at the Vineyard. Afternoon session ends about 4:30-5pm. Evenings are yours.
Saturday Night is Curry Night. We gather at the house and have ourselves a party. I do the cooking, you do the partying, we have a grand time.
Sunday Morning is puja. I will preside over a puja about an hour’s worth. Lunch and regular afternoon session till 5pm.
Monday, morning session only followed by lunch and then goodbyes.
TOPIC: Rajanaka teachings are rooted in the mythologies of Nataraja and the Tamil traditions of the goddess Tillai Amman. There will be mantra practices of Ayyappa and Tillai Kālī and with a puja you can bring home with you.
FACEBOOK GROUP: Not everyone uses FB but there will be a FB Group called Rajanaka Summer Camp 2025. Lots of folks converse about shared accommodations and rides and other information here. Here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1350395242864357
ACCOMMODATIONS:In this era of Air BnB, that is likely your best bet. The Bristol Woodlands is a 90 acre campsite with cabins. There are hotels in Canandaigua, Victor, and Naples. Use the Bristol Valley Vineyards to calculate proximity. Prepared foods at Wegmans in Canandaigua are really quite good and there are plenty of places in the town.
TUITION:$685 includes lectures, water, tea & snacks, lunch (FriSSM), Curry Night (Saturday), parking is free but we can’t provide transportation. Tuition also includes all recording archives access.
---Zoom tuition and recordings only is $275.
No discounts, please, but we will accept an agreed upon payment plan.
Tuition is not prorated if you come late.
REGISTRATION. Registration is open now. IF FOLKS DO NOT REGISTER IN A TIMELY MANNER, I WILL CANCEL CAMP. TOO MUCH STRESS. WE NEED AT LEAST 25 FOLKS. PLEASE MAKE PLANS, PLEASE COME!! It’s well worth it.
& To register you need to do two things. First, send me an email (douglas@rajanaka.com) telling us you’re coming and then send a $200 deposit.
--If you choose PayPal: use nallapaampu@gmail.com for PayPal Friends & Family. ONLY this address, please.
--If you use Venmo: douglas-brooks-8 for Venmo (my picture there is a corgi!).
--If you want to pay by check or otherwise, please send me an email douglas@rajanaka.com. Our mailing and home address is 7296 Gregg Road, Bloomfield, New York, 14469.
& Deposit is due before MAY 15th, Tuition balance is due no later than JUNE 1st. You can pay in installments or write to me and we’ll figure it out: douglas@rajanaka.com
& If you register and must cancel, you will be refunded in full before June 1st. If you cancel after June 1st, only the deposit will be refunded.
ALL DEPOSITS ARE DUE BY MAY 15th. ALL BALANCES ARE DUE BY JUNE 1st.
Please read again the refund policy.
& Late registrations MIGHT be considered after June 1st but should we not get sufficient registrations by May 15th then I will cancel the whole event, and refund the monies. If you want to come to Camp, please make this work for all.
Tuition AFTER JUNE 1st is $750. I said at the outset that we can’t really deal with the stress of late registration but everyone knows that I will fold like a lawn chair if you ask. I have trouble bending at all these days so please just decide if you’d like to come.
I think that’s everything. Write to me about anything, svcourses@gmail.com.
With affection, see ya’s in July, Douglas