News - Shehaqua Family

In-person tent camping 7/27 to 7/30

For those who are interested in getting outside, Sally Sayre and Daniel Hess are coordinating in-person tent camping at Hickory Run State Park since those campsites will be open in the summer. While this camping trip will not be organized by Shehaqua Family directly, we will be able to lend mattresses to families who plan to tent camp this year. All families will need to bring their own tents and food. The goal of this event is to continue to have fellowship, group activities and education similar to Shehaqua but with more ability to stay safe outdoors since families will eat on their own at mealtimes.

Campsites are first-come first-served. Contact Sally at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if your family is interested in joining and she will coordinate with you to reserve a site in our loop.

Shehaqua Refresh: Live Connected

Dates: July 18-20 (May be adjusted one day earlier or later)

Experience the blessings of Shehaqua in your own home 😃

We are in unique and challenging times with respect to COVID-19. While we would much prefer to have an in-person camp experience, we know it is not safe for everyone. Instead, the Week 1 team is planning a FANTASTIC 3-day virtual Shehaqua experience for you and your family.

Overall, the program will be a mix of limited Zoom (video conference) calls, open schedule where people can call each other/ set up their own hangouts, and a facilitated nature experience. We will have lots of breakout groups in small teams, age-specific Education time, and of course some of our favorite evening programs: Family Fun Night, Candlelight Prayer, and Talent Night.

We need your help! We want to co-create this program with you—What are you interested in, what would you like to see? Please fill out the below so we can customize the different components to your interests, it'll take about 4 minutes.

To fill out the Shehaqua Refresh poll, click the link below. The poll closes on Sunday, June 7th at 11:59PM

Fill out the Shehaqua Refresh Poll »

Sincerely,
Kester Wilkening, Melissa Manor, and Luke Scazzero

Alternative Activities Planned after Shehaqua Closure

While we have continued to keep the possibility alive that camp could move forward and have taken steps to be ready if the opportunity arrived, the number one factor we must honor is the well-being of our campers and volunteers in running a camp during this time. Thank you to all of you who have contributed to the decision-making process and helped us to assess the risk level of trying to open camp this year.

As of Saturday May 30th, we learned that Hickory Run State Park is officially closing Camp Shehaqua for the rest of the summer. Here is a summary of the program updates with more details in the sections below.

Week 1 is now virtual – July 18 to July 20. Family Camp Week 1 has converted to a virtual program called Shehaqua Refresh. See more details in the next section.
Week 2 team is organizing tent-camping by families – July 27 to July 30. Sally Sayre and Daniel Hess are coordinating tent camping by family at Hickory Run State Park’s group campsites, which are still open. See details below under "In-person tent camping".
Music Meetup Weekend (in-person) has been cancelled. If we open a virtual meetup, we will communicate the details soon.

In order for all of the Shehaqua Family to have the option to connect while staying safe at their comfort level, the volunteer organizers of Week 1 and Week 2 have come up with alternatives—both in-person and virtual, for these events. We hope you’ll enjoy!

Update: Shehaqua Closed, Alternative Programs

We have heard officially from Hickory Run State Park that Camp Shehaqua will remain closed for the rest of the summer. This means no programs will be held at Shehaqua. However, there are both virtual and in-person alternative activities being planned:

The Week 1 team will hold a Shehaqua Refresh virtual meetup with a ton of creative group activities and fellowship. This event will take place around the time of Week 1. This will be around a 3-day event. Click here to fill out a poll if you are interested.

During the time of Week 2, Sally Sayre and Daniel Hess will be coordinating tent camping by family at Hickory Run State Park. Families will need to bring their own food and tents but we will have mattresses available from Shehaqua for use by tent campers. Contact Sally here for more details.

Update: Week 1

Due concerns around safety during the COVID-19 pandemic and core volunteers no longer being available to run the camp, Week 1 will no longer be held in person this year.

We’re considering potential virtual meetup formats instead, and Week 2 is still tentative. We will continue to see if the state chooses to reopen the camp this year and if there are enough people willing to volunteer to keep the camp running for Week 2. Please stay tuned for more news!

Family Camp Registration is Open!

For Week 1, from July 19th to July 24th, Kester Wilkening will be our director. For Week 2, from July 27th to August 1st, Daniel Hess will be our director. Thank you both for stepping up again, taking responsibility for Camp! We appreciate all the work you do to help Shehaqua move onward.
Register for Week 1, Week 2, or Musical Meetup »

For concerns about holding camp during this time, scroll to the Please Read section below.

Updates for Artist Retreat Weekend

To protect Shehaqua family members, we have modified our Artist's Retreat Weekend into a more informal Musical Meetup! We will be gathering for this smaller program from July 24th - July 27th, between Week 1 and Week 2 of Family Camp.

In lieu of musical mentoring and randomized jam session groups, the Musical Meetup Weekend will provide practice space and outdoor performance opportunities for aspiring and veteran musicians. We have decided to modify the Retreat to allow participants' more freedom to physically distance according to their own judgment. This event is preferably BYOI (Bring Your Own Instrument) to increase participants' protection. Rather than the original educational seminars, we hope to provide an opportunity for people to invest in their craft or rediscover their love for another area of music.

We are encouraging those who wish to come and perform, practice, and/or spend time with other musicians to prepare a piece to perform during the gathering. The fees will be the same as for a regular Shehaqua Weekend. If you just want to get outside, this weekend will also be a more informal portion of camp. You may attend to play or listen comfortably in a relaxed and restorative environment.

Save the Date: Shehaqua Family Camp

With the winter finally coming to a close and Daylight Savings having come and gone, we look forward to our time-honored summer traditions and much needed days of rest, relaxation, and restoration.

Look out for our registration to open within the next month. We look forward to seeing you again this summer! As mentioned above, we are keeping tabs on the news and recommended guidelines to determine if we can safely hold Family Camp this year and will announce any changes as we learn more.

Family Camp Dates are:

Week 1 – Sunday, July 19th to Friday, July 24th

Weekend Music Meetup – Friday, July 24th to Monday, July 27th

Week 2 – Monday, July 27th to Saturday, August 1st

More Articles ...