Twin Oaks Communities Conference (TOCC) is an annual gathering over the Labor Day weekend which brings together people seeking intentional communities with folks who are already living in them. There are performances, auctions, presentations and specialized curated workshops on intentional community living and Open Space technology workshops on any topic.
The conference focuses on Intentional Communities, including models such as Ecovillages, Cohousing, and Housing Cooperatives, and the larger cooperative movement, including all kinds of cooperative and collective organizations. The themes for this years event are:
- How can communities network more effectively?
- How can our communities be more equitable and diverse?
This event is the longest running conference on international communities in the nation, with over 40 different ICs represented and likely over 200 participants. It is a family friendly, camping event in rural Virginia. Twin Oaks community hosts this event at our fully equipped conference site.
This conference is for current or former community members, those seeking community, and those curious about intentional communities. It is co-created by attendees. Come prepared to share your skills, your imagination, your experiences, and your enthusiasm with others.
All participants are asked to contribute a dessert or snack food to share (details at the link), or pay a $20 surcharge.
All participants are expected to contribute 2 hours of work during the conference. Our work exchange option requires an additional 4 hours (6 total) to reduce the general admission price to $50, youth tickets for those ages 6-17 are $25 when attending with an adult who attends the conference on a work exchange ticket, kids 5 and under are always free.
Living in community and want to help build stronger connection between ICs? After the communities conference ends, stick around for the inaugural Convergence of Communities - more details here, and tickets are available on eventbrite here.
Want more information? Check out our website at communitiesconference.org or email us at conference@twinoaks.org
Currently we anticipate the 2024 Covid-19 policies will be the same as 2023's, though this could change if there is a major covid outbreak. All participants must provide proof of a recent negative Covid-19 test before they enter the conference. This is to help protect the high number of vulnerable people in the community. We strongly encourage testing at home before traveling to the conference and sending us a selfie of your test result via email or text. Tests will also be available at our registration desk at cost (estimated price of $5).
Please stay home if you are feeling ill, have recently been diagnosed with Covid-19, or have had direct contact with a suspected or confirmed Covid-19 case. If you do not attend or need to leave early due to COVID-19, we will happily refund your registration fee. Even with these guidelines in place, there is some risk of Covid-19 exposure, so please consider this when deciding to attend this year.
