Registration

Registering for FreeRange KidFest is easy… simply click the registration button on any page, provide us with a “car name” (pokemon, historical, super hero??… be creative!) and a count of how many people are in your vehicle. There is a $############### fee per vehicle which covers all of the vehicle’s occupants for the duration of the event and grants access to all public areas and content as well as use of the provided port-a-potties and all of the reverse osmosis well water you can drink.

If your camping group is split among several vehicles, there is no additional campsite charge after each vehicle has paid… you’re welcome to group up as many vehicles and tents as you like at your chosen site once you’ve arrived at the venue.

On arrival day, just give us your car name at the gate, we’ll count heads and you’re in. That’s all there is to it.

Attendance Options

FloteFest is meant to be enjoyed outdoors… we encourage you to bring a tent or two or five and set up your own colony anywhere on the accessible areas of the property. For those of you who prefer a bit more comfort, you can bring your RV (which counts as a single vehicle, even if it’s a teardrop or travel trailer with tow vehicle) and circle up with your other fancy friends in their RVs.

If you don’t have an RV but want one for the week, may we suggest outdoorsy.com where you can rent a wide variety of RVs and travel trailers for a very reasonable daily fee. FreeRange KidFest is not responsible for your outdoorsey.com experience, we just like their offerings so have at it and camp in style, why not?

And for those of you who want to come to the event but don’t want to stay on site, well there are a few hotel options in the local area… but not much. Still, feel free to book yourself a room if you can and drive in to the event each day. There is adjacent parking and the cost is only the event fee. Just check in with us at the front booth and let us know you’ve arrived.

Vendors & Workshops

Everyone has something of value to offer to the community… and if you didn’t think so before, now is your chance to give it a try. FreeRange KidFest is a participatory event and we strongly encourage you to bring your best… whether it be a huge pot of chili or hamburgers, some groovy clothes or even those outgrown kids clothes, homemade soap or original kids art, a workshop on yoga or art or even rocket science… whatever it is you or your kids make or do, now’s the time to show us what you’ll got.

FreeRange KidFest charges absolutely zero for you to be a vendor. No space fee, no percentages, nothing. So long as your goods or services are legal to buy, sell and possess within the boundaries of the Great State of Texas (and someone else is willing to give you something in exchange for them) you’re good. And we’re going to leave figuring that legal stuff out up to you… unless you force us to do otherwise. Just saying. 

So be creative and share your values. We’d love to see someone trading a hot cup of hand ground coffee for a pre-loved educational toy… or an unschooling reference book set for a few jars of homemade jellies… or a couple of bitcoins and a tent for a fancy air-conditioned toy hauler… or maybe a cold brewskie for a story by the firelight. That’s what community is all about.

Live and Streamed Presentations

There will be many live presentations and workshops as well as presentations by fabulous speakers who can grace us with their time but not their presence. While most workshops will be included in the event price, there may be a few optional workshops that you can participate in for a materials fee.

And, if you don’t think that we have managed to bring together enough presenters, workshops, and activities… We invite you to offer any that you would like to for free or a fee as you see fit. Let us know and we can announce it or don’t, and you can surprise us at the event.

There will be a wide range of vendors & event merch, and also fellow homeschool parents and kids doing their entrepreneurial best, so join in the free market and try to have a few extra dollars, or crypto, or whatever to splurge with.

House Rules

In a perfect world filled with perfect people, we’d be perfectly fine not having to put anything in this section. But alas, we’re not perfect so we kind of have to say what would otherwise go without saying. So here it is:

Our gracious venue provider is just as passionate about preserving the integrity of the land and environment as we know you are so please be respectful of the property, including the plant and animal life you may encounter while at FloteFest. That means not only avoiding the farm’s livestock but also observing the “pack it in / pack it out” method of zero footprint camping. Be mindful of your garbage and waste and please don’t make the Free Range Kid Fest volunteer team have to trip over your left-behind tent stakes while picking up your disgusting cigarette butts. Eww. Seriously.

Firearm carry is allowed on the property but discharging your weapon will end up with you having a very long stay at the Grey Bar Hotel (the county jail!) and a dashing Texas Ranger sporting your piece on his or her hip or back on their next trip across the badlands.

Open fires will be allowed in designated fire zones only, so bring a propane fire pit and covered cooking apparatus just to be sure you won’t be eating cold, hard rice and beans.

Your neighbors may ask you to shut down your gas powered generator after twilight. Please be mindful of your surroundings and let’s enjoy the soothing sounds of nature together. Amplified music is allowed but again, please consider your neighbors and don’t force them to drown out your 130db banjo serenading with trombone solos of their own.

On to adult things, yes… you may absolutely bring some brewskys. FreeRange ChildFest will be offering some less adult beverage options, of course, but you’re more than welcome to supply your own bottles. Few things say “Hello, neighbor!” quite like sharing a taste of whiskey or cold beer, especially after they’ve been enjoying your night-time serenades… and a pint bottle of JD will go a long way in a friendly barter and trade deal so have at it… All that said, please be mindful that, while it is a great time to relax and kick back in nature, it is also appreciated for you to be responsible and respectful of those attending.

And remember… illegal things are illegal. If you do not know what is illegal, find out. If you do something illegal, the consequences of such actions will be on you. Free Range Kid Fest staff and volunteers are not your mother nor will they act like the police… so you’re on your own but do yourself a favor, make your mother proud and don’t do anything to attract the attention of anyone who actually IS the police. As Wednesday Addams once said, they look just like everyone else.

