In this crazy dumpster fire year, we knew we couldn’t let 2020 pass us by without making some in-person craft magic a reality if we could figure it out. Let’s be honest, we all need craft. We all need people. We all need a f*cking getaway. The Unglued Getaway Series is your pandemic-world escape to get outside and out of town, get crafty, be safe, and ultimately get away from your routine at Crooked Lane Farm in Colfax, ND. So get ready to DIY with your BFFs and a PSL while keeping in mind some FYIs from the CDC.
It would not be feasible to make any of our usual events happen in pandemic times, so we came up with a whole new crafty escape from your home to give you (and us) the oomph to see it through. We spent a whole lot of quality time with the CDC and WHO websites to craft up our COVID event precautions and guidelines to the best of our abilities.
Here’s what we came up with, we still feel pretty good about it (Spoiler alert: we had no post-event positives! And we also did cancel the 2nd Getaway we had originally planned when it did get crazy in ND.): A crazy flexible cancellation/refund policy, whether you cancel or we do. A downsized max number of attendees to reduce the number of people in workshops and trying to do things at once (like mealtimes). Reporting any post-event COVID diagnoses. A Really Considerate Attitude, aka if you’re being an a**hole about safety, your ass is going to be safely sent home. And of course, wearing face coverings, hand washing or sanitizing, and keepin’ that six feet. Fun fact: our #swag for the Getaways were awesome custom face masks and personal hand sanitizer bottles, all inside a sweet ass fanny pack.
All attendees, crew, and Crooked Lane staff agreed to follow these guidelines before the event, which is hella important to everyone knowing what they are getting into and preparing accordingly. Our Getaways crew worked double duty as they set the fun, welcoming vibe you’ve come to love and got some intense sanitization on, including this epic sanitization ghostbusters bear below!!!
Attendees rolled up the actual crooked lane driveway in their own personal vehicles to our welcome crew, rolled down their windows, and got held up at thermometer point while they got the lowdown on all things Getaway swag, breakfast, and the parking bear.
In a very socially distanced fashion, kick ass emcees Max and Erica got their face shields and masks on to welcome everyone to the farm. We practiced a safe six to the tune of Wide Open Spaces by the Chicks, reviewed proper over-the-nose-style mask wearing, and what the heck to do if we start feeling sick while at the event.
Plus, you guessed it, made it drop to WAP.
We brought back the Crooked Lane Farm favorites of barn quilts, bread baking, and blacksmithing. Plus the science (magic?) of popping bobas, needle felted sloths holding a lil donut, ceramic monster steins, preserved lemons and bloody marys, boobie planters (yes, you read that right), wood burned cheeseboards, cute as hell quilled paper plants, and chunky funky fall vibes abstract painting.
Even in a pandemic world, our instructors came ready to knock these workshops out of the sky. Seth from Dakota Timber took that pretty literally with his workshop on 2020 model rocket meditation AKA launch your sh*t into the sky!
Attendees preregistered for 2-3 workshops to craft their hearts out but this time we added a twist to the descriptions. Yup, you guessed it, more! pandemic! info! We made sure that our workshop instructors AND participants got the full download on mask requirements, potential for sharing tools, and indoor/outdoor options before they signed on to teach or to learn from a super legit local maker.
To keep lunchtime things single serve and hella safe, we brown bagged it for adorable picnic vibes around the farm. Delicious pad thai salad and “hot meat” (thanks, Max!) brisket sandwiches from Deb’s Corner Catering filled us up for another crafty round of workshops.
With extra time between sessions or after Getawayers finished eating we had loads of farm fun and crafty as hell bonus excitement to partake in. The campfire was burnin’ up, make sh*it kits were packed for on the spot making. For a little outdoorsy action, head out into the woods for a nature walk or spin around with your arms out wide and your mask off in our super distanced Fresh Air Station!
A true Unglued Getaway would not be complete without the happiest hour that would even make Ron Swanson crack a smile. We are talking COCKTAILS AND CORGIS HAPPY HOUR. There were corgi butts thanks to @PigandBacon_nd (and Porkchop!). Sandy’s Donuts’ maple bacon long johns and a caramel apple bar. Floral bundle building with Prairie Petals. Dex from Thunder Coffee with the PSLs on lock. Kevin’s bar serving up his famous Oh My Gourd cocktail plus a new Apple Butter Old Fashioned ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!?! Drekker Beer. Hayrides. Pumpkin picking from a pumpkin patch. S’mores over the fire. Tiktok dance lessons. Magical land mermaid yoga. Not_hideuhs also spray painted a temporary mural between the trees to represent 2020 in the moment and it created everything we need to vibe this out. And also Maxine was our new CLF farm dog that hung out and she was, well, just the best.
Attendees had the option of choosing to get spicy with us for a full or half day. We came up with this excellent idea as an option for less exposure (one less workshop, fewer dranks, and heading home to eat dinner with your family), and well, because we barely know how to socialize in person any more, so you might just be tired AF from all the six-foot actual face time with other humans.
If you chose to stick it out for the whole day with us, one more workshop session was before rounding out the day with a toasty warm dinner of Carrie’s white chicken or classic red bean chili and getting serenaded by the smooth vibes of The Cropdusters!
Everyone who attended the first ever Unglued Getaway seriously brought it with their really considerate attitudes. We washed our hands. We wore our masks. We kept our distance. And dammit we had a kick ass time doing it! And the craziest thing was it RAINED ALL DAY. Like literally all day. For an event we were banking on mostly being outdoors as much as possible. And people handled it like freakin’ champs. It was supposed to be 20% just in the morning and it was 100% all day. We are so immensely grateful that we all could take it in stride and really fully do this day and all its beauty despite said weather.
We were set and ready to do it all again (Alexa, play DJ Khalid saying “another one”) when cases in North Dakota started going real wild. And because this pandemic world of 2020 means nothing will go as expected, we cancelled our in-person event and made a low key version available for attendees to do virtually! Zoom zoom!
So here’s to creating experiences that can be safe (and sometimes canceled…) so we can do what we can to get creative, inspired, and safely connected. Looking forward to more Getaway action in spring 2021 and then…SUMMER CAMP!! We think, at least. It’ll look different but when you can figure out new (safe) ways to do things you do them! Onward!