Activities Beyond the Workshop Spaces: Movement, Walks, Presentations, Discussions & Evening Community Events!
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These offerings will all be offered free of charge and many require your participation! Please browse and read through these offerings so you know what to bring to participate.
If you have something to offer please email us and we will see if it’s a good fit. info@vonhandfestival.com
More to come!
Yoga
Daily
Begin your day with morning Yoga. The class will take place outside before breakfast each morning around 7:15/7:30. Bring your own mat, blanket, or towel to move on.
Morning yoga will help us wake up softly, to feel good in our bodies and to get prepared to learn and craft.
Movements will be adapted to the participants and will not require a yoga mat (you can of course bring one) but a towel or blanket on the grass will be all you need.
*Yoga may also be offered at other times of the day/week.
Children’s Program
w/ Filipp Rust
Daily
We are thrilled to offer a Children’s program this year led by Filipp Rust, a kindergarten teacher and nature and wilderness educator. During the von Hand Festival, Filipp will accompany the children throughout the week and create a varied program for them. Together they will explore nature, experience exciting adventures, and learn about the environment through play. “My goal is to give the children a truly enjoyable time in nature and with each other, and to strengthen their connection to nature. My own children will also be there. I look forward to seeing you.” - Filipp
Fairytales for Children of all Ages
by Jens Hinghaus
Several evenings
Jens will share fairytales with us by the fireside—or in another quiet spot—just before bedtime for our younger listeners. The stories come from across Europe and are suitable for children of all ages, as well as those who consider themselves grown-ups. Since most younger children don’t understand English, the tales will be told in German. English translations are available on request.
Circle Songs
An evening or two during the festival (and as wanted =)
You are invited to join us in singing simple, earth and nature-connected songs and rounds from different parts of the world. Many are chants or circle songs, that are easy to learn and unfold their power through repetition. The songs are mostly in german or in english, some in other languages.
Just come along and enjoy a relaxed evening in a circle around the fire! You don’t need any musical qualification: if you can speak, you can sing as well :-)
WE NEED A HOST FOR MONDAY EVENING! Please get in touch if you are keen.
Trade Blanket
Hosted by Oliver Klotzek
Tuesday Evening
Join us for the first Von Hand Trade Blanket! An evening affair that all are welcome to participate in.
What is the Trade Blanket & How does it work?
Bring items made by hand (or other items related to craft, outdoor skills, etc.) to trade on the trade blanket.
Following dinner on Tuesday evening Oliver will set up a blanket where those who wish to offer something for trade will gather around. One by one an item will be presented and everyone else will have the opportunity to silently present their offer for trade. The presenter of their item will either select or respectfully decline to trade and then the next person goes. It’s a bit challenging to describe in writing so you will have to experience it.
(Examples of what we (Raleigh & Oliver) might be bringing to potentially trade: Handmade brooms, hand carved spoons, hand made earrings, Swedish woven baskets, dried elderberries from our garden, bottle of fire cider, tools we no longer need, salted sheep skin, homemade salve, homemade chocolate truffles, etc….)
The trade blanket thrives best when the community brings a wide variety of trade items. You never know what someone might want to trade for. No trade is too small. Side trades off the blanket are welcome.
For those traveling light - You are also welcome to enter place holders for trade: ie. Put your hat down or a piece of paper with a promise to deliver an item or service you don’t have on hand!
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Inspired by the Trade Blanket at Buckeye Gathering in California which also comes through the lineage of other gatherings, and the centuries olf history of trading wares spread out on a wool blanket across Turtle Island (the United States). We will do our best to honor the event here at Von Hand.
Introduction to Greenwood: Tools & Techniques
Is this your first time working with greenwood and sharp tools?
Are you curious about how to use them and eager to learn techniques to create small masterpieces with your own hands, using simple steps?
During Wednesday, I invite you to experiment. It's not about a specific result, but about getting to know the tools and techniques for working with greenwood. After a brief introduction to sawing, splitting, and cutting, you can unleash your creativity.
