The Stones Rising Giveaway
Service, Ceremony, & Celebration. Our 32nd Year!
A Place for All Paths
Every Labor Day Weekend at Four Quarters
Wednesday, September 2nd - Monday, September 7th, 2026
Sunday, September 6th - The Rising!
This is Our GiveAway. Your registration is free,
as are all of your meals during your stay.
Sharing Our Gratitude is the Price of Admission
A Weekend of Community, Ceremony, Intention, and Purpose. Daily Meditative Rituals, Evening Ceremonies, Sweat Lodge, Fire Circle... & Working with the Stones!
~ Click to Preview The Stones Rising Giveaway 2026 Draft Schedule ~
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Of all the things that have taken place at Four Quarters over our thirty-two year history, the gift of Stones Rising is, by far, the most precious and the most constant.
Now, by an Act of our Board of Directors extending as far into the future as we can see, we offer this most precious gift as a GiveAway, asking nothing in return but your willing heart, your open mind and your own most precious gift: your participation.
In some form, The Giveaway Ceremony exists all around the world. We giveaway that which enriches us as well as that which burdens us. In this act of giving and receiving, both our blessings and our burdens, we acknowledge the circular balance of life, and the exchange of energy that makes this balance possible.
In ancient Sumer all debt was cancelled every fifty years, a reset of the social contract that became known as the Jubilee. In Rome The Saturnalia was celebrated with gift exchange and the temporary reversals of the rigid social roles that defined that society. Daan Utsav, India’s “Festival of Giving,” follows a similar model.
In indigenous societies The GiveAway Ceremony is the act of rebalancing society... and the universe. The giving is unconditional, no judgement made as to who receives and who gives. With the peoples of the Pacific NorthWest a Head Man might give away the very house he lives in. Among the Lakota Sioux peoples, every family would be sent home with extra food in every bucket they could carry.
These acts of giving-away, and receiving, even in times of hardship, are the acts that carry the Wheel of Life forward.
We offer Stones Rising as a Giveaway Ceremony in The Spirit of The First Nations. Of all that came before and all that will come after. We waive the monetary compensation that sustained us through more than three decades of struggle, and offer freedom from fees to those who are in their own time of struggle. And we provide a means through which those who are living in Their Own Fat Times, can rebalance The World with their own giving.
We who stand in the center of the Circle, remember our Grandparents who came before us, and our Grandchildren who now come after. Together, we are The Seven Generations.
We remember the Hard Times of travail and testing, and the Good Times of abundance that we share. In this Spirit we gather together twice a day, in Common Purpose to Prepare, Bless and Partake of our Shared Meals.
For everyone we offer that which binds community. Food. Offered without condition or restraint to all who join us. Food that nourishes. Food that Sanctifies. Food that sustains The Hoop of The Nation. Food that Binds The Circle. Food ...as our sincerest expression of The Stones Rising GiveAway at Four Quarters.
Stones Rising is a pulsing, pounding, living, breathing transformative experience. It is an experiment, pushing the boundaries of a journey taken by ordinary people doing extraordinary things. It reeks of magic, and of sweat, and of fresh-baked bread, mud, concrete, and rock dust. Stones Rising is a time away from time, a place set aside from the World to step into a reality that is bigger, stronger, and bolder than your wildest dreams.
Over these past thirty years, Stones Rising has hosted Sacrifice, Ceremony, and Celebration offered by so many people, of so many traditions, it would be impossible to name them all. But from the otherworldly chanting of the Gomang Monks to the just-as-otherworldly images of Hindu deities in blacklight paint, floating majestically over the Stones at Gaian Mind, to the seductive and powerful tarantella, Four Quarters has remained the constant; the Stone Circle the silent sentinel; the Chalice; containing nothing, yet giving form to all it contains.
This year, we choose to honor the journey of the many paths that have shared their Spirit, their Song, their Sincerity, and their Souls with us over all these years. This is not the Hero’s Journey. This is the journey of people just like us, who have managed to raise a Stone Circle over the course of thirty-one years, and the tale of the gifts they have brought along the way.
