What You Should Know

Camp begins on Saturday, December 28 at 2PM. The closing circle ends at Wednesday, January 1 at 1PM. However, you have the option to stay for an extra day of participant-led activities.

Our retreat center, Abrams Creek Center, is in the mountains of West Virginia, about 2.5 hours west of the DC area, 2.5 hours southeast of Pittsburgh, and about 70 miles west of Winchester, Virginia.

We ask everyone to arrive between 10AM and 12PM on Saturday, December 28 unless you have made arrangements to come early and help out, starting on December 26.

If it’s your first time at camp, you must arrive on Saturday, December 28. You are free to leave early.

If you are a returning New Culture attendee and wish to arrive late, please talk with us about your timing and the flow of the program.

Yes! We have space for a limited number of people to help with camp set-up and/or take-down and with creating the camp “energy.”  This is a great way to decompress, work, and play with community co-creators!

Pre-camp setup begins on December 26, and post-camp take-down goes through January 4.

The average daytime high temperature will be in the 20’s and 30’s, and an average nightly low is in the teens. In this region, on average it rains or snows about every third or fourth day. We recommend dressing in layers.

The cost of a campsite or bunk is included as part of your registration, but other beds are available for additional cost. Our indoor accommodations consist of bunk beds, queen-size beds, private rooms, and cabins ($0-$750). All cabins are heated. You can request a specific accommodation when you register.

We also own a motel that is less than a five-minute drive from the retreat site. Please inquire directly at

We are committed to making this event safe and connecting. We have established a camp COVID-19 protocol based on the latest information from the CDC and other major health agencies worldwide, as well as our own extensive research. As new information comes available, we will modify the protocols as needed to balance a high level of safety with the greatest freedom to connect for all concerned.

Our current protocol requires 4 days of relative isolation before the event and antigen (rapid) testing before arrival, and antigen testing during the event. 

Please feel free to contact us at info@cfnc.us with questions and for assistance accessing vaccinations and/or tests.Description goes here

Registration is capped at 45 people.

We expect that participants are generally thoughtful and heartful seekers after a “better way.” We welcome people of all ages, genders, sexualities, race and ethnicities, and lifestyle choices. We range in age from 18 to 80, with a roughly even distribution of people both under and over 40.

The majority of campers are white, with some black, Latine, Pacific Islander, and Southeast Asian campers as well. We have a wide range of incomes and life situations. Most of us are heterosexual or bisexual/pansexual, with a small number of gay men and lesbians.

The majority of campers are cis, and our events usually have a sizeable minority of trans and gender diverse folks attending.  Many campers are polyamorous, practicing ethical non-monogamy; all consensual relationship choices are honored.

Some of us are Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, pagan, eclectically spiritual, or atheist.

Many groups “gender balance” their events by requiring an equal number of men and women to participate. One reason for this practice is to make sure that women do not feel overwhelmed by aggressive male energy; another reason is to have roughly equal numbers of potential partners for “both genders.” 

We deliberately choose NOT to gender balance. For one thing, many of our participants are not heterosexual or cisgender — with a mix of straight, gay/lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, and nonbinary people, and those who do not identify with the concept of gender at all, the question of who might be open to relationships with whom becomes impossible to define by gender alone. 

More crucially, though some people do find romantic connections at camp, that is not our main purpose. Our goal is to increase emotional intimacy and deep heart connection among people in all sorts of relationships: live-in lovers, married couples, triads, sexual partners, emotional relationships, romantic connections, metamours, open relationships and more.  Every mix of campers provides its own set of opportunities and challenges; we choose to work with the people who choose to show up.

What should I make sure to bring?

For tent campers: WE RECOMMEND ONLY EXPERIENCED WINTER CAMPERS CHOOSE TO CAMP AT THIS EVENT.

For campers staying in rustic cabins w/electric: sheets, multiple blankets or a sleeping bag, pillows, pillowcases, towels.

For campers staying in non-electric rustic cabins: lanterns, sheets, multiple blankets AND a sleeping bag, pillows, pillowcases, towels.

For lodge, cottage, and motel residents: sheets, blankets, pillows, and towels are provided.

For everyone:

Flashlights, extra blankets, towels, easy-to-carry water bottle, toiletries, biodegradable soap, shampoo, and conditioner, safe sex supplies, snow gear, a watch or other timepiece, earplugs.

Warm clothes and snow boots for exploring the beautiful grounds. Comfortable house clothes for a variety of temperatures, including house slippers.

Personal snacks or food items to prepare for yourself in the Personal Foods Kitchen if you have special food needs.

Your sense of humor and willingness to co-create an incredible experience.

Acoustic  or electric musical instruments, face paints, your favorite dance music, fun and outrageous clothing or costumes, a personal journal and pens/pencils, books to share in our lending library, flyers about related events.

Alcohol or recreational drugs, valuables of any sort, non-biodegradable soaps, shampoos, or conditioners, pets of any size. Weapons of any kind are not allowed. 

Some campers are highly allergic to scents so please do not wear any scented products at camp, including essential oils or other “natural” scented products.

No. All campers must be 18 or older.

Yes, though we suggest that you spend as little time as possible on the phone or internet, in order to be present with the community-building, learning opportunities, and personal connections at camp.

All of the meals are vegetarian and vegan compatible, with a lot of variety. Please let us know if you have a food allergy or special diet; we will do our best to accommodate you. Snacks, leftovers, fruit, coffee and tea are available at all times. 

We also have a Personal Foods Kitchen for those with special food needs to store and prepare their own foods. 

Yes, we ask all campers to do five to six hours of community service, such as kitchen prep, meal cleanup/dishwashing, or other housekeeping.

We do not recommend bringing an RV to this winter event because the roads are so curvy and hilly that if there is any ice, driving an RV will be unsafe.

The closest airports are Dulles International Airport (IAD), Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI), and Reagan National (DCA). Without traffic delays, camp is about 2:15 hours from Dulles, 2:45 hours from Reagan National, and a little less than three hours drive from BWI, so you can either rent a car or we can help arrange a carpool or group ride from there to camp.

The Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) is also a possibility. It is about 2:45 hours away, but there is hardly ever any traffic to cope with, so that time is very consistently real. We also have an e-list to assist in helping campers find rides with each other.