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Rail on the River workshops and activities
At Rail on the River, community and creativity come alive!
Join us for a variety of volunteer-led workshops in art, movement, music, songwriting, spiritual peace, jam sessions, and more.
Dive in, connect, and discover something new with friends as the river flows on by.
How do I sign up?
Most activities and workshops have no limit to participation, but read the descriptions carefully to be sure that is true for the ones you want to attend.
We will have a schedule posted near the Ranch House, with sign-up sheets, starting Thursday. Signing up is encouraged as a courtesy to the workshop leaders so they can estimate how many people to expect.
Please also note that some workshops have a small charge for materials, may require you to bring an item from home, or accept gratuities.
Questions? Contact Jeanne Em at workshops@coloradograss.org
Activity Schedule
Activity Descriptions by Day
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Top | Activities on Friday | Activities on Saturday | Activities on Sunday
Activities for Friday June 28
| Qigong Will Scott Date: Daily (Fri, Sat, Sun) Time: 8:00 am – 9:00 am Location: Festival lawn I am offering an introduction to a Daoist Qigong form, known as Thunder Qigong or shaking qigong. It is designed to invoke and wake the primordial Qi. Following the practice, participants may feel centered, grounded, energized and relaxed. There are no prerequisites and is adaptable to everyone. Loose clothing and water is suggested for hydration and ease of movement. There is no preparation, just show up and enjoy. Will’s background is in Classical Chinese Medicine and Daoist Self-Cultivation for health and longevity. Fee: There is no fee for this activity, although tips and donations are appreciated. |
EstroJam! (a Beginner-Women’s Jam Circle)
Karen Finch
Date: Friday June 28
Time: 9:00 am – 10:30 am
Location: To be announced
Are you a woman new to jamming? Do you feel intimidated in mixed jam circles? Or do you just love the idea of rockin’ out with a bunch of women? In this workshop you will learn about jam circle etiquette and have an opportunity to take lead breaks in a supportive and fun environment. Bring your instrument and a few easy-to-follow or well-known songs to lead the group on. All levels welcome. LET THE ESTROGEN FLOW
Fee: There is no fee for this activity
Flatpicker’s Hang!
Charlie Stevens
Date: Friday June 28
Time: 9:30 am – 10:30 am
Location: To be announced
This will be for people who play bluegrass flatpicking guitar or are interested in learning how to flatpick. We will meet and evaluate everyone’s level. We will choose a tune everyone can play, with assistance given to those in need, and jam! This will be half educational and half hands-on jamming. We will play as much as possible, but attendees are encouraged to ask whatever questions they wish, and Charlie will guide them and help them to be able to participate. We will attempt to get everyone picking together no matter what their skill level!
Fee: There is no fee for this activity, although tips and donations are appreciated.
A Powerful Tool for Managing Fear
Richard Showers and Jadi Morrow
Date: Friday June 28
Time: 9:30 am – 10:30 am
Location: To be announced
It is so easy to live in your comfort zone. Many of us have done it all our lives. We do it because we listen to fear…until we are challenged to step out. We have discovered a powerful tool to step out of the comfort zone and tell fear to “sit down and shut the f&*k up,” and we will share it with you in this workshop.
Fee: There is no fee for this activity
Fabric Painting with Inktense Blocks and Water
Wendy Easterling
Date: Friday June 28
Time: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Location: To be announced
Learn several techniques for turning solid ink blocks into watercolor washes and designs on natural fabrics! All supplies provided, and you get to create your own personal flag to hang in your camp, and take home with you! Participants are welcome to bring a white, natural fiber item of their own (i.e. cotton, linen, or rayon but not silk this time) to paint on, if they choose.
Fee: There is no fee for this activity, although tips and donations are appreciated.
Yoga with Heaven
Heaven Leigh
Date: Friday June 28 (also offered Saturday)
Time: 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Location: Festival lawn
Heaven Leigh is a 200 hour Inner Work & Tantric Yogini, who loves to add somatic teachings, sound, breathwork, and so much more to each of her classes. In 2015 Heaven found yoga through her own journey of sobriety and healing from Trauma, yoga taught her how to reconnect to her own essence. And she now vows to do the same for others, for we all have our own connection to heavenly energy, once we start to look within. Each class will leave you feeling reconnected, turned on, present, and confident in your own body.
The Benefits of Microdosing
Richard Showers
Date: Friday June 28 (also offered on Saturday)
Time: 10:30 am – 11:00 am
Location: To be announced
Learn how microdosing can open up options in our lives and give us a wider field of choices to make that are beneficial.
This session is limited to 10 participants. Sign ups will be available on Friday morning.
Fee: There is no fee for this activity
Drumset Clinic: How to Get Started, Build Technique & Play with Others
Steve Lopes
Date: Friday June 28
Time: 9:00 am – 10:30 am
Location: Upstairs Dance Hall
Ever wonder how a drummer learns to do what they do? Ever wonder if you could do it yourself? Well, you can! All you need is an interest in drumming & your existing love of music. This Drum clinic covers the drummer’s role in popular genres, how to get started, how to participate in your first jam & fundamental drummer LPTs (life pro tips!).
