Written by Madeline Arcaro, Administrative Associate and Assistant Instructor
In the spirit of winter relaxation and renewal, on the weekend of February 13th we held our first-ever DC-area winter retreat at Camp Hanover in Mechanicsville, Virginia! We split into two tracks – creative writing and RPGs – for a full weekend of fun, relaxation, and art of all types. The winter retreat was sort of a “spreadsheet and a dream” project last summer when I first started as an intern, and one of my first projects when I was brought on full time was researching locations and starting the beginning stages of planning for the retreat. Sitting on the bus on the way to Virginia listening to music was my first “wow, it’s finally happening!” moment.
Friday afternoon started with character creation for the RPGers and a very appropriate Friday the 13th game of Murder Mystery, a game beloved by both staff and writers. After the workshop, we settled down by the fire for s’mores and storytelling.
After a long day, writers were excited to retire to the bunks. We had two fun and lively bunks, only about a 5 minute walk away from the dining hall and where we held workshops. After a fun night of games in the bunks, we went to bed early to prepare for a bright and early morning! One of my favorite moments of the entire weekend was waking up my writers with “The Circle of Life.”
Saturday was a favorite among both writers and staff members! RPGers split into two separate groups, each with a different and exciting campaign. Writers started out with a fun exercise called Welcome to the Condensery, where they would slowly lower word counts of their poetry over time until they had something completely different than what they started out with.
After a quick break for lunch, RPGers continued with their adventures, and writers went across the camp to the Maker Space, where they were given options to continue working on their stories, make art or blackout poetry, or make music. It was a great way for them to unwind and continue on their pieces!
The highlight of the trip was Slideshow Night on Saturday night, where kids from different tracks paired together to create slideshows that were presented to the whole camp. Some highlights included two separate presentations on why Rita Feinstein (or Fita Reinstein) was secretly evil and planned to take over the camp (we’ll never know the truth!) and why cats are the best animals on the planet. Watching writers from different bunks and different tracks work together so well was the best part of the trip, and made me realize how lucky I am to work with such an incredible and talented group of teenagers.
Before bed, there was more time for art and games while we prepared for a lively last full day of camp.
When Sunday rolled around, everyone was excited for another full day! This was the first time our team had ever run a full day of RPGs specifically, and there was a little bit of concern about whether our young RPGers would think it was too much…and it definitely was not. Some campers wanted to spend even more time playing!
Over on the writing side of things, fiction writers, poets, and screenwriters were finishing up some truly incredible works: one writer created a satire audition tape for Survivor, while a friend spent part of the retreat learning to film it!
The day concluded with an open mic night where everyone either shared an excerpt of their works, or a documentary-style improv game demonstrating some of the details and characters from their D&D campaign. It was so exciting to see writers so engaged with D&D campaigns and see RPGers so enthused about creative writing. It’s wonderful to be part of such a fantastic and supportive environment—and it is a blessing to see so much love everyone invested into the weekend.
Monday morning was our last fun breakfast with the whole group, before we packed up our bunks and went on the bus. We took a moment to sit in a circle and share our favorite memories from the retreat.
Winter is such a wonderful time for reflection, and as I reflect back on our Winter Retreat, I’m incredibly thankful for the opportunity to work so closely with so many talented individuals. The community that Writopia has built is so special, and I’ve never felt it more than when I was sitting in the gorgeous dining hall, watching the rain fall and listening to the sounds of laughter while everyone was working on their individual projects.
