Plan Your Weekend
Everything you need to sort out before the gathering — the logistics, the money, and how to get on the list. For the big picture, head back to the main page; for the little details, the FAQ has you covered. 🏕️
📅 When
The gathering takes place over a Friday + Saturday night in early June — typically the first weekend, when the snow is mostly gone from the valley and the bugs aren't out in force yet. 🌿
Exact dates are confirmed in the fall of the previous year.
📍 Where
Grouse Group Campground in Bow Valley Provincial Park, Kananaskis — about an hour west of Calgary, right at the doorstep of the Rockies. 🏔️
It's a dedicated group-use site, which means we have the whole place to ourselves: room for tents, trailers, RVs, vans, and two shared firepits. 🔥
💰 Cost
For this edition's actual price, check this year's event. 👇
We split the campground fees published on the Grouse Group Campground page — per sleeping unit, not per person.
Alberta Parks prices the site unevenly: the first sleeping units cost more than each additional one. Rather than let that fall on whoever happens to book first, we pool the total and re-shuffle it ourselves so the cost comes out fair between early birds and butterflies alike. 🐦🦋 It's an approximate split — we don't know exactly who's coming ahead of time — but it evens things out as best we can.
A few details:
- Charged per sleeping unit — tent, trailer, RV, or van — not per person.
- Sleeping in your car? That counts too, with a small charge to help cover the fees. 🚗
- Any leftover funds carry over to the next year's gathering, easing everyone's share down the road. 💛
🐦 Early Birds vs. 🦋 Butterflies
Every gathering has its rhythm — and ours has two.
The Early Birds arrive first. In the quiet of fall, while the rest of the world is still folding up summer, they commit. They send word, they send funds, they hold the campground for the rest of us. They are the steady ones — the keepers of the nest, the reason there is a gathering at all. 🐦
And then there are the butterflies. 🦋
Butterflies don't plan in seasons; they plan in moments. They drift in when the wind feels right — sometimes a month before, sometimes the morning of. They might stay both nights, or just one, or only long enough to share a drink by the fire and slip back into the dark. Maybe a shift got added, maybe the schedule shuffled at the last minute — life moves, and so do they. They are weather-watchers, mood-followers, last-minute yes-sayers. They follow the warmth, the colours, the pull of the flame.
Both belong. The Early Birds build the gathering. The butterflies bring it to life. 💛
🎒 What to Bring
- 🛏️ Your sleeping setup — tent, sleeping bag, mattress, or whatever keeps you cozy
- 🍳 Your own food + drinks
- 💧 Drinking water — there's none on site
- 🪵 A camp chair for fireside hangs
- 🥾 Hiking gear for whatever day-adventures you're planning
- 🌧️ Layers + rain gear + sun protection — Alberta weather can swing wildly in early June
- 🎫 A valid Kananaskis Conservation Pass — required for every vehicle
- 🎵 Optional: an instrument, a bottle of something nice to share, a story to tell
🍲 Join the Fire & Potluck
Not camping but want to share a meal? Friday night is our community potluck, starting at 5:30 pm around the fire — bring something to share. 🔥
Saturday night, the fire will be going too. Swing by either night — just let me know you're coming. 💛
📬 Interested?
Send a message to Sami. You'll first be added to this year's butterfly chat, where reminders go out as the event gets closer — no commitment required. A fresh butterfly chat is created for each edition.
Once you confirm, you'll be moved to the main chat for that year's edition. That's where all the day-to-day logistics happen: who's bringing what, hike plans, weather updates. 💬