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Wayfinder’s Blog

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The Wayfinder Experience Blog

The blog is divided up into different series in which we share and discuss specific facets of our camp and community.
Pick any of the series that interest you and start reading!
The series we currently have running are as follows:

Where Are They Now: This series puts the spotlight on former staff and participants showing what some of our alumni (and beloved community members) have been up to in the world, and how they think Wayfinder helped them get there. The series was made in 2017, so you bet these wonder folks have only gotten up to more fun and creative things since!

A Day In The Life: Here we turn the focus to our day to day at camp and try to give our readers an idea of what we have going on each week throughout the summer. This series features stories from summer 2017.

Wayfinder Wisdom: In this series each post focuses on a specific aspect of our summer camp. It is our attempt to share some of the knowledge we have accumulated in more than a two decades of LARPing. Though many posts are written in 2018, they all still hold true.

Wayfinder Story Board: In this series you will find posts on how to write a great Adventure Game as well as shared examples of great Games. We also have a great number of posts from many great Game writer’s sharing their thoughts and ideas about LARP.

Want to contribute to the blog. We are always looking for more Wayfinder and greater LARP community voices to be heard (or read) on our blog, if you have a story to share please email us: Info@wayfinderexperience.com

About Wayfinder

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About The Wayfinder Experience

In a Nutshell

The Wayfinder Experience is a live-action role-playing company, based in Kingston, New York. We run summer camps, events, school programs and workshops for teens, children and adults. The centerpiece of our programs is the Adventure Game, a transformative experience that challenges players physically, mentally and emotionally, while immersing them in an exciting world of fantasy.

Our Events

Wayfinder operates weeklong overnight LARP summer camps for teens and day camps for children. We also host three-day events, such as our Winter Game in December, and One Day Adventures every month.

Our staff is also available for special events, like our Capture the Flag with swords after-school programs and children’s Birthday Parties.

Our Programming

At our overnight and day camps we offer a diverse range of workshops combining sports, art, “play-safe” swordplay, improvisational acting & intentional community building. All this culminates in our Adventure Game, a live-action role-play that is often played out over multiple days.

During the “Adventure Game” our participants become characters in a magical, legendary story, complete with costumes, elaborate sets & props, masks, treasures, spells & quests. We transform our summer camp facilities into whole new worlds. The stories and settings are prepared in advance, but the end results are dependent upon the actions and choices of the participants themselves. At the end of the adventure, a simple call for “Game!” signals a return to the real world—and the chance to excitedly share experiences and stories!

Our LARP Adventure Games are all original, written and created by our staff (and sometimes our campers) and range in scope from high fantasy to tales of pirates and ninjas, from the Wild West to science fiction, alternate histories, zombies, noir mysteries and everything in-between. No two games are the same and every adventure lets you play a new character… or many!

What is LARP?

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What is LARP?

LARP or Live Action Roleplay is a term that can be applied to a broad spectrum of activities. While there are many types of LARP in the world, Wayfinder’s brand of LARP is contained in something we refer to as “the Adventure Game.” Within the context of an Adventure Game, LARP is an immersive roleplaying experience happening within a world prepared by our staff for the players. Each player is given the chance to design their own character, picking the type of character they want to play helps guarantee they have the gameplay experience they want.

At each week of the Wayfinder Experience we lead participants through workshops specially designed to prepare them for their time in the live action roleplay Adventure Game. This includes an introduction to our game systems (such as how the use our magic and swords in the Adventure Game), time to design and build a character, some work on improvisational theater skills to prepare for interactions in the adventure, and a good deal of work on trust to ensure a safe and enjoyable time in Adventure Game.

We view the Adventure Game as a transformative experience where players are given the freedom to explore pieces of themselves they may never otherwise get to inhabit in a safe environment. We have run a wide array of Adventure Games based on anything from the historic to the fantastic. We hope you’ll join us for an summer adventure and find the hero inside!

Blog

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The Wayfinder Experience’s Blog

Learn all about the different pages of our blog here.

Adult Retreat

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Wayfinder’s Adult Retreat

This retreat is open to anyone 18 years or older.  A perfect get-away for old campers, parents and first-time friends of the community. Experience the magic of live action role playing in a mature environment! This is a fun and inclusive retreat. We will spend time doing a number of different workshops, such as improvisational theater, sword fighting (with our special foam swords) and New Games to build trust with each other before we play our LARP Adventure Game where you will be in control of your character’s destiny.

October 4th-6th, 2024 at the Stone Mountain Farm in New Paltz, NY.

Book your lodging separately!