I sing to you of a housewife who suddenly found herself holding-and operating-a diamond saw, cutting into Stone with gusto! I sing to you of a two-year-old girl, grabbing the ropes, and lifting them as high as her tiny arms would go! I sing to you the song of people who thought all their lives that they lived in little boxes, bound by limits that did not, in fact, exist. I sing to you the song of actual lived experience, and of finding that lost place deep inside of yourself that whispers hopefully “just try!” For this is the song of Stones Rising. A song of actual hope, actual glory, actual tangible accomplishment.
We plan an exciting arc of Ceremonies this year as we follow the history of Four Quarters itself, with each ceremony honoring a different tradition that has brought power, wonder and magic to this place!
And, of course, there are always the Stones! We continue work this year on the Great North Copse! Our “Chapel within the Cathedral.” There are no words to express the sense of wonder and inspiration that standing within this intimate circle of truly towering Stones can bring upon your heart. We have already hosted some smaller ceremonies in the Copse, and, seeing the People gathered, faces washed in torchlight, standing under the towering Stones truly evokes what our ancestors must have felt.
So, join us on this journey, from Then until Now. Explore the incredible things you are capable of doing, if you only let yourself try for just a minute. The journey isn’t dependent on whether you already know how to do something. The journey is in your hands. And in your feet. The journey is about taking that step beyond, into magic: From the ordinary to the extraordinary. You are not as small as they told you that you are. Trust Me.
The Road Before You Is Open.
And the Stones Await.
See you in the Stone Circle!
Registration Information
.: Register/RSVP in our Shopping Cart :.
Membership Privileges Apply.
Registering for The GiveAway: How It All Works
Actually, as we write this in December 2025, we have not yet figured out all the tiny moving pieces, but in order to feed everyone, we have to know how much food to buy, and that’s certain to be a lot of food, so...
• YOU MUST PRE-REGISTER, either by phone or online. You can let us know what day you will arrive, and if you are vegihoolian or omnivarian. We can also provide gluten-free, and dairy free options, let us know and we will plan the menu accordingly.
• Even if you will only be with us the Sunday of the Rising, CALL US and register.
• Register your children too. They eat like a herd of Beavers.
• If you find you have the time, but did not pre-register... Call Us and Come Anyway! We will figure it out.
• Stay tuned for our email list announcements, on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/FourQuartersFarm and here on our our website www.4qf.org/stonesrising. That’s where to get the latest info, as it develops.
• Did we mention, your attendance and meals are FREE, but you MUST preregister!
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Sharing food is sharing Community
All 10 meals from Wednesday Dinner to Monday Brunch are included in your registration!
Membership Privileges Apply. Children under 16 are loved, cherished and FREE.
All 10 meals from Wednesday Dinner to Monday Brunch are included in your registration!
Sunday’s Sacred Meals are: The Loaves of the Corn Mother and The Feast of The Standing Stones.
We can accommodate vegetarian and gluten-free; let us know when you register.
Our ten Brunch/Dinners are hearty and all-you-can-eat, but do bring high energy snacks for in-between times!
Call the office at 814-784-3080 with your questions or to register.
Late Registrations? CALL US! Handicapped, Special Circumstances? CALL US!
You are welcome to arrive before Wednesday and stay later than Monday.
Early In and Late Out camping is $12 a night for Members and $20 a night for non-members.
In-Camp Car Camping Permits are $30 each. (Your vehicle must remain stationary)
In-Camp Car Parking Passes, RV hook-ups: contact our office.
Unlimited free Main Parking.
Handicapped? Please contact us for your free In-Camp parking pass.
Stones Rising is a participatory ceremonial event; everyone is asked to offer their Service throughout the event. There are many ways to serve: working with the Stone People to prepare the Stones; tending to the Sacred Sites, Altars and inspirational places on the Land; assisting in the Kitchen; helping with Ceremonial preparations, and many more. We encourage people to be part of ceremonies; if you feel you can help, please do so!
~ Stones Rising 2026 Draft Schedule ~
We hope to see everyone together in Ceremony and Service...
Planning sessions for each day's work will be held after Brunch each morning.
Please join us and discover the Sacred Celebration that is Service to the Community!
