Blue Deer Celebrates 10 years of you!

For 10 years, you have provided programs to visitors from all over world including as far away as Australia, Argentina, Belgium, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Guam, Greece, Ireland, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Nigeria, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom. With your continued support, our programs are helping them create better relationships with the natural world around them. They are making connections with the sacred land, water and spirit.

For 10 years, Blue Deer Center doors have been open to people everywhere to come connect and renew their spirit. You have provided them a space. You have provided them a teacher. You have provided them a healer. You have provide them what they need to learn, grow and connect.  

For 10 years, Blue Deer has been open and you did it! Through your donations, people have visited, stayed, returned and left feeling the changes within themselves. Blue Deer celebrates you.  You have created a beautiful home for Ancient Wisdom. You honor and protect these ancient teachings with your continued support.

Join us in celebration of our 10 year milestone by continuing your commitment now and into the future.

Please share a short story or remembrance of your time at Blue Deer in the comment section of this blog. Blue Deer is truly blessed by your connection and relationship with us.

A Day of Connection

Blue Deer Center News

A Day of Connection

Blue Deer Center hosted our first Open House of 2015 on May 30th, welcoming more than 65 guests, of which approximately 40 were first-time visitors. This opportunity to share information about our programs and partnerships was a lot of fun and rewarding—new friends were made, several people registered for upcoming programs on-the-spot and even a generous donation was received—all before the day was through. The weather was splendid and the rain held out until after all the events had concluded.

Click this link to view video!

Open House at Blue Deer Center

Blue Deer Center Welcomes Our New Communications Director, Mace Fleeger

Indirectly my involvement with Blue Deer Center began several years ago at a large gathering when I bashfully introduced myself as a lowly magazine designer and within a matter of days, found myself up to my elbows in articles and layouts as I stepped into the role of art director for Sacred Fire Magazine. Blue Deer Center appeared regularly in the magazine and over the years I became familiar with it’s programs and always admired the accomplishments of everyone involved. Eventually, I visited Blue Deer Center as a participant in one of Eliot Cowan’s five-day Healing Camps and like so many others fell in love with the Center, it’s mission and surroundings. I returned, if not as often as I wished, certainly as often as I could. 

Last year I had the pleasure of organizing and supporting a couple events in Colorado with Eliot Cowan. When my work was done and I was saying my goodbyes, Eliot presented me with a gift and a gracious thank you note in which he wrote, “Please accept this gift from The Ancestors you’ve served so well.” With those words he had given me a gentle clue that has opened my eyes to the beauty and richness to be found in honoring and supporting this ancestral wisdom we love so much. Following this clue led me to join a small group organizing various celebrations for the 20th anniversary of the book Plant Spirit Medicine, which gave me an opportunity to collaborate with the folks at Blue Deer Center. 

One morning a couple months ago I found myself daydreaming about an ambitious project that might help the Blue Deer Center spread it’s message. As the scope of this imaginary (and frankly ludicrous) strategy ballooned in every direction, I raced back to reality wondering what had gotten into me—the last thing I was looking for on that particular morning was more work. Two hours later I got a call from Blue Deer Center Executive Director, Mark Gionfriddo asking me to consider taking the role of Communications Director. I was humbled by his offer and although I said I would like to think about it, I knew my answer would be yes. 

I feel very privileged to be entrusted with the important task of helping Blue Deer Center share it’s message, mission and gifts. Over the years my life has been enriched by the support, guidance, and friendship of many people associated with the center and I hope to honor their generosity with the work I do.

I will be visiting the Center to begin the process of orienting myself to this new role and I look forward to meeting team members and learning about all the great work everyone has been doing. 

Mace Fleeger
Communications Director
Blue Deer Center

A Visit to Tepoztlan, Mexico

I recently had the privileged to travel to Tepoztlan, Mexico for the weddings of Eliot Cowan and Victoria Reeves and David Wiley and Sherry Boatright. It was beautiful! Here are a few pictures of the weddings and the beautiful village of Tepoztlan. A wonderful time was had by all.

Victoria and Eliot

David and Sherry

At the reception, Eliot and Victoria. Simply Beautiful and Happy!

My good friend Julie at the reception.

View of the Tepoztlan from up on the hill.

 I can not express what a wonderful trip this was. I am blessed because Blue Deer has given me a very large extended family! It is a fabulous feeling to be apart of this community of loving, caring people.

Kate, Donna, K'Anna- the best friends to travel with.

