Logistics
Click on the links for more information.
Facilities, What to Expect, and What to Bring
Covid-19 Policies
Facilities:
Our conference site is rustic and mostly wooded with various dirt roads and paths connecting the camping area and various conference site locations. There are various covered spaces but almost no enclosed spaces (not including the indoor accommodation options which are enclosed spaces). The terrain is rough but easily walkable for people with no mobility issues. People with minor mobility issues will need to be careful but shouldn’t have any trouble. People with moderate to major mobility issues should contact us for more information before deciding to come.
We have showers with hot water, but they are also rustic. We have both outhouses and commercial porta-potties.
There is electricity and there will be a place for you to charge personal electronic devices. Cell reception is decent but sometimes spotty.
What to Expect:
We invite people to get together and talk about intentional community of all sorts. We expect between 100-200 participants including members of many communities: large, small, spiritual, secular, tightly communal, loosely cooperative, and so on. We also welcome people looking for a community, and those just interested in the idea of cooperative living. This conference will be structured, but everything is optional. There will be workshops and sharing circles, but also lots of time to just hang out, meet people, network and play together.
Please do not expect to be able to wander from the Conference site into the community unless you are with a designated tour guide or heading to the Saturday night dance party at the community dining hall. For more information on this, please visit our FAQ page.
What to bring
Food: If you are not opting out of the food option by offering a money contribution, please remember to bring snack food or dessert items to share. This can be fruit, juices, or things like trail mixes, nuts, dip for chips (we got a lot of chips already), cookies, brownies, and sweet breads. Please bring around 3 bags, boxes, bottles, or containers of snack or juice items, or a few bunches of fruit, totaling enough to feed about 10 people. Twin Oaks will provide breakfast, lunch and dinner. You will not have to cook for yourself at the conference.
Outreach literature: Brochures, articles, slideshows, photos, videos, etc. about your community.
Things to share: You may also want to bring musical instruments (especially drums/percussion instruments for the bonfire), and games.
Items for the “FREE TABLE” – This is a place where folks can offer up their pre-loved items to become somebody else’s treasure. In the past, people have brought art, CDs, jewelry, toiletries, clothing, books, and anything else you can imagine. Take part in the radical act of sharing by bringing some items that might be useful or of interest to other attendees –no exchange of money involved.
No pets, please. (Service animals are, of course, welcome.)
Kids, if you got ’em! Child care will be cooperative; we will arrange space for parents and others to share child care.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner are provided as part of the registration fee. You will not have to cook for yourself at the conference. Vegetarian and vegan options are always available, and some meat is included in some dishes. Many of the foods served are grown and/or raised at Twin Oaks or other local ICs, including fruits, veggies, milk, cheese, and eggs.
There will be plenty of whole grains, legumes, and vegetables. If you are a heavy meat eater or require large amounts of protein you may want to bring some prepared or packaged food to supplement.
All participants are asked to contribute snack food or dessert items to share. You can opt out of this by paying an extra fee of $20. If you are not opting out of the food option please bring around 3 bags, boxes, bottles, or containers of snack or juice items, or a few bunches of fruit, totaling enough to feed about 10 people. Good snack items to bring are crackers, trail mixes, and pretzels; cookies, brownies, pies, and sweet breads are also great. Please do not bring bagged chips, as we will have plenty of these.
If you are not taking advantage of our paid indoor accommodations you will be camping. Camping is included in the cost of the basic registration and work exchange options. You will need to be entirely self-sufficient in your camping equipment. You will need a tent, sleeping bag, and any other sleeping pads, air mattresses or other camp accouterments you might need.
There are showers that will have soap, but you should bring your own toiletries (including insect repellent if you’re sensitive) and towel. Other things like flashlight, rain gear, mixed-season clothes and good-natured flexibility are also good ideas. Earplugs will probably come in handy. Other things to keep you comfortable like a back-jack, yoga mat, or camp chair might also be nice. Plan ahead!
We have a two acre field for parking surrounded by woods many people sleep in their vehicles rather than in tents. To accommodate this We have porta-potties at the parking lot and a solar shower.
Indoor Housing Basics
This page was last updated August 15, 2025.
In 2025 there is no indoor housing available on Twin Oaks grounds, but there are several indoor housing options at other local communities. You can also find our list of local Aibnbs, hotels, motels, etc on our Local Lodging page.
We don’t have a method of automated housing registration, so please email us directly if you want to reserve housing after you have registered for the conference. Housing costs are in addition to the conference registration fee.
If you’d like to reserve indoor accommodations, please contact us at conference@twinoaks.org with the subject line “Indoor Housing Request”. If you have a strong preference for a particular housing location (Cambia, Community of Peace, or Simple House) please let us know in your email. We will assume you are reserving for the three nights of the conference (August 29th, 30th, and 31st) unless you specify different or additional nights in your email.
We can offer housing at Cambia community, a few miles from the conference site. This would give people an opportunity to experience another community first hand. There is no kitchen access for those staying at Cambia. (With all meals provided and a snack table at the site, though, we don’t know why you’d need it!) Shuttles available with one of the organizers who will be on-site daily. Let us know if you’d prefer this option.
There is also housing available at the Community of Peace, a few miles from Twin Oaks. Some beds are in the main building (Sophia House) with access to ADA accessible bathrooms (including toilets and showers), others are located in rustic outbuildings. A detailed list of the housing options (including pricing and amenities) available in 2025 is available below- if you are unable to see the embedded doc click here to view the Indoor Housing Availability spreadsheet directly.
EMBED
There is complimentary (free) indoor housing reserved for those with disabilities. Please email us about your needed accommodations so that we can evaluate whether we can provide them free of charge.
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In previous years (and likely in future years) indoor housing may also be available inAurora is the Twin Oaks Community Visitor Cabin, located about 1/4 mile from the conference site. It’s also more than half-way down the river trail that takes you to the South Anna River on Twin Oaks property.
Children of all ages are welcome at the Communities Conference. Child care shifts will happen in the morning and afternoon on Saturday and Sunday. Twin Oaks members will keep the childcare area safe and organized, but we count on parents and other participants to participate in shifts to make sure we have enough adult supervision.
Parents/guardians are expected to participate in one child care shift, which satisfies their participant work shift requirement for the weekend. Other participants can also do their work shift in child care. Participants, including parents, can also do child care shifts as part of a work exchange agreement.
2025 Covid-19 Protocols
As a reminder- all attendees must show proof of a negative covid test, with a sample taken less than 24 hours before arrival on site (at-home tests are fine). You can test in advance and send us your results via email at conference@twinoaks.org. If your are not able to test in advance, tests will also be available at the gate for $5 each (cash preferred, but credit cards, Venmo, and PayPal are also options).