Counting down the days! Housekeeping bits and pieces

Not long to go now until our 35th Annual Event!

As the weekend draws nearer, we’ve put together some information that will help you in your preparations. Please also make yourself familiar with our Schedule, Camping at the Mount, Frequently Asked Questions and Ritual Etiquette pages before you set our for the weekend. 🙂

1. On arrival, please visit the Organisers’ camp (look for the big MFPG banner) first and sign in.
2. Please park and camp considerately. With registrations full, we should have a large turnout this year. Please be mindful of this and do not spread your camp out further than it needs to. Cars need to be parked as far back as possible. If you’re not sure where to park/camp, ask one of your friendly Organisers!
3. Weather in Central Victoria. If you have read our Camping at the Mount page (which you really need to do if you haven’t already!), you’ll know that the weather here in Central Victoria can be unpredictable – we often experience four seasons in one afternoon!
   At the time this post goes live, the BOM forecast for the area is predicting a high chance of rain on Friday, slight chance of rain on the Saturday, and no rain on Sunday. Predicted top temperatures are in the low teens – this year’s Gathering will be a chilly one!
   This means that wet/cold weather gear is a must this year – coats, beanies, warm socks, umbrellas, etc. We are still getting the occasional overnight frost here – night time will be very brisk!
4. Bring some change! The MFPG is free to attend, and we want to keep it that way. With rising running costs such as portaloos, this means we rely on fundraising activities such as our raffle and sausage sizzle to help us get by.
5. Bring books to swap! We are having our very first book swap this year. Bring along your Pagan-ish books to exchange at our take a book/leave a book Book Swap, which will run on the Friday and Saturday of the event. Any left over books will become raffle prizes on Sunday.
6. Bring your witchy wares! Our swap and barter market opens at 5pm on Friday.
7. Bring a string (or three) of solar lights! We use solar lights to help make the crater safe to navigate at night.
8. Bring your acoustic musical instrument/s! We are having a bardic circle on the Friday evening facilitated by the lovely KC Guy.
9. Bring boring but useful  things like rubbish bags – we have a policy of leaving the Mount in a better state than it was before the Gathering. There are no bins on site, so all rubbish will need to be taken with you.

Looking forward to seeing you there!
The Organisers

What should I bring to Mount Franklin this year?

As the weekend nears, we’ve had lots of queries about what to bring to the MFPG and what to leave at home. Below is a list relevant to the 2015 Gathering.

Attendees of the 2015 Gathering should also familiarise themselves with the information on our Frequently Asked Questions, Camping at the Mount and Ritual Etiquette pages.

Please bring:

• Food and water for the weekend. There is no potable water on the Mountain, so make sure you bring enough drinking/cooking/washing water for the entire weekend.
• Toilet paper. Portaloos will be provided for MFPG campers, however you will need to BYO loo roll! Hand sanitiser is a good idea, too.
• Firewood. Collecting firewood from the Mountain is forbidden by Parks Victoria. Please bring your own firewood, and perhaps a small donation of wood for the bardic circle fire.
• Camping, cooking and eating gear. Caravans and camper vans with noisy generators are discouraged.
• Weather appropriate clothing. The forecast for the weekend is currently in the mid twenties, however nights can still be very chilly in Central Victoria. This may mean warm socks/jumpers at night and hats, tshirts and sunscreen during the day!
• Some string solar lights to help us light up the crater.
• Accoustic instruments, stories or songs for our Friday night Bardic Circle (but please respect that we are a family friendly Gathering and cease drumming after 10pm!)
• Your spare change for our raffle, sausage sizzle, pancakes and merch. The MFPG is a free gathering run by a non-profit organisation and the oldest neopagan gathering in the world. The proceeds of our fundraising all go to paying for essentials such as portaloos, permits, marquee hire and more.
• Bags large enough to hold all your rubbish. There are no bins on the Mountain. The amount of rubbish we have to clean up at the end of each gathering is simply staggering, especially considering many attendees follow nature-based paths! Please take your rubbish with you when you leave!
• A camping chair. For sitting on while you catch up with old friends and make new ones! 🙂

Please DO NOT bring:

• Illicit substances. We have a zero tolerance policy towards illicit drugs (including drug dealing). If you are behaving in such a way that you are endangering the safety and quiet enjoyment of other participants or campers, you will be asked to leave immediately, and serial offenders will incur a lifetime ban from the Gathering. Please remember that we share the mountain with other campers, visitors and families.
  Alcohol is fine, but please remember that the MFPG is a family friendly event and drink responsibly! Anyone deemed intoxicated will not be permitted to participate in the ritual for Beltane on the Saturday night. No exceptions.
  If you do decide to drink, please designate a driver if you plan on staying off the Mount.
• Ritual weapons of any kind, including spears, swords and athames. These are forbidden by Victorian Law.
• Electronic instruments, amplifiers and noisemakers. These are not in the spirit of the weekend.

See you on the Mount! – Linda, Michel, Mel, Des, Josie and Ryan

Glockenspiel music by the fire, 2014. Photo courtesy of Kylie Moroney.