Fee: There is no fee for this activity
1970s Folk-Rock Jam
Laurie Hutton
Date: Friday June 28
Time: 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Location: To be announced
Let’s get a group together for an acoustic jam, singing and playing songs from bands such as CSNY, America, Poco, Joni Mitchell, Carol King, Bob Dylan, Byrds. etc. Bring your instrument, your voice, and your ideas!
Fee: There is no fee for this activity
Clay Pot Painting
Linda Cranston
Date: Friday June 28
Time: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Location: To be announced
We will be painting small clay pots with acrylic paint. All materials supplied. No experience necessary! Come and play around with all the colors and leave with a decorated pot suitable for planting.
This workshop is limited to 8 participants. Sign ups will be available on Friday morning.
Fee: There is no fee for this activity, although tips and donations are appreciated.
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Top | Activities on Friday | Activities on Saturday | Activities on Sunday
Activities for Saturday June 29
| Qigong Will Scott Date: Daily (Fri, Sat, Sun) Time: 8:00 am – 9:00 am Location: Festival lawn I am offering an introduction to a Daoist Qigong form, known as Thunder Qigong or shaking qigong. It is designed to invoke and wake the primordial Qi. Following the practice, participants may feel centered, grounded, energized and relaxed. There are no prerequisites and is adaptable to everyone. Loose clothing and water is suggested for hydration and ease of movement. There is no preparation, just show up and enjoy. Will’s background is in Classical Chinese Medicine and Daoist Self-Cultivation for health and longevity. Fee: There is no fee for this activity, although tips and donations are appreciated. |
Introduction to Ukulele
Joy Iwancio
Date: Saturday June 29
Time: 8:30 am – 9:30 am
Location: To be announced
In this workshop, attendees will learn the basics of playing a ukulele. Joy will cover tuning, basic chords, and strumming techniques. Participants will walk away being able to play 2 to 3 songs. No experience needed. Please bring a ukulele.
Fee: There is no fee for this activity, although tips and donations are appreciated.
Double Bass Workshop, or, “How I Learned to Hate the Treble Clef.”
Norm Strassner
Date: Saturday June 29
Time: 9:00 am – 10:00 am
Location: Ranch House Dining Room (downstairs)
Some upright bass players, especially in the Bluegrass world, are late-comers to playing the bass and have never taken lessons but have picked up the essentials so they can follow the chords and play roots and fifths, etc. Others have been playing a long time and have picked up some very bad habits. This workshop aims to address both.
On the essentials side, a few pointers regarding grace notes, finger and arm positions, pizzicato techniques and fingerboard positions can improve both the comfort level and tonal results when you play. I started playing when I was in 7th grade, but put it down for many years in favor of an electric bass. I did not realize how much joy I was missing out! I have played classical, jazz, folk, Bluegrass, rock, standards, pit band and Dixieland band just about everything. I’ll share the joy and the techniques I have picked up over all these years.
Bring a bass if you can rustle one up!
Fee: There is no fee for this activity, although tips and donations are appreciated.
Advanced Guitar & Etiquette
Bill Lynch
Date: Saturday June 29
Time: 9:00 am – 10:00 am
Location: To be announced
This workshop will focus on how to play well with others in group situations, tips, tricks, and fun without too much emphasis on theory. Participants should walk away with an improved knowledge of jazz, folk, and R&B basics, including reading skills. Acoustic guitar suggested.
Fee: There is no fee for this activity, although tips and donations are appreciated.
Painted Mandala Rocks
Gwenevere Davis
Date: Saturday June 29
Time: 9:30 am – 10:30 am
Location: To be announced
Painting mandalas is a meditative and community building activity and is generally enjoyed by anyone who tries it! Each participant will paint a one-of-a-kind rock mandala to take home with them. Bring a rock with you, scavenge a rock, or get one from Gwenevere! There are no specific skills needed and no preparation.
Gwenevere has been a teacher for 20 years and have led many art and maker workshops for both children and adults.
Fee: Please bring $3 per person for the cost of paint and supplies.
Texas Song Circle with Kevin and Friends
Kevin Dooley
Date: Saturday June 29
Time: 9:30 am – 10:30 am
Location: Upstairs Dance Hall
At a Texas Song Circle, songwriters are invited to share their songs in a round-robin format. Each participant takes turns performing a song while the others listen and sometimes join in with harmonies or accompaniment. The audience sits in a wider circle around the performers, adding to the intimate feel of the show. Kevin has invited several veteran songwriters for this event and welcomes Rail on the River attendees to share in the camaraderie, storytelling, and the original music in this listening-room environment.
There is no fee for this activity.
