You must be a member of the Order of Bards, Ovates & Druids (OBOD) to attend the Assembly, or be a partner of an attending member, be sympathetic to the OBOD principles and over 18 (or accompanied by a parent/guardian). Visit http://druidry.org/ for more information on OBOD.

Numbers for overall attendees, and for on-site cabin accommodation, are strictly limited. Bookings will ONLY be confirmed on payment of a minimum $50.

Submission of a booking form confirms that all attendees covered by the form will comply with all directions by the venue/organisers necessary to meet COVID pandemic-related restrictions affecting the running of the event.

Bribie Island Retreat & Recreation Centre, QLD Australia

Those who attended the 2015 Assembly will be familiar with Bribie Retreat Centre - a private, comfortable and relaxed venue within walking distance of a beautiful beach and acres of bushland. More information is here: https://www.gobribieisland.org/

Check out a short video of the island and venue (created by the venue) here: https://youtu.be/MXw_2nOPo4M

The venue is within easy reach of airports, buses and trains and plenty of parking is available. Please provide as much information as you can when booking - we plan to discuss transport closer to the date via the Facebook attendees group and email mailing list.

There are four options available:

• Dormitory-style cabins sleeping up to 8 people. Each cabin has its own bathroom, and one cabin is disability accessible. Numbers will be spread to have as much room as possible, but no private rooms are available on-site.
• Camping for tents or caravan/campers is available on-site. Includes access to shared bathrooms.
• For those preferring a private room, Bribie Island Caravan Park is available next door to the venue. Those wishing to stay there will need to organise their own accommodation directly with the caravan park, and will only pay the event/catering cost plus a $5 facilities fee per day to attend the Assembly. http://www.bribieislandcaravanpark.com.au/
• Attendees living locally may wish to travel from home each day - please ensure you allow travel time when planning your weekend, and be aware that the schedule is subject to change during the course of the weekend. Those choosing this option will only pay the event/catering cost plus a $5 facilities fee per day to attend the Assembly. You will need to arrange your own transport.

• Large, comfortable, AV-ready auditorium for meals and presentations central to accommodation
• Large firepit (also central to accommodation)
• Plenty of space for outdoor rituals, workshops and private meditation/walks.
• Short easy walk to a beautiful beach.
• Short easy walk to shops (yes, there is a bottle shop!) and cafe/pub if preferring to eat offsite at any stage.
• The venue includes a lovely Greek Orthodox chapel which they may open for us to briefly visit if there is sufficient interest.
• The venue includes outdoor activities (rope course etc), but access may be limited due to venue safety requirements.

There are four Accommodation options available:

• Dormitory-style cabins sleeping up to 8 people. Each cabin has its own bathroom, and one cabin is disability accessible. Numbers will be spread to have as much room as possible, but no private rooms are available on-site. Cost $33 per person, per night. Linen packs including bedding and towel are available at an additional cost of $20 per person for the weekend, or you can bring your own.
• Camping for tents or caravan/campers is available on-site. Includes access to shared bathrooms. Cost $16.50 per person, per night.
• For those preferring a private room, Bribie Island Caravan Park is available next door to the venue. Those wishing to stay there will need to organise their own accommodation directly with the caravan park, and will only pay the event and catering costs plus a $5 facilities fee per day to attend the Assembly. http://www.bribieislandcaravanpark.com.au/
• Attendees living locally may wish to travel from home each day - please ensure you allow travel time when planning your weekend, and be aware that the schedule is subject to change during the course of the weekend. Those choosing this option will only pay the event and catering costs plus a $5 facilities fee per day to attend the Assembly. You will need to arrange your own transport to and from the venue each day.

Catering

• Cost per meal per person is $13.50 (which includes dishwashing!!). The breakfast and lunch fee includes morning and afternoon tea respectively (ie if you book a breakfast you get morning tea as part of the cost), and the dinner fee includes dessert.

Incidentals

• Additional costs such as emergency supplies, ritual materials, workshop materials etc have been a standard in previous Assemblies. So that no organisers are left out-of-pocket, we are asking for a $20 base fee per person toward incidentals. If there is any money left over it will be donated to the Assembly Fund (managed by Cherry Carroll), which contributes to future Assembly costs such as scholarships.

There are two options:

• Option 1 - On-site catering - for those staying on-site, or for those staying off-site but wish to eat at the venue, the event is fully catered. The caterers have offered us the opportunity of a fully balanced vegan and nut-free menu (which looks amazing) for the entirety of the weekend.
  • Gluten free, and those requiring meat over the weekend will be separate dietary options (ie select/advise when booking).
  • The breakfast and lunch fee includes morning and afternoon tea respectively (ie if you book a breakfast you get morning tea as part of the cost), and the dinner fee includes dessert. All meals include dishwashing provided by the caterers!
  • Dairy milk (ie cows milk) will be available for breakfast and at morning/afternoon tea, for those who prefer.

• Option 2 - Off-site - if you are staying off-site and would rather eat off-site, there are a number of cafes and shops within walking distance of the venue and caravan park. Please ensure you allow ample time if eating off-site.
• There will be no self-catering option available this year. Campers may bring food to store and cook in their own campsite, but there will be no attendee access to the kitchen.

The venue will only be available to us from Friday, so unfortunately we cannot offer a pre-event settling in night as has been possible in previous years. The organising team plan to be onsite as soon as check-in is available on Friday, and we will let everyone know closer to the date what time we can begin to accept early arrivals.

The activities and schedule for the event is still being worked out, and there will be more information to come, however if you already know you would like to share at one of the following please get in touch:

• Grade Initiations (either your own or as helper for another person)
• Bard, Ovate and Druid circles
• Eisteddfod
• Workshops
• Markets
• Divination session

Everyone:

• Layered clothes (it is generally a warm time of year, but can get cool/windy in the evenings due to being close to the beach, and if there is a storm it could be cold). Hat is essential!
• Raincoat/umbrella (but hopefully you won’t need them)
• Shoes for bushwalking (and spare socks), thongs for getting around the venue
• Toiletries including sunscreen and insect repellent
• Medical items that are vital to you such as Epipen or Ventolin (NB the venue has certain requirements for the storage of medication on-site - we will be in touch with attendees privately regarding this. Please ensure you mention any medical conditions and medications we may need to know about when booking.)
• Torch
• Mobile phone, charger and leads
• Diary/notebook and any divination items you like to use
• Ritual gear (please note that candles/incense cannot be lit in the cabins)
• Money for market stalls etc - there are ATMs within walking distance of the venue but you would need to allow time to go offsite

If you have requested an Initiation or are involved in a particular ritual offering there may be special items you need to bring for this - you'll be given details of this separately.

The minimum deposit to confirm your booking for all attendees is $50. The balance is due no later than 10 August 2021 (although balance payments earlier than that will be very gratefully received).

Please follow payment instructions to make your payments - if unable to access the Payment screen in your browser please try another (eg we have occasional issues with Firefox, so try Chrome).

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and the possibility of changing restrictions, a final decision regarding the staging of the event will be published on or before 10 June 2021. Should cancellation of the face-to-face event be necessary, attendees will be offered a refund of all fees paid to that date.

An online offering in lieu of a face-to-face event may be staged, which may include a small fee for exclusive ticketed activities - we'll advise of the cost should this happen, and those who have booked for the face-to-face event will be given the choice to deduct this fee from their refund, to save having to book again.

All attendees will be notified of any conditions set by the venue and other relevant information closer to the date.