With all the hoop happenings now afoot in the nation's (and world's)
exploding hoop community, it might be hard to know which one
is right for you. Some are multi-disciplinary, some are themed, some
are a smorgasbord of hoop techniques. Within this growing range, the
Hoop Path Retreat holds its own special role. However I'm realizing
that role is probably not obvious to new hoopers, so I thought I'd share a
few paragraphs to explain our wonderful event to all the inquiring
minds out there in Hoop City!

Way back in the spring of 2007 (in hoop terms--ancient history), before
there were any hoop gatherings of any sort, a series of discussions on
tribe.net prompted Baxter & I to issue an invitation to hoopers
everywhere to come down for a summer weekend of workshops and jams with
us and our local community. A brave crew of 17 hoopers took a chance
and journeyed from far and wide (Arizona, California, Wisconsin, Ohio,
& beyond) to our little hometown here in North Carolina to share a
weekend of "positive rhythm generation." Our local hoop family of maybe
15 people, the Hoop Path Tribe of Carrboro, welcomed them with open
arms. The bonds we formed that weekend endure to this day. And our
tribe blossomed.

The next summer, 25 locals strong, we decided to do it again. Except,
this time, 80 out-of-town guests showed up!!! That's right--eighty. Our
home tribe embraced each person with the same warmth and grace they had
shown to our First Ring the previous year. And the First Ringers
lighted the way for the many newbies who joined us that year.

In 2009, we celebrated HPIII with a larger space, 40 locals, and 100
guests. Even though this was our largest gathering yet, the feeling of
family reunion that had characterized our previous retreats was
stronger than ever. Tears of joy and gut-busting laughs alike started
the moment we opened the event with our traditional Welcome Home
Potluck, provided by our local tribe. For the third year in a row we
shared the rituals of the Morning Meditation, Live Drum Jam, and Fire
Ceremony. Watching this event grow and transform has been an
indescribably special experience for us. Most of our hoop family of
locals are too busy with jobs and kids to attend any of the national
hoop events or Burning Man. But they are as dedicated to and in love
with their hoops as any full-time hooper. To see them get the chance to
commune with their extended tribe, hug a newbie, maybe even rock out
some fake eyelashes, face paint, & hair falls for the Hoopers
Ball--well, life doesn't get much better than that, let me tell you. At
least, for me it doesn't.

To those of you who might be wondering exactly what I mean when I say
"local hoop family" or "Hoop Path Tribe of Carrboro": Our local group
has been meeting weekly since April of 2005, when the first Monday
night Hoop Path class was held. That Monday night class has continued,
uninterrupted, since that day. We've added 3 weekly HP classes in the
last few years, but that class was the original powerful seed that
sprouted our local community. Every change of season we throw a bonfire
in which each of us has the opportunity to share what we're
feeling--what we're *really* feeling--in a completely safe environment
of compassionate witnessing. We've built that trust through time and
also through our shared commitment to our hoop practice. For us, time
in the hoop is sacred time. Sharing that space and intention has been
much more meaningful and healing to me than I ever could have dreamed
possible. My local hoop family is my spirit community. However bizarre
that might sound is utterly immaterial to me. My hoop tribe has held
and supported an environment that has allowed my spirit to grow and
heal. That's what matters to me.

Our highest hope for the Hoop Path Retreat is that guests from anywhere
and everywhere can take these few days to immerse themselves in the
special love of this amazing community we are so lucky to be a part of.
AND learn to be badass hoopers! If you just want to come and soak up
some of the technical insights born of nearly 5,000 hours of flight
time (Baxter's & my actual time in the hoop, combined) you won't be
disappointed. Hoop Path technique is the widest, richest, and deepest
of all approaches to the hoop, which I say with the confidence that
comes from spending 3 straight years learning absolutely everything I
could from Baxter (and still I'm not done!) before beginning to teach
on my own. I know how much there is to learn because I've spent the
most time trying to learn it. Baxter's insights and ideas about the
hoop are literally inexhaustible. I'm now on a mission to dive deep and
contribute what I can to this awe-inspiring body of knowledge. It's the
most fun and satisfying thing I have ever done.

So, by now I hope that any of you who didn't know before now understand
what makes the Hoop Path Retreat the Hoop Path Retreat. It really is
the highlight of our year--though we're all wrung out to our very
marrow by the end of it each year, we walk on air for days afterward.
We'd love to see you this year if you feel like ours might be the
retreat for you. Just write me at <ann@hooppath.com> We can't
wait.