2025 Rivercane Rendezvous

This year is a big milestone for Rendezvous - 40 years! October of 1985 the first "Earthskills Workshops" weekend was held at Unicoi State Park in GA with about a dozen participants. In the last 40 years, we’ve hosted the event at 5 different sites, grown from a weekend workshop to a week-long event, become a non-profit, and expanded in size to offer classes and gathering space to over 350 people each event!

Rendezvous was founded in 1985 by Robert Slack, Jr., Stephen "Snow Bear" Taylor and Darry Wood. They began the gathering to preserve and promote indigenous primitive skills like making white oak baskets, foraging for wild food, starting fire by friction, and tanning deer skins with brains and smoke. The three founders eventually invited their Cherokee friends to come share their living traditions of baskets and pottery, weapons and music. Now we practice the ancestral skills together while also weaving in community skills to help us thrive.

These days, Earthskills Rendezvous is an ancestral skills gathering that happens twice a year in the Southeastern United States. The gathering is a week-long educational camping event where participants come to learn earth skills, connect with nature, and experience a more community-oriented atmosphere. Join us!

Rivercane Rendezvous, April 14-20, 2025. Monday the 14th is the arrival day when folks can come set up camp and get settled. Registration opens at 1pm on Monday.

Registration Hours during the event:

Monday 1-8 pm

Tuesday - Friday 8 am - 8 pm

Saturday 8 am - 1 pm

The gate will be locked when registration is not open. Please plan accordingly. Registration is in the parking lot as you arrive on-site. Please do not arrive after dark.

Drive-in days are Monday and Friday. On other days, there will be a gear shuttle to transport you and your gear from the parking lot to the main field. Car camping in the parking lot is free. Car camping in the main field requires purchasing a main field car camping pass.

Classes begin Tuesday morning and go through Sunday morning.

Our focus is on top-quality instruction in dozens of ancestral and heritage skills such as friction fire making, foraging for wild edible and medicinal plants, stone tool creation and use, basket making, and wood carving, to name a few. We offer two class periods a day, with several class choices available during each period.

A closing circle will be held after morning classes on Sunday.

Youth Programs begin at age 3 and are held daily during the morning class period. The teen program also has an evening option.

Infant & Toddler Tickets

Toddlers 5 years of age and under and Infants are free; therefore, their tickets are considered add-ons. Please scroll to the bottom of the tickets page for infant and toddler add-on tickets.

Meals

We provide one meal a day - supper. Coffee and hot water will also be available in the mornings. The first supper will be TUESDAY evening - that's the day after arrival day, the same day classes begin. You will need to supply your own breakfasts and lunches. There is a community kitchen space available in the main camp for you to use, and we have a dishwashing station near the water in main camp as well. We encourage you to collaborate with friends.

Dogs

If you would like to bring your dog to camp with you, your dog will need its own ticket. These can be purchased as an add-on during registration.

Cars and Parking

Car camping in the main field will require a paid pass, which can be purchased as an add-on during registration. You may also choose to car camp in the parking field for free.

If you choose not to purchase a pass for car camping, you may drive into the main camp (on Monday and Friday) to drop off your gear and then take your car back to the parking field near the barn to park it. On other days (Tuesday-Thursday & Saturday), we will have a gear shuttle to take you and your things to your campsite.

You DO NOT need to print any type of ticket, although we recommend you save the email confirmation. The registration team will have a current list of individuals who are registered. At registration, you will get a camp orientation, gate book, and a registration bead/band. The bead/band indicates that you have paid and checked in, and the bead/band will be checked at meals, so please keep your bead/bands with you at all times.

Thanks! We're looking forward to enjoying our time together!

Refunds

We issue refunds on tickets up to 30 days before the event. After that, we do not offer refunds. If you purchased a ticket and find yourself unable to come, and it's after our refund date, you are welcome to personally reach out to the community to try and resell your ticket. Facebook is a good potential platform for that. Best luck!

The Earthskills Rendezvous Team

Find more event details on our website at www.primitiveskills.org.

Host or Publisher Earthskills Rendezvous, INC