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View the embedded image gallery online at:
https://4qf.org/stonesrising#sigProId4dd86cda7c
The Stone Circle is the Heart of Four Quarters.
https://4qf.org/stonesrising#sigProId4dd86cda7c
It is a work of years, and each year we gather at Stones Rising to Celebrate and continue that Work.
Though it is a group experience, Stones Rising moves every person in a different way. For some it is the opportunity to unplug: to serenely walk the Labyrinth; to contemplate the misty mountains in the early morning; or immerse themselves in the magic of the creek. For others it is the expectation of meeting new people—people who will go from being strangers to family in only a few short days. But for all of us Stones Rising is the opportunity to do something that matters—something that will last far longer than any of us will. It is the opportunity to continue the creation of sacred space as we raise megaliths with our brothers and sisters.
The Circle's story is not just about the Stones: it is overlaid with personal histories, with hundreds of stories and memories and milestones. You will often see people laying their hands on the Stones. They might tell you that this is the first Stone they helped raise, or how it was raised in the rain, or how the rope broke. They might tell you about how this Stone took all day to pull, prompting you to remark, “It's so small compared to the others!” The other person will smile and say that the Stones have minds of their own. They might tell you of the year that their baby was passed through the Mother Stone during the Baby Blessing, and of the people who were there who no longer come to the Farm. And with each year, the Circle's history grows richer.
No membership or specific faith binds us. What binds us is a belief in the value of this world, this life, and the humanity we all share. Can you help raise Stones if you're not a Four Quarters member? If your path is spiritual path is solitary and unique? If you have never set foot on the Land before? Can YOU help raise Stones? YES!
We raise Stones the old way, the hard way, with Ropes, Rollers,...and People. It could be done so much more easily, with so much less sweat and strain, if we would just use heavy construction equipment. But what would be the point? Machines are not important: It is the hands and hearts of the people who move and raise the Stones that is important.
When we raise Stones together, we have the opportunity to take a moment and think about the Sanctuary we are creating. In the interval between one Stones Rising and the next, we have time to appreciate that what we are doing is Holy Work. It is the work of creating Connections between all of us regardless of how different our spiritual paths may be.
And we'll all stand together and we'll Raise another Stone,
To the Seventh Generation and the Children Yet Unknown!
Service, Ceremony, Celebration - Our Ongoing Great Work of Raising Stones!
Accompanied by witnesses, the Stone Movers lean into the ropes to bring a new Stone into the Stone Circle.
Building the North Copse
At Stones Rising 2025 we continued the construction of the North Copse section of the Stone Circle, which begin at Stones Rising 2019.
And what is the North Copse you ask? With The Great North Stone as its northernmost minor axis, the Copse is a 45'x30' ellipse set with the stones almost touching. Intended to create a Sanctuary within a Sanctuary, very much in keeping with the "Fore Courts" associated with British neolithic long barrows.
In order to follow the very tight curves of such a small ellipse, we need stones no wider than 4 feet, and hopefully in the 12 foot range in height, and all of the same beige colored sandstone of The Great North Stone. Such stones are not easy to find, even when the good folks at the quarry are setting their blasting charges just for us.
In a bit of luck, in 2018 we found a wonderful slab that had a natural bedding plane running lengthwise with the rock. In the spring of 2019, the quarry staff set upon that slab with wedges and gently coaxed the flaw into a full split, creating two mirror image book-matched slabs of stone, whose faces are actually the interior surfaces of the previous whole slab. And as luck would have it the irregular outlines of the two slabs almost perfectly match the shoulders of the Great North Stone.
We cut two other slabs that flanked these book-matched stones, their final trim and dressing done during Stones Rising 2019...which added to the very challenging task ahead. The space within the copse is very tight, and our intention was to set these stones no more than a hands-width apart. Careful planning was called for, the rigging complicated, and we needed everyone in boots and gloves... no bystanders allowed!...to perform the delicate work.
We think the results of our efforts came out very well... actually quite spectacular. We expect to continue the work on the pearl of the string of the North Copse at Stones Risings to come for several years...will you bring us your sweat, good hands and hearts, and your witness? Join us!