Welcome to the Family Creative Arts Festival Website!
This annual week-long family camp is a summertime celebration of arts, crafts, faith, friendship, and recreation in the midst of the woods and waters of Presbyterian Clearwater Forest near Deerwood, MN.
What is Family Creative Arts Festival?
We are a self-led camp of arts and crafts specialists and volunteer organizers. Camp, as we call it for short, is open to families of all sizes and types including nuclear families, grandparents, infants, single persons, single parents, etc.
The Family Creative Arts Festival is designed so that families and individuals of all ages participate and blend in the activities. The philosophy that hands and senses nourish the soul is realized through crafts, activities, and fellowship. Equally exciting crafts and activities are available for young children and young teens.
Some participants attend the Family Creative Arts Festival every year, because of this, the week has the feeling of an extended family. Please know that everyone is invited to attend and new participants are welcomed with warmth and open arms.
The Clearwater Forest summer staff is on hand to provide supervised children’s activities, infant care, and help with recreational activities for children, youth and adults.
Status for 2022
Planning is underway for holding camp in 2022. We continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation and any requirements in Minnesota with the Minnesota Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control. If we are unable to hold camp, participants will receive a full refund of their deposit.
We encourage attendees to be fully vaccinated/boostered before attending camp for safety of all participants. We continue to monitor the pandemic situation and will comply with whatever the Presbyterian Clearwater Forest Camp’s protocols are for our week at camp.
Activities include:
- Singing
- Folk Dancing
- Music
- Worship
- Fishing
- Swimming
- Daily Discussions
- Canoeing/Kayaking
- Paddleboarding
- Hiking
- Highropes
- Games
- Mini-Triathlon
- Socializing
Crafts & Arts in the past have included:
- Scrapbooking
- Puppet-Making
- Pottery
- Card-making
- Beading
- Geometric Drawing
- Stained Glass
- Tie-Dye
- Photo Journaling
- Treehouse project
- Or bring a unique craft to work on during the week
2022 Arts and Crafts are still being confirmed.
What does a typical day look like at camp?
A typical day begins in the dining hall with breakfast. All meals are prepared by the camp kitchen staff who can accommodated any dietary restrictions. A lively Bible story and some morning singing will wake you up better than a strong cup of coffee.
After breakfast comes morning craft time. Off you go to try your hand at pottery or learn to work with wood. Maybe you’d like to make some personalized birthday card at card-making? Infant care is available in the morning for those 3 and under. Children 4 to 10 attend Youth Stream where age appropriate crafts are provided. For 2022, children will be making puppets over the week of camp. To help with the craft, we ask that a parent (or older sibling) of each youth stream family assist once during the week.
After morning crafts, lunch is served back in the dining hall. Twice a week after lunch, we have Lakeside Players, a short talent show where you can sing or play a song or grab a couple of campers for a skit. The rest of the afternoon is your free-time. Several different activities are offered including waterfront activities, games, and afternoon discussion on a daily topic, or feel free to explore the forest. Feeling hungry? An afternoon teatime of lemonade and trail-mix is offered outside Eagle Lodge.
After dinner, we gather for singing and a short worship time. We finish our night with folk dancing and an evening snack.
The camp is located at Presbyterian Clearwater Forest which is five miles south of Deerwood, Minnesota, just off MN Hwy 6. Follow MN Hwy 6 to Crooked Lake Road and then go west to the camp entrance on the right. For more information call the office at Clearwater Forest at (218) 678-2325.
Where do I sleep?
Eagle Lodge
Eagle Lodge offers comfortable rooms in an elegant setting. On average, each room has a double and a single bed with some exceptions.
Leaning Tree Lodge
Leaning Tree Lodge provides guests with basic hotel-like accommodations. Most rooms have a double and a single bed.
Grouse Circle
Grouse Circle is a scenic setting in the woods for tenters and RVers. A bathhouse is located within the campsites.
Summer Cabins
The Summer Cabins offer comfortable bunk beds in a rustic setting with electricity. A bathhouse is located centrally among the cabins.
How much does it cost?
Basic Fees (including meals & program)
- Adults (22 & up) $250
- Youth (12-21) $230
- Kids (4-11) $150
- Infants (3 & under) Free!
Lodging Choices
- Eagle Lodge or Leaning Tree Lodge $390-$480 per room for the week (2-3 per room, with a shared bathroom between two rooms).
- Summer Cabins $100 per person for the week.
- Grouse Circle Campground $180 per site/week (no hookups) or $210 per site/week with electricity (tents, RVs).
How to Calculate Your Fee
To determine your total cost for the week, select the appropriate basic fee and add the cost of your choice of lodging. The maximum fee a family will pay is $1,500. Special fees are available for those unable to stay for the full week. Scholarships are also available to offset some of the cost.
Questions? Contact Larry Pearson at (952) 835-9480, pear3408@aol.com
Creative Arts Lodging Guidelines for 2022
It was decided at the winter planning meeting to continue to use the guidelines for making decisions about lodging assignments that we’ve used in the past few years. Lodging will not be assigned on a first-come/first-served basis.
We expect to have more requests for the rooms in Eagle and Leaning Tree Lodges than the 25 rooms that are available.
In order to give everyone an equal chance, we’re beginning to accept registrations and lodging requests NOW until July 15th. All those who have registered by that date will get first consideration for lodging. Chris Rigert and I will make judgments about room assignments based on criteria such as medical needs, consideration of age, etc. It is quite possible you will not have the same room as in previous years.
Only full time attendees will be assigned rooms. We can’t hold rooms for part-time campers. They will be accommodated in the other lodging choices.
Here are some other lodging options to consider:
- Summer cabins (all cabins now have lights, ceiling fans and electricity)
- Grouse Circle campground (5 sites have electrical hookups)
- Country Inn in Deerwood has rooms for $100 per night www.countryinndeerwood.com
Please consider what another lodging option could be if you’re unable to get your first choice. We trust that we are a group of Christians who are willing to consider others’ needs before our own.
We hope we don’t disappoint anyone and maybe we’ll be able to satisfy everyone’s requests for lodging in Eagle and Leaning Tree, but we won’t know until we get the registrations.
Our suggestion is that you send in your registration and deposit before July 15th even if you’re not completely sure you can be there. It’s easier to withdraw than to try to get in at the last moment. We’ll refund your deposit if you cancel even up to the week of camp. Of course, registrations will be accepted after July 15th but the only lodging options could be the ones listed above.
I hope this information is clear. Feel free to contact me by phone (952-835-9480) or email (pear3408@aol.com) or regular mail if you have any questions or comments.
Larry Pearson