Yoga
Heaven Leigh
Date: Saturday June 29 (also offered Friday)
Time: 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Location: Festival lawn
Heaven Leigh is a 200 hour Inner Work & Tantric Yogini, who loves to add somatic teachings, sound, breathwork, and so much more to each of her classes. In 2015 Heaven found yoga through her own journey of sobriety and healing from Trauma, yoga taught her how to reconnect to her own essence. And she now vows to do the same for others, for we all have our own connection to heavenly energy, once we start to look within. Each class will leave you feeling reconnected, turned on, present, and confident in your own body.
Fee: There is no fee for this activity, although tips and donations are appreciated.
Songwriting with Phoebe Hunt and Clay Rose
Date: Saturday June 29
Time: 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Location: To be announced
Phoebe and Clay share a deep belief that songwriting, at its essence, is a space for a soul to find respite from this world. A space to heal subconscious trauma, and find deeper connection with the essence of the true self. A space for expressing the inexpressible and relating to what can be difficult to touch physically. A path to self-realization and inner growth.
In this workshop, Phoebe and Clay will begin by reflecting on the power of songwriting in their own lives, and then lead participants in partner/small group facilitation work exercises. Time allowing, a small number of volunteer participants may have the opportunity to workshop their work with the whole group. Participants can expect to feel uncomfortable at times, yet fully welcome exactly as they are.
Fee: There is no fee for this activity, although tips and donations are appreciated.
The Benefits of Microdosing
Richard Showers
Date: Saturday June 29 (also offered Friday)
Time: 10:30 am – 11:00 am
Location: To be announced
Learn how microdosing can open up options in our lives and give us a wider field of choices to make that are beneficial.
This session is limited to 10 participants. Sign ups will be available on Saturday morning.
Fee: There is no fee for this activity
The Surprising Power of Group Meditation
Audrey Gale
Date: Saturday June 29
Time: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Location: To be announced
Come together to learn a science-backed meditation practice that raises your vibration while adding benefits to others in amazing ways. Group meditation is an opportunity to direct our Intentions for healing, connecting and manifesting miracles. I will teach what I’ve learned, share what I’ve experienced, and guide us to practice joining hearts, minds and souls in uplifting resonance. I hope you’ll join me. Bring a chair or mat to sit on. And a small blanket if chilly.
Audrey Gale is an artist, creator and an intuitive. She has lived many lives in one, and loves the power of story to connect and grow. Audrey has certifications in yoga, meditation, financial and business management, high school math instruction and just about everything else.
Fee: There is no fee for this activity, although tips and donations are appreciated.
Top | Activities on Friday | Activities on Saturday | Activities on Sunday
Activities for Sunday June 30
| Qigong Will Scott Date: Daily (Fri, Sat, Sun) Time: 8:00 am – 9:00 am Location: Festival lawn I am offering an introduction to a Daoist Qigong form, known as Thunder Qigong or shaking qigong. It is designed to invoke and wake the primordial Qi. Following the practice, participants may feel centered, grounded, energized and relaxed. There are no prerequisites and is adaptable to everyone. Loose clothing and water is suggested for hydration and ease of movement. There is no preparation, just show up and enjoy. Will’s background is in Classical Chinese Medicine and Daoist Self-Cultivation for health and longevity. Fee: There is no fee for this activity, although tips and donations are appreciated. |
Wake ‘n Bake All-Festival Open Jam
Un-hosted & Unstructured
Date: Sunday June 30
Time: As soon as anyone feels like breaking out an instrument
Location: Community area outside the Ranch House
This is the traditional, unstructured, closing jam of the festival. Bring your instruments, your voices, and your love as we sing goodbye to another wonderful year.
The Zen of House Concerting
Paul Rennix
Date: Sunday June 30
Time: 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Location: Meet at the foot of the Dance Hall stairs.
We discuss music, potlucks, community, and the hunt for magic in our everyday. This workshop is exactly what you think it’ll be, and that’s a lie!
Fee: There is no fee for this activity, although tips and donations are appreciated. All tips will be donated to the festival.
Sound Bath
Heaven Leigh
Date: Sunday June 30
Time: 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Location: Upstairs Dance Hall
In this meditative experience, participants will be “bathed” in sound waves produced by various instruments to promote relaxation, stress reduction, and overall well-being. Participants will lie down in a comfortable position, close their eyes, and let the sounds wash over them, often leading to a deep state of relaxation or meditation.
Heaven Leigh is a 200 hour Inner Work & Tantric Yogini, who loves to add somatic teachings, sound, breathwork, and so much more to each of her classes.
Fee: There is no fee for this activity, although tips and donations are appreciated.
Group photo!
Everyone!
Date: Sunday June 30
Time: 11:30 am
Location: Meet at the foot of the Dance Hall stairs
Pics or it didn’t happen…the annual group photo is becoming a special tradition and we’d love to have as many people in it as possible. Please gather at 11:30 at the Ranch House and help us document another successful year in Rail on the River History.
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Activities on Friday | Activities on Saturday | Activities on Sunday