Programming hours:

  • Programming will start at 6pm on 10/4 and go until 10pm.
  • Programming will start at 10am on 10/5 and go until roughly 11pm. Lunch and Dinner will be provided on site.
  • Programming will start at 10am on 10/6 and go until 3pm. Lunch will be provided.

Retreat Programing pricing:

  • $250 – Sponsored rate
  • $350 – Suggested rate
  • $450 – Sponsor rate

Sign up here.

As ever, we want to do our best to make our programming accessible. If you feel you are able to, we encourage you to pay the sponsor rate and contribute to the cost of attendance for some of our folks who may not be as able to do so. Sponsored rate is available on a need basis; there is no application process. If you need it, take it; no questions asked.

Summer Overnight Camps

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 Summer 2024 Overnight Camps

 

Each week of our magical Overnight camp features a brand new and fully realized LARP Adventure Game where campers make their own fantastical characters to experience the Game. We spend the time leading up to the Adventure doing fun and engaging workshops to practice skills to help them in the Adventure Game (skills that also translate to real life!). Workshops include, but are not limited to, sword fighting with our patented play-safe foam swords, improv theater, trust exercises, character building and our own magic system! In the evenings we have group options and activities such as dance parties, games of Mafia, Magic card playing, scavenger hunts and more!

All Overnight Summer Camps are located at the Holmes Camp & Retreat Center, 60 Denton Lake Rd, Holmes, NY 12531.

Register here 

Week 1 July 21st-27th

Cost $1,500; Early Bird Registration only $1,450!

Weeks 1 & 2 will feature linked LARP Adventure Games and each will run for 6 nights.  Note: campers do not need to attend both weeks to have a great time!

Week 2 July 28th-August 3rd

Cost: $1,500; Early Bird Registration only $1,450!

Weeks 1 & 2 will feature linked LARP Adventure Games and each will run for 6 nights.  Note: campers do not need to attend both weeks to have a great time!

Week 3 August 4th-10th

Cost: $1,500; Early Bird Registration only $1,450!

This week will feature a three part LARP Adventure Game and runs for 6 nights.

Week 4 August 11th-18th

Cost: $1,625; Early Bird Registration only $1,575!

This week of camp will feature 3 different one shot style LARP Adventure Games and runs for 7 nights.

Sleepover Nights 
Cost $125
Sleepover nights are a convenient way to turn one week of camp in to two or more! To sign up for one, your camper must be attending a camp session that is connected to the sleepover night
Sleepover Night 1: July 27th
Sleepover Night 2: August 3rd
Sleepover Night 3: August 10th

Summer Day Camps

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 Summer 2024 Day Camp Offerings

 

Each week of our magical day camp features a brand new and fully realized LARP Adventure Game where campers make their own fantastical characters to experience the Game. We spend the days leading up to the Adventure doing fun and engaging workshops to practice skills to help them in the Adventure Game (skills that also translate to real life!). Workshops include, but are not limited to, sword fighting with our patented play-safe foam swords, improv theater, character building and our own magic system!

Our summer day camps are for ages 8+, run from 9am-3pm each day and have a special evening session on Thursday nights from 6pm-9pm to play the LARP Adventure Game.

Summer 2024 Schedule and Locations

Woodstock Day School

1430 Glasco Turnpike, Saugerties, NY 12477

Cost set by WDS; registration on the WDS website

Week 1 July 1st-5th

Week 2 July 8th-12th

Sign up here 

 

The High Meadow School

3643 Main St, Stone Ridge, NY 12484

Cost set by HMS; registration on the HMS website

Week 1 July 8th-12th

Week 2 July 15th-19th

Sign up here

 

Zena Democratic School 

84 Zena Rd, Kingston, NY 12401

Cost: $525. Early reg. $500

Week 1 July 29th-August 2nd

Week 2 August 5th-9th

Sign up here starting January 31st

 

Unison Arts Center

New Address! 9 Paradies Lane, New Paltz, NY 12561

Cost: $525. Early reg. $500

Week 1 August 12th-16th

Week 2 August 19th-23rd

Sign up here starting January 31st

 

Young Adventurers 

This camp is a little different from our standard summer day camps as it is geared to younger players. Instead of one LARP Adventure Game over the last two days of camp, we play little bits of the Adventure everyday by meeting age appropriate characters and helping them in unique ways. For ages 6-8 years old, it’s the perfect fit for young kids with big imaginations!  Please note there is no evening session for Young Adventurers. 8 year olds can choose between Young Adventurers and our regular day camps; please call our office ((845) 481-0776) if you need help deciding!

Cost: $525. Early reg. $500

July 29th – August 2nd at the Zena Democratic School
Sign up here starting January 31st

 

About

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About The Wayfinder Experience

See our about Wayfinder page.