Help Build *
The Caravan Center *
Donate Now *
Help Build * The Caravan Center * Donate Now *
CARAVAN CENTER
A space for the arts to Thrive
This is a very special year for the Center for Symbolic Studies and The Vanaver Caravan--and we need your support!
Please consider making a contribution to our campaign to Build the Caravan Center at Stone Mountain Farm. Your donation will help build a new forever home for The Vanaver Caravan and a much-needed four-season creative space for a myriad of wonderful classes, workshops, performances, and local/international artist residencies.
What does the Caravan Center look like?
As you drive in to Stone Mountain Farm, picture a beautiful, circular, sunlit, airy dance studio
The space will be insulated, with heating and cooling for the hot and cold seasons
A beautiful sprung tap-worthy marley dance floor for movement classes, dance parties, hanging silks, aerial arts, Tai chi, Yoga, seminars, workshops, and more
High ceilings and an aerial rig for 5th Wall Studio’s flying lessons
Historic pictures and archival footage of The Vanaver Caravan and the Center for Symbolic Studies will line the walls
There will be a rotating collection of books from the Center for Symbolic Studies’ Myth Library
Behind the studio are two bath houses with showers and bathrooms (already built)
Around the center will be a collection of beautiful, whimsical carts and wooden sheds, which double as storage units and seasonal office spaces for the groups that use the space.
The Vanaver Caravan shed will be in the shape of a Caravan cart, and will be painted by our CaravanKids at CaravanKids week 2024
MISSION & Vision
In addition to providing a space for artistic education, inspiration, and expression, the Caravan Center will be an accessible, safe community space open to all people, regardless of gender, economic means, disability, belief, religion, ethnicity, or race.
The Caravan Center will also honor and acknowledge the Schaghticoke and Munsee Lenape lands it is built upon, sharing its space with indigenous groups and tribal organizations.
Suggested Amounts:
Dream Enthusiast - $50.00
Dwarven Builder - $100.00
Dragon Tamer - $200.00
Master of Mystic Arts - $300.00
Primordial Patron - $500.00
Celestial Bestie - $1,000.00
Heart of the Center $2,500.00
Most Royal Advisor $5,000.00
About our Partnership
The Vanaver Family and the Larsen Family have been working together for over 30 years, co-producing events, festivals, and workshops. Their organizational missions overlap beautifully: each helping to realize each other’s visions to educate, inspire, and heal through art, storytelling, and nature.
The building of the Caravan Center is the natural progression for the two organizations. The Vanaver Caravan seeks a home base from which to run classes and workshops year-round, and Stone Mountain Farm / CSS have the vision to build such a space on Stone Mountain Farm.
The Caravan Center will be a home for many artists and groups seeking to create art, wellness, and community. Help us realize our dream and build our home!
About The Vanaver Caravan:
For 50 years, through three generations, The Vanaver Caravan Dance and Music Company has been an integral and beloved part of the Hudson Valley community: promoting peace, celebrating our shared humanity, and transforming young lives through the magic of music and dance.
About The Center for Symbolic Studies (CSS):
The Center for Symbolic Studies is the nonprofit branch of Stone Mountain Farm. It has been offering a window into the Mythic Imagination for over 30 years through seasonal festivals, Dream Workshops, sacred teaching by shamans from around the world, lectures, and celebrations of art and dance surrounded and inspired by nature.
About Stone Mountain Farm
Owned by the Larsen Family, Stone Mountain is a hub for the performing arts and home to The Center for Symbolic Studies; a non-profit whose mission is to inspire nature-based spirituality, leading to personal growth and communal awareness.
All activities put the land first. A small family run operation; there is a community that lives on the farm year round and shorter term guests that come and go on weekends, from cabins and ‘glamping' tents.
On any given day you may discover children building fairy houses deep in the forest, musicians playing at the Rail Trail cafe under a cathedral of trees while patrons enjoy farm-to-table delights; Tai Chi, Flying-dance or Dream Workshops on one of the stages; or a theater company rehearsing alongside horses in the barn studio.
Project Timeline (Updated)
2022-2023 - Phase One: Quiet Phase
✅ Raise: $35k to put a down payment on the yurt
January - July 2024 - Phase Two: Collaborative Capital Campaign
Raise the final $100k needed for all materials costs, labor, construction, and electric
August 2024 - October Phase Three: Build Phase
Raise the yurt and build the center!
Winter 2025 - Phase 4: Open Our Doors
The Caravan Center opens its doors to Caravan dancers, aerial arts students, and local community members
Future Projects (2025 & beyond)
Create an Access Fund to enable low to no cost space rental fees for artists and groups in need of financial assistance
Landscape the surrounding grounds with native flowers and indigenous plants
Build an entryway ‘waiting area’ for waiting parents and caregivers.
Build “tiny home” style offices and storage units around the center to be used for visiting artists and community workshops
Center for Symbolic Studies / Stone Mountain Farm to build a state-of-the-art Myth Library and events building
