Tuition: $1,300 per year; payment plan available at checkout
Location: East Chatham, NY
Requirements for enrollment: Youth enter the program at age 14 or 15. Prior participation in a program with Flying Deer or Tamakoce Wilderness Programs is required.
Mark your calendar! Info Sessions for Our 2024–2027 Sacred Fire group take place on:
- Wednesday, May 15, 6:00–7:30 pm
- Sunday, June 2, 4:00–5:30 pm
2023–2024 Dates:
- September 30–October 1: Opening Weekend
- November 4: Adventure Day
- December 2: Adventure Day
- March 2: Adventure Day
- April 13: Adventure Day
- May 11: Adventure Day
- June 28–July 2: Weeklong Overnight
Sacred Fire is a three-year wilderness rites-of-passage program for boys who wish to undertake a conscious journey into adolescence with the heartfelt support of family and community. The essence of this process is to create a world of deeper connection with Nature, Self, Community and Spirit.
The Sacred Fire community includes three groups of participants (Crayfish, Buckskins, and Dogwoods), program graduates (Fireboys), instructors, parents, “uncles” (mentors), and elders. First-year participants are Crayfish, second-years are Buckskins, and third-years are Dogwoods. If your son chooses to enroll in the Sacred Fire program, with parent support, his family joins eight or so other new families in becoming a tight-knit Sacred Fire community.
Each year, the Sacred Fire calendar year begins in October and ends in July, and each year the three-stage rites-of-passage journey repeats itself in a unique way. The year includes a weekend campout in the fall, Adventure Days one Saturday a month from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm throughout the school year (with the exception of January and February), family potlucks, a Mothers’ Ritual, and a five-day Initiation Weekend in June.
“Sacred Fire has been the most significant aspect to my son’s continuing growth and development from boyhood to manhood.”
Parent of Sacred Fire graduate
How can you tell if your son is ready for a rites-of-passage program? If he is between the ages of 13 and 15, chances are the answer is “yes,” whether he knows it or not. Here are some specific signs to look for:
- His body is starting to grow fast, his voice is dropping…
- His relationships are changing, he is feeling the awkwardness of social scenes…
- There is tension developing in his relationships (especially at home)…
- You are hearing him say things that make you say, “Did he just say that?!”
- He is hungry for more freedom, feeling confined…
- He is beginning to look for real challenges…
- He is interested in participating in a coming-of-age rite of passage…
- His family supports him to do so!
Payment Plan: Upon registration, you may pay full tuition of $1,300 or pay in four installments.