A very happy 2015 to all of you! We are looking towards this year’s festival with great anticipation, and to that end we have a couple of Very Exciting Things to share:

The first Very Exciting Thing is that the Epic Skill Swap Organizing team and some other skilled swappers are putting together an anti-oppression workshop on February 28th in the Boston/Providence area. We’re doing this in an effort to keep our community as open and welcoming as possible for folks of all backgrounds, and to make sure that our festival reflects our values of inclusion and safety. Lisa and Chloe will lead us through core ideas and practices for working to dismantle race, gender, and economic oppressions. We would like to share this opportunity with the broader ESS community, and so we invite you to join us. We have a limited number of spaces available on a first-come, first-served basis. Email Meghan at epicskillswap@gmail.com if you’re interested.

The second Very Exciting Thing is that, in our fourth year of skill swapping, one trend is becoming evident: the Epic Skill Swap is growing wicked fast. We’ve seen about a 50 percent increase in attendance each year so far, and can foresee a day when the current organizing team will not be able to meet the demand. Whether the future includes more swaps, bigger swaps, or something else altogether, it’s clear that at some point we’re going to need more hands. We’d like to start laying the groundwork for what comes next, and want to offer any interested members of the community the opportunity to get involved with the organizing process without having to commit to taking primary responsibility for the event. So, we are looking for a few good folks to manage small projects that need to be pulled together before we get to Wilmot. These small projects range from setting up some kids’ programming to being a site liaison. It is a fantastic way to pitch in before the event and dip your toes in the murky and delightful waters of Skill Swap organizing. Hit Charis up at epicskillswap@gmail.com if this sounds like your cup of tea.

The third Very Exciting Thing is actually more of a timeline for what’s going to happen in the next few months. Here’s the skinny:

• In mid-February we will open the workshop submission process. This will, as in years past, be done online (thanks to an epic new website that fellow swapper Adam Franco is building for us), and you’ll have the chance to both offer classes you’d like to teach and request classes that you want to take.
• In mid-March, the submissions period will end, and a brief (2-week) voting period will begin. You’ll look at all the skills that are offered, indicate your interest in what is there, and we’ll use that to sort out what to offer.
• At the end of March we’ll close voting, finalize instructors, and start putting together the schedule.
• Then everyone will spend two months getting super excited for Memorial Day weekend.

We’ll be in touch again to announce specific dates as they draw nearer.

We’re so looking forward to sharing knowledge and fellowship and breaking bread and making a rumpus and playing with all of you again this year.

With epic love,

Meghan, Alison, Jamie, Sue, and Charis
The 2015 Epic Skill Swap Organizing Team