Between the Rivers Gathering
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Event Schedule

​Saturday: Camp set-up work traders Check in by 8am

Saturday - Students begin to arrive and set camps

Monday (Memorial Day)
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​8:00 am - Breakfast
9:00 am - Blanket fair instructor/class preview
10:00 am - Opening and Instructor Introduction
​1:00 pm - Classes Start!
6:00 pm - Dinner
​7pm-ish - Evening Social Activities
​Dusk - Memorial 
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Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
8 am - Breakfast
8:40am - Brief Announcements
9:00 -12 – Classes
12pm- lunch break
1-5 – Classes
6 pm – Dinner 
7pm-ish – Evening Social Activities

Thursday After Dinner: Highland Games!

Saturday

8 am - breakfast
9:30 am – Closing Ceremonies
11am(ish) – Pack up & travel!
 
​Camp Take-down work traders work until we are done on Sunday.
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Between the Rivers is located on the 40 acre campus of Bridges to the Past in Valley, WA.  It is about an hour north of Spokane, WA.  Campus is CLOSED unless an event is taking place.
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The gate address for the event is:

3045 Huffman Road, Valley, WA 99181

Directions:
From the North: 
Head south on Hwy 395, and take a right on Hwy 231 and head South to the town of Valley.  Head through Valley and look for Huffman Road on your left as you pass Valley School and the ball field.  Take Huffman Road about 100 yards and turn right into the south drive at Paidea High School.  Proceed slowly and respectfully through the south parking lot, staying to the right until you come to the gate.  Go through the gate and drive 4/10 of a mile up the gravel road and turn left into the Bridges to the Past Campus.

From the South:
Head north on Hwy 395 until you come to Bulldog Creek Rd. on the left.  Take Bulldog Creek Rd to Hwy 231 and turn right.  Drive north on Hwy 231 for a mile or so until you come to Huffman Road on the Right.  
Take Huffman Road about 100 yards and turn right into the south drive at Paidea High School.  Proceed slowly and respectfully through the south parking lot, staying to the right until you come to the gate.  Go through the gate and drive 4/10 of a mile up the gravel road and turn left into the Bridges to the Past Campus.

Don't forget to look for our signs with our logo. They will lead the way.
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Future Event Dates:

BtR 2025: May 26th - 31st
BtR 2026: May 25th - 30th
BtR 2027: May 31st - June 5th

Schedule of Classes
It is in our nature to want to know exactly what to expect at an extended workshop from minute to minute.  This is understandable, but an ancestral skills gathering is often a loosely organized affair, and we don't always know until the last minute who is able to attend and what they will be teaching.  Classes we have had in years past are listed below and are likely to be available, but expect changes from year to year, and even day to day.  Chances are, on a given day at any time there will be plenty of rewarding classes to participate in and lots to do and see.  Class schedules are subject to change depending on weather conditions, materials, instructor health, etc.  Signing up for specific classes happens in person with that specific instructor, especially early Monday before our opening meeting.  It is advisable to show up on Monday and attend the big meeting and announcements so that you will know what is offered, and sign up for your classes at that time.

An incomplete list of classes offered in past years:
Wool Hand Spinning
Cedar Bark Baskets/Bark Crafts
Foraging for Food
Shelter Building
Tin/copper Smithing
Stone Carving (Lamps, Bowls, Adornment)
Bull Roarers
Atl Atl & Dart manufacture and use
Open fire cooking
Rosette Beading & Beadwork
Drum Making
NW Coast Halibut Hook carving
yogurt making
Goat (small livestock) care
Cheese Making
Crosscut Saw sharpening and use
Friction Fire Making (Bow drill & Hand Drill)
Rawhide Containers
Knotless Netting
Dream Catchers
Lithic Technology
Wool Felting
Cordage from plant fibers
Evening Campfire activities and Acoustic Music
Hunky Punk - Viking Game
Historical Trekking
Fur Trade Life and 19th Century Camp Skills
​Buffalo hide tanning and rawhide
Soft-fiber Basket weaving
Stone Pendant Carving (Serpentine/alabaster/soapstone)
Arrow Making
Bark-tanning Fish Skins
Knife Throwing
Wooden Bowl/Wooden Spoon carving
Story Telling
Nature Awareness
Herbal Medicine
Salve Making
Medicinal Herb Walk/Foray
Arm Knitting
Fermented Beverages
Burn/Burl Bowl Carving
Tiny Houses
Corn Husk Dolls / Corn Necklaces
Locust & Birch Bark Baskets
Pack Baskets
Flintknapping (all levels)
Firewood into Furniture (simple furniture making)
Leather Tooling (arm guards and quivers)
Brain Tanning / Buckskin Manufacture
Circumpolar Skin-on-Frame Kayak talk
Animal Processing
Bread Making
​Watercraft
Pottery
​Book Binding

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Just for fun:  Scottish Highland Games Thursday evening
It started as a joke when I posted this photo to the Between the Rivers Gathering Facebook group, and it got the attention of Jean, our kids camp organizer who excitedly said, "Oh, can we please!?!"  I said, "Sure - the kilt part, anyway, and maybe wooden swords."  This grew into an evolving plan to use Thursday to introduce the kids in camp to how the ancient Scottish lived and dressed, the skills they used, what they ate and the games they played.  And so now, Kids Camp has a caber toss, rock toss, and a kilt race on that afternoon.  The haggis is negotiable.  Then, as the post garnered more attention, adults chimed in and said, "What about us!?"  Well, why not?!?  Highland Games on Thursday has become a BtR tradition.  If you have a kilt (or other historical Scottish clothing), bring it and plan to wear it on Thursday.  Highland games for adults take place after dinner on Thursday and includes a caber toss, rock toss, and kilt race...and whatever spontaneously develops from this. (Disclaimer: this is not an official sporting event, and is just for fun, lots of it! Winners earn bragging rights only.)


Look for our Facebook group - and join!  Link here: Between the Rivers Gathering
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