March, 2018
If you haven’t had a chance to meet her, let us introduce you to our smart, strong and beautiful daughter, Emery (Emmy for short – and awesome).
At the tender age of 2, she has already been through a lifetime of challenges since being diagnosed with a very rare form of Cancer (embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma) when she was only 5 months old. Since then, Emmy has undergone almost two full years of near constant chemotherapy treatments, 28 proton radiation sessions at Mass General in Boston, and a seemingly endless parade of pokes, prods, scans and surgeries. Exhausting, long and often perilous, this journey has taken our family on quite the ride. Yet, our young warrior princess has continued to hold her head up high, with a big smile attached to her face, taking on each challenge with gusto and conquering them all.
Just a few weeks ago, Emmy reached the end of her treatment pathway, a huge milestone indeed. Now she is home, resting, and awaiting a final set of scans before (hopefully) getting her the all clear to end treatment and get some much needed rest and Emmy time. We want nothing more in the world.
As we come to yet another crossroad on this journey of ours, we are reminded of all the amazing support we’ve received since the beginning, from family and friends, old and new. Forever grateful is how we will always feel, for each helping hand that kept us upright, positive, and moving forward through some seriously tough times.
Campout for the Cause, now in it’s tenth year of doing great things for great causes, remains one of the most incredible experiences of our lives. The level of support, and empowerment that comes from such a conscious and caring community is overwhelming and downright humbling. We left last years magical gathering full of so much encouragement and love, all of it helping carry us along the difficult path that lay ahead.
Our family is excited to be returning to the lush, tranquil, and absolutely stunning Cottonwood Meadows property, home to Campout for the Cause. We remain so thankful that our daughter Emmy is again one of the causes for this year’s gathering.
In addition to raising funds to help with Emery’s medical expenses we are excited to announce that we will be putting a portion them of into a new cause. With our young but fierce porcelain warrior at the helm, we are in the process of launching our very own non-profit foundation, to be called non-other than - Emmy’s Friends.
Emmy’s Friends will be focused on partnering with and creating new events/gatherings, raising money to empower some of the amazing organizations that help families just like ours who are on a difficult journey of their own. Since the very beginning of our story, we have longed to give back, if only a portion of all the help we’ve been given along the way; Emmy’s Friends is our chance to do just that.
We can’t wait to join all of you, June 1-3 at Campout for Cause in Buena Vista, CO.
-Michael Welle
January, 2018
Happy January Campers!
As we are directly in the throes of winter we hope you are enjoying it to the fullest and rocking those powder turns, when they are actually there for the rocking that is. We’ve been seeing the sunlight start to strain against the night sky lately. It is that light that turning our minds to the deeps of summer, with its long stretching days, its rushing tides and campfire lit evenings.
Since campfire nights are already on our brains we want to put a little something in yours. We are eager to share with all of you our official save the date and initial lineup for 2018’s Campout for the Cause! Mark your calendar to set up a tent and relax June 1st-3rd in beautiful Buena Vista, Colorado.
We are proud to announce that this year is the 10th year anniversary of Campout for the Cause. The last decade has brought us so much music, so many memories, many changes and especially so many lessons learned. We take each year, learn and hopefully make the next year and the next Campout the best one we can!
This is the second year at our stunning site called The Meadows in beautiful Buena Vista, Colorado. We are once again tucked alongside Cottonwood Creek and nestled up against the backbone of the Continental Divide, The Sawatch Range. We have felt so at home in The Meadows since last year and can’t wait to share her majesty with all of you once again. It is the perfect place to unwind, breathe deep and open to the beauty of music, mind and mother earth.
For the 10th year in a row we bring you amazing music, art, yoga, and awareness. Campout for the Cause’s 2018 initial lineup includes:
Music
Mandolin Orange, Lil Smokies, Bonfire Dub, Tierro with Bridget Law, Intuit
Mind and Body
Gina Caputo, Heath Perry, Kim Fuller, Bobby L'Heureux, Julia Clarke
And more to come!
Our Campout for the Cause lineup boasts one of WinterWonderGrass’ favorite bands, Mandolin Orange. From Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz are making their Campout debut this year. Be on the lookout for soft harmonies and gentle lyricism and hauntingly sweet melodies. Another WWG favorite, The Lil Smokies are finally making their return to the Campout stage this year. Since the last time we Campers saw these gents they have proceeded to tear up the scene with their unique style and composition. Notably winning the Band Contest at Telluride Bluegrass Festival for a spot on the mainstage in 2016 and most recently hopping on The Boat; playing their first Jam Cruise Festival in 2018. None of this takes away from our Colorado friends here: The rootsy sway of Bonfire Dub, Boulder based Intuit, and the tribal beats from Tierro featuring the lovely Bridget Law.
This is not the end, it is only the beginning. Keep your eyes open for more artists to come. Break out your headlamp and find your sleeping pad because a limited number of tickets go on sale March 13th.
In Other Campout news…
Shifting Me to We
If you are feeling a need to reach out and connect, our friends at Colorado Yoga+Life Magazine is presenting an evening of yoga, music, and conversation. “Shifting from Me to We” will be opening discussions rooted with yoga and music to inspire a community mentality and embrace collaboration. The evening begins at 6pm with an hour-long yoga class and live music and will move to a panel and crowd discussion.
Speakers will include:
Billy Potocnik, Yoga Program Director at Pura Vida Spa and Fitness
Juli Rathke, Yoga+Life Magazine
Scotty Stoughton, founder Campout for the Cause and WinterWonderGrass Festivals
Lindsay Roselle, co founder Women & Inc.
Joe Buckner, founder and visionary of Beautifully Savage: The Art of Pugilism.
Starting at 6pm at Mercury Café in Denver, January 26th, tickets are only $10 through Eventbrite.com.
Bonfire Dub at Ophelia’s Electric Soap Box
Want to experience some of the Campout vibe sooner than June? Campout founder Scott Stoughton‘s longtime project Bonfire Dub will be lighting up the stage February 1st at one of Denver’s most intimate venues, Ophelia’s Electric Soap Box. Bonfire Dub plays a deep and powerful blend of roots music – original songs with rich melodies, featuring down tempo, acoustic laced and electric steel driven reggae, folk and dub. Supported on this night by the Front Range Ska and reggae band The Alcapones, the evening guarantees to get you to standing up and boogying down. Tickets start at $12 and can be found at www.opehiliasdenver.com Doors at 8pm/Show at 9pm