Other than that, you should be good. We’re all responsible and reasonable here so let’s live and act in the spirit of voluntaryism and the Non-Aggression Principle (if you don’t know what those are, someone in the community will surely volunteer to tell you) and make sure that whatever you do, it doesn’t harmfully impact anyone else. It’s that simple.

Campout Guide

This is where things get fun. If you’ve never embarked on a multi-day camping trip or just need to brush up a bit before heading out into the wilds, here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Make a Checklist – The very first thing on your camping preparation checklist should be to make a checklist. Imagine yourself standing outside alone at night and picture all of all the things you’ll want and need to bring with you to make that not suck. A bit of visualization and planning will go a long way toward insuring your FloteFest experience is both comfortable and fun.

• Give Yourself Time – Not only does packing well take a bit of Tetris skill, but it also takes time. And then there’s the traveling, check-in and setup to think about once you get through the gates. Be sure to give yourself several hours of sunlight to work with after your planned arrival time as finding a campsite and pitching a tent outside in a strange place in the dark is a challenge you may not be up for after a long drive. But if you do arrive late, just ask for help.

• Bring Water – Although Free Range Kid Fest will be providing well water on site for your use, you definitely want to bring some of your own and a container to carry that well water back to your campsite in. We recommend a five gallon reusable jug from Sparklettes or similar which you can get at any Home Depot. Too big and you can’t carry it, any smaller and you’ll be making multiple trips to the well head in addition to all those trips to the potties.

• Don’t Forget Food – More than one member of the community will probably bring enough food to feed a small army but unless you’ve got plenty of time, treasure or charm to trade for it, you may want to consider planning to feed yourself. Dried camp foods, canned goods and MREs are always solid choices, but why settle for beef jerky or SPAM when you can have steak?! Just be sure to provide your own refrigeration or plan to eat the perishables before they perish.

• Pack for Heat – This is Texas, so expect bright sun, hot temps, and a bit of humidity. Bring sunscreen and a canopy would probably be treasured, though we will have plenty of shady areas to enjoy. There will probably be water related activities, so extra clothes, towels, or swimwear will likely be appreciated.

• Bring a Flashlight – It can get dark at night too… especially when you’re trying to find a port-a-potty on the other side of a field full of who knows what. The Moon will be waning past 25% and rising very late in the morning during our event which means there won’t be any moonlight to speak of, so bring a flashlight or a soft glow lantern for those middle of the night hikes. And if you’ve got one, why not bring a telescope or some binoculars too? We’re bound to get some beautiful starry nights. And if not, well that’s what the poncho is for.

• Supply Your Own Power – Gas generators are allowed but really, who wants to listen to a two stroke motor symphony all day when there are better options? If you have a solar rig, now’s your time to put it to use. Also consider reducing your power footprint as well by leaving that hairdryer and 60″ TV at home. If you’ve got no power source and your needs are small enough, though, chances are you can barter something with a solar energy-rich neighbor for a top-up charge on your phone or tablet… save fuel and make friends at the same time!

• Poo In the Loo – Free Range Kid Fest will be providing a bank of port-a-potties for general use so please don’t leave any toxic land mines for the other campers to step in. Of course, if you’ve got an RV, you can use your own facilities… or rent them out for a bit of coin as well, you greedy entre-poo-neur, you. Just plan to hold onto your grey and black water until after you leave the event. And if you want to go full Wasteland Weekend style, may we suggest you bring some plastic garbage bags and a bit of natural kitty litter for your business? Just be sure to keep the liquids and solids separate for maximum freshness… then drop those litter bombs off at the next gas station down the road.

• Medical Supplies – If you have medications that require refrigeration but don’t have your own RV or powered cooler, please bring them to the Free Range KidFest staff for safe, cold storage. We promise we won’t use up all your insulin before you have a chance to come back. Medications are serious and you don’t want to be caught without when you need them most so please reach out to us if you have special medical needs or concerns too. We’ll do our best to help you keep yourself safe and happy.

• Bring Some Entertainment – Now that you’ve got all your creature comforts handled, what are you going to actually DO with yourself for three days? Well definitely plan on bringing some of your own entertainment. A deck of cards and a simple table can serve as a makeshift al fresco casino… a ukulele and a couple of spoons are the start of a genuine hootenanny… and a few aspiring thespians, some sheets and a flashlight could become an impromptu stage play. Free Range KidFest is a participatory event so come prepared to do something fun and maybe discover a hidden talent and make a few new fans while you’re at it. And don’t forget to set out a tip jar.

• Introduce Yourself – Above all, the best way to make a camping trip fun and memorable is to meet new people… so once you get your camp set up, go check out some other camps and introduce yourself. We’d like to see people sharing their space, bartering their goods and services and telling each other their stories. That starts with you putting out a hand and saying “hello”.

• Learn Something New – And hey, while you’re at it, why not try and learn something new? Practice your rope-dart foo, work on your night vision goggle navigation skills or find the camp that brought the full-blown hydroponic farm and ask them how they built it. You can be sure that whatever the activity, if someone is doing it out in the open they’ll be glad to tell you how to get started yourself.

For any other questions or concerns
please ##############
Otherwise, we’ll see you at the festival!