July 11, 2009 11:00 AM suggested.

OK - many of you know the Heartland Naturist appear to have abandoned the plans for what I think would have been the 9th Annual Sun Run. Instead - they have planned a family outing soon at another venue which is great for their club. Some of you might also know that the AANR is attempting to enter the Guinness Book of World Records with a new category for the largest number of people simultaneously skinny-dipping on July 11, 2009.

Crazy as I am - I think we should try to do both - continue the Sun Run and help AANR enter the record books.

So - I am suggesting a night of camping at Gaea Friday, July 10th, I will provide a fire somewhere, followed by a walk/run of the trails and fields of Gaea about 11 AM Saturday. No timing no awards, rather a walk/run for those that want to walk and learn the trails - and a run for those that want to run the trails and land. We could have a potluck lunch/gathering at the beach after the walk/run with everybody joining the Guinness book of world records attempt (that wants to) and skinny dip at precisely 2:00 PM CST. In years past, the HNC has provided sandwiches and such so if we do this, the pot luck would be bring some things to share.

I know I am crazy - but it sounds like it would help with a couple of issues - a continuation of a 9 year event, help with a Guinness effort - but most importantly, an opportunity to enjoy the weather and have some fun and meet some great people.

Let me know what you think. Shouldn't take a lot of effort to pull off and I think it would be a lot of fun.

Morris

Hello Morris

I'm a go for oth venues - Heartland's Fun in the Sun and your proposed Skinny-dipping/Sun Run combined event. I do like the idea of keeping a Midwest tradition alive - the Sun Run although participation faltered after Doug dropped from sight.

More power to all the times and places to promote and foster nude recreation - and I'd not see it as a choice of one over the other. You and HNC are both to be commended for keeping the flame alive - sometimes it flickers but it hasn't gone out.

The simultaneous skinny-dip is a fun idea and hope the KC area can contribute what -three or four dozen skinny-dippers perhaps.

Let's do it!

Dick Williams

this looks like a great outing. I like your idea, Morris. But I don't know you or anyone involved. I'm new to naturism. I've emailed Heartland Naturists but am not getting a response. I'd like to contribute to the world record attempt on July 11. I'd also like to participate in the swim this coming Friday night, the 19th. I know of 3 potential other skinny dippers that may join, 2 women and one other man. Would someone please contact me?

james


Thank you, and looking forward to meeting you all.

James. I sent you an e-mail and I believe George has as well.

If you would like, I will remove your phone number from the website. I don't know if you really want it in such a public forum.

Thanks.

Mark (HN treasurer)

James and any others who're considering the Saturday July 11th, 2009 event at Camp Gaea. This is is - we're 24 hours out as of Friday morning and i'm still a go for Saturday's show. Still hope to camp but I'd be camping Sat nite into Sunday moring while Morris mentioned Friday nite into Sat. Either works - and i can camp alone or wait a group about equally well. More fun with others around but sometimes time along is nice in the out doors.

Any others who plant to be there? See ya. Morris is shooting for the Davawood section of the upper ridge. Ask if you're not sure of the location. My tent is a dark green ALPS and truck is "teal" - somewhere between blue and green - a litte Chevy S-10.

Dick Williams

Here's a link to a newspaper article from Washington state on the Guinness attempt:

http://www.issaquahpress.com/2009/06/16/dare-to-go-bare-in-skinny-dip-record-attempt/

Issaquah Press - Issaquah,WA,USA

The lead paragraphs from the article:

A nudist park south of Issaquah is participating in a national skinny-dip record attempt next month and you can join in.Fraternity Snoqualmie Family Nudist Park is one site hosting the American Association for Nude Recreation event, The AANR Largest Skinny-dip Across North America.

The event will take place at noon July 11 at the parks swimming and wading pools. Guinness World Records has agreed to create a new category for the largest number of people simultaneously skinny-dipping.

This is a perfect excuse for anyone wanting to be nude in public for the first time, said Dawnzella Gearhart, spokeswoman at Fraternity Snoqualmie. People can say theyre participating in a world-record attempt.

Quite a few similar articles from around the country if you do Google News on "skinny-dip" or AANR.

It's interesting that the AANR is behind this - it seems much more a Naturist Society thing and I wish the two organizations would partner on it. AANR traditionally is oriented toward private, landed resorts and TNS more toward free beaches and less formal types of nude recreation.

Is there some formality involved in being counted - the article mentions having someone from the community to witness and count the skinny-dippers and take a photo of the event. I didn't find the ground rule on the AANR site yet. It's fun to do even without the formality but if we're doing it to help with the record there are likely some guidelines to follow. I'll keep looking.

Come on - plenty more of you readers out there who have a playful side and can get onboard this one. It's cheap, close to town, a chance to take part in a Guinness event. How often can you combine that with skinny-dipping and being about a bunch of naked people? Pretty cool.

Dick Williams

I believe that Dick has summed it up fairly well. This will be a great opportunity to introduce those new to social naturism at a location that is clothing optional, in fact a small portion of the land requires genitals to be covered. Interest seems high in this so I will go ahead and make the formal announcement that some of us will be having a little fun in the sun on the weekend of July 11.

For those interested, we will host this event at the Gaea Retreat Center in Mclouth, KS - www.campgaea.org. A few of us will make a weekend of it and camp at Gaea. I personally will camp in an area of the camp known as Davawood - it is the first area at the top of the hill when driving in where the road splits. For those not familiar with Gaea - it has shower facilities, indoor toilets in a couple of areas and 168 acres to explore.

Please note that there is no fee for this event, but all must register and pay the fees of the Gaea Retreat center - $5.00 day pass, $10.00 tenting. These fees are per person. If you are interested in renting a cabin ($15.00 per person per night) - you must make your reservations with Gaea directly. Although areas of Gaea are adequate for RVs/pop ups, there are no water hook-ups for RVs, no dump station and the limited electrical hook ups are not in the area that I personally will be camping in.

Should you have questions - feel free to post them here or contact me off-list at naturist at sbcglobal dot net.

Morris

Dick, you are correct that only particular locations will be officially counted, but it does qualify as a great excuse to go out and support nudism en masse anyway. According to the AANR website "AANR plans to coordinate skinny-dipping events at participating clubs and legally-sanctioned nude beaches throughout North America" (http://www.aanr.com/skinny-dip.html - second paragraph). The closest club that I have seen advertise that they will be holding the event is Sandy Lane in Hutchinson, KS (http://www.sandylaneclub.com/index.html ). But, like I said before, that shouldn't preclude getting out and enjoying a (hopefully) great day of skinny-dipping and general nudist fun.

George and I won't be available that Saturday to join in the event as we will be taking a road trip to scout out a possible location for some future HN events. More information will follow on that front...

As far as I'm concerned, the more organized nudist activities there are, the more developed the nudist community in the Kansas City area will become. That, in turn, should lead to more organized events... I think that it just takes some sustained effort to get nudism rolling again. Everyone can help in that area by attending all the nudist events that you are able to, by welcoming new members to our community, and by organizing and holding events on your own.

As a side note, the HN information mailbox has recently been flooded with inquiries about the club, swims, and events. We are responding as quickly as possible to those inquiries. As a result, you should see many new faces at upcoming swims and I hope that everyone makes them feel welcome.


Thanks.

Mark (HN Treasurer)