Thank you to the many people who made my trip very special including these lovely ladies for helping me get there safely and who helped me find my way home. I really did not want to leave!
So many of Blue Deer's community were there celebrating this wonderful event. I can't wait for them to come and visit Blue Deer this year!

Blue Deer staff goes to Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce Dinner.

This past week, members of Blue Deer staff attended the annual Central Catskill Chamber of Commerce (CCCC) Dinner and awards. The awards dinner was held at the Hannah Country Inn and Golf Resort in Margaretville, NY.

Jenn Schuman, CCCC Vice President; Glen Pedersen, CCCC President; Carol O'Beirne, Executive Director of CCCC

.

In attendance were Mark Gionfriddo, K'Anna Burton, Liz Warren, Liza Belle, Maggie Freier, Jenn & David Schuman. It was a great night for all who attended. Mark Gionfriddo won the raffle for a Crab Apple tree which was donated to the Village of Margaretville and will be planted in the village park behind the Freshtown building.  Many local area businesses were honored including Executive Director of the Central Catskills Chamber, Carol O'Beirne for her many years of dedicated service to the local area.

Liz, Liza, and K'anna

Blue Deer Center is represented on the board of the Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce by Mark Gionfriddo, board member and Jenn Schuman, Vice President of the Chamber board. Just one of the many ways Blue Deer is reaching out to the local community.

New Steps outside the Kitchen!

Our Handyman Nick has repaired the steps outside the back kitchen door as well as cleared out some brush around the main building. It is so much safer and looks great. All this was repaired by using materials that were found on the land. It looks great!

You are invited to OPEN HOUSE!

Blue Deer Center to host Open House

 May 30^th, 2015

Margaretville, New York, May 30th, 2015 – The Blue Deer Center will be hosting an Open House for visitors of all ages and backgrounds on May 30^th from 10am-5pm. This is an opportunity to visit the Blue Deer Center and find out about our mission, our programs, our sister organizations and enjoy the land. This all-day event will feature the music of “Spirit of Thunderheart” Native American Drummers; book signing with Eliot Cowan, author of Plant Spirit Medicine; indigenous art from the Huichols of Sierra Madres in Mexico will be for sale; tours of the land and facilities, food and more. You will have the opportunity to speak with Shamans around the fire, have one-on-one talks and engage in group discussions with people of ancestral ways. You will be able to participate in a river ceremony. This day of celebration, ceremony and sharing is a perfect time to visit the Blue Deer Center.

The Day will begin at 10 am with coffee and tea social hour followed by opening talk around the fire at 11. 11:30 all present will be invited to join in the river ceremony where you can walk to the river and give thanks. At noon, listen to the ancestral sounds of Thunderheart Drummers and enjoy some lunch. At 1 pm, Eliot Cowan, author of the seminal book, Plant Spirit Medicine, will be featured and lead a participatory demonstration around the fire about the living world. Thunderheart will return for more music in the afternoon and there will be plenty of time to mingle, meet new friends and reconnect with old. We will end our day at 5 pm around the fire with a few words.

 

You can also visit with representatives from the Sacred Fire Foundation, Plant Spirit Medicine Association, Sacred Fire Community Organization and local Fire keepers.

The Sacred Fire Foundation (SFF) is a charitable organization, supporting initiatives that preserve and promote Ancient Wisdom traditions—and their perspectives—to insure their continuance for our children and future generations. The world's Ancient Wisdom traditions are being threatened, and a key focus of our work is in supporting relationships with them and between them. Through events and media, the Foundation seeks to bring a greater awareness and understanding to our modern culture of the irreplaceable benefit that Ancient Wisdom provides the people of the world. Key initiatives include: Ancient Wisdom Rising to be held at Blue Deer Center August 2015, grant making programs, wisdom fellowship ward and the Sacred Fire Press.

Plant Spirit Medicine Association representative & healers will also be available to talk about their organization, medicine and healers. The Mission of the Plant Spirit Medicine Association is to support, preserve and strengthen the practices of Plant Spirit Medicine (PSM) as recognized by the Temple of Sacred Fire Healing (TSFH).

Mark May 30^th on your Calendar for a day of exploration, fun, music, food, art and new friends at Blue Deer, 1155 County Route 6, Margaretville, NY 12455.  For more information about this and other programs at the Blue Deer Center, please contact K’Anna Burton at 845-586-3225 ext 305 or email at Kannaburton@bluedeer.org .

Blue Deer Center

1155 County Route 6

Margaretville, NY 12455

Contact Information

K’Anna Burton

kannaburton@bluedeer.org

Blue Deer Center

http://www.bluedeer.org

845-586-3225 ext. 305