Discover how the right techniques and the adequate positions of your hands make these steps incredibly easy. Saws, splitting blades, axes, adzes, drawknives, spoon knives, and carving knives will be available for you to be used in a safe working environment as e.g. planing horses, axe blocks, bowl saws, or sawhorses.
Find out what you enjoy most, what sparks your passion, and how you can integrate your new knowledge into your everyday life.
And you can play with your creativity to build your own things to take home.
Materials Fee: There will be a small materials fee about 5-10€ to be paid directly to Dani at the festival.
Skill Level/Prerequisite’s: Open to All Levels!
Minimum age: 6 years old
Dani speaks German, Portugiese, Spanish, French & English
This will be a drop in space - come for a bit or come for a while.
Wednesday during the day
Treetime: Stories, Myth, & Legend of Trees and Timber
Michail Schütte, tree-lover and green woodworker, leads a walk through the woods:
-Telling of the history of trees as the Earth’s largest living beings and how mankind depends on them;
-Speaking not only of myth and legend surrounding trees but also of the traditional uses of woodland and timber;
-Touching on what the future may hold for the relationship of man and tree.
Approx 3 hours.
Held on two occasions in the second half of the week.
Wednesday during the day
Community Market
by All of you!
Wednesday Evening
Bring your handmade pieces and wares to show, trade and sell with everyone else. This will be our final event of the festival!
Community Market will be held in conjunction with the Tool Flea Market on Thursday Evening.
If there is enough interest/demand we will have a second community market on Saturday after closing circle.
Flea Market & Seed Exchange
Bring your old or unused tools, materials, craft, and handmade collections to barter, trade or sell!
The Flea Market will be held in conjunction with a Seed Exchange and the Community Market on Wednesday Evening.
Pedi’s Cocktail Bar
Hosted by Pedi
Wednesday Evening
On Wednesday evening join Pedi for a fresh cocktail or mocktail around the fire. Cocktails will be between 6-10€
Making Chairs from Green Wood
by Katy Schütte
On Thursday Evening
I have been making chairs from fresh wood since 1998, and would like to share my experience of it by giving an illustrated talk which will include a short history of the different styles of chair, the tools, techniques and my thoughts on the wonderful possibilities for future handy and sustainable seating.
Scholarship Raffle
Friday Evening
During the festival we will host a raffle (lottery) with all raised funds going towards the following year’s scholarships.
To help us reach that goal we hope you will bring some of your own handmade wares to contribute to the raffle. We have also received some outside donations towards the raffle such as carving tools and books!
How it works:
Over the week we will collect your Prize donations (things you have made by hand, tools, quality materials, craft books, etc.)
All prizes will be on display to browse over the week
Raffle/Lottery Ticket sales will take place in the second half of the week
Friday Evening we will make an event of presenting each prize and drawing the winners.
In 2025 we raised 1600€ and will be giving tickets and workshops to a couple people this year!
We invite the community to nominate folks they feel are in most need of the scholarships. We hope that each year we can offer a few full covered scholarships.
Slöjd Swap
How it Works:
There will be a large box where you are invited to wrap up and put in a handmade item that YOU have made and then in return you take out another offering. It is a blind and annonymous swap of craft. Last time we had wooden wares, pottery/ceramics, hand bound notebooks, scarves, natural pigments, brooms, hand spun wool, prints, etc going through the swap. It’s an adventure of exchange. All entries are welcome to enter, tho we do encourage folks to put in something you are proud of and would be thrilled to receive.
You are more than welcome to contribute several items and receive just as many. If one goes in for every one out it works perfectly.
This will be running all week and you engage with it whenever you wish. You could put in one or a few items at the beginning of the week and take out your swaps at the end of the week or any day in between.
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The Slöjd Swap is a concept inspired and borrowed from Jeppe at Slöjdfest Norway.
It was a great success in 2023 at the last gathering of Von Hand.
All week