Bare Oaks Family Naturist Park, an AANR club near Toronto, offered a 10 day art residency program earlier this year called Naked State. Its purpose was to encourage the exploration of the nude human body in the context of nature, culture and art. The expectation was that during the 10 day residency the artists live in the nude within the Bare Oaks Family Naturist Park community. You can read about one of this year’s artists in the Contemporary Lynx online magazine, “Art Residency: International artists live in the nude for ten days“

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We are sad to report that we lost Fred Van Nest, the AANR East Member Trustee, on October 16 after a long battle with cancer. Fred was a long time member of AANR and served on the AANR-East Board of Directors before being elected to the AANR Board of Trustees. He was also active in working with the American Nudist Research Library in Kissimmee, FL. He will be missed.

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The Portland World Naked Bike Ride date has been announced. It is June 27th, 2020.

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by Shirley Gauthier

AANR-NW clubs and resorts addressed discrimination in a most positive way. Below is the non-discrimination policy passed on April 15, 2018.

AANR-NW reaffirms the AANR non-discrimination policy by-laws,
Section I Article IV A, “AANR welcomes all people willing to conform to its principles and standards, regardless of age, gender, marital status, religious beliefs, ethnic origin or sexual orientation.”

To AANR-NW this includes welcoming all single, partnered and married people of all gender identities, ethnicities, sexual identities, ages, sizes, religions and physical abilities.

My first visit to an AANR affiliated resort was the Willamettans in 1972. Sometimes I have to rewind the memory tapes to get a reality check on just how far nudists have grown over the decades.

In 1972 my husband and I were warned no physical touching. What did that mean? We were told to avoid kissing, holding hands or walking off into the woods alone to hike. Fast forward to April 15, 2018 when fourteen out of fifteen AANR-NW affiliates signed and endorsed the AANR-NW non-discrimination policy.

I was fortunate to work with Karen Lahey and Cynthia K. drafting the policy. It was not an accomplishment that came easy. It was working on that committee that I realized I had been left behind when it comes to the Queer community. I no longer knew the language, pronouns or the fact that when used in the proper context Queer was no longer a negative.

The book Queer-The ultimate LGBTQ guide for teens by Kathy Belge and Mark Bieschke opened up my world of education. Don’t let the word “teen” distract you. However, it is an excellent book for teens, parents, and everyone. This sixty-nine year old grandmother found every page worthy of a read. The first seventeen pages that explains lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, pansexual, transgender, non binary, cisgender or cis, asexual, aromatic, and demisexual explained so much. If your feeling lost or confused right now this book is for you. Confusing to me were pronouns and how to properly use them. It’s all covered in this book. The book includes a massive amount of information that relates to teens.

Now that our region has a non-discrimination policy what does that mean? The Willamettans Family Nudist resort recently deleted couple memberships. Every member has the same benefits and pays the same fee. Perhaps it means art work showing same sex couples. You can go to almost any AANR affiliated resort and see numerous photos or artwork of nude women or male/female couples. Have you noticed how the nude artwork always has subjects that don’t look anything like yourself? How many resorts continue to give a discount to couples? We have passed the policy now lets see what we can do as individuals to embrace the policy. If your a member of a club or resort ask yourself what you can do to be more inclusive to members, potential members and guests.

I am proud to be a member of AANR-NW. My AANR membership will have much more value when the non-discrimination policy is critiqued and addressed.

The book Queer can be purchased on Amazon for $14.99. I appreciate that the price point is teen friendly and wallet friendly enough I can gift them to the adults in my life.

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Saturday, November 2- 6:00 to 8:30 p.m.
1.) This is a Family Friendly event – there will be non-nudist life guards, but usage of the facilities will be in the nude.
2.) Available facilities : 25 yard lap pool, 6 lanes 3’6” – 11’6” deep 82 – 84 degrees, 20×40 yard hot pool 92 – 94 degrees, two saunas, two hot tubs, two steam rooms, two non gender dressing rooms with combination lockers (the state health department restricts usage of saunas, steam rooms, or hot tubs to individuals who are ages 14 and older).
3.) There is a top limit of 75 pre-registered, pre-paid attendees, who may be required to show ID upon entrance. No weapons allowed (including pocket knives)
4.) Recommendation of two towels per attendee – one for sitting on in sauna or steam room, one for drying off.

COST: 18 or older – $20 with proof of AANR or TNS membership, $25 for general adult admission with no proof of membership, $10 under 18 with accompanying registered parent. SPECIAL – Those under 18 are free (for the first ten who take advantage of the offer)! Patrons supporting this opportunity are a couple of doctors who feel naturism is very healthy for folks of all ages, and they want to encourage families to come. They have not attended the swims due to many conflicts in clinical duties, but they want to show their support.

Contact: treasurer@hiddenspringsnudist.org to reserve for the event and for other info.

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To our Members and Friends affected by the recent California Wildfires,
The Willamettans would like to offer a helping hand. We have plenty of RV spots with full hook ups, cabins and campsites available at reduced winter rates. If you are fleeing the fires, we will waive your grounds fees.
We offer a clothing optional resort with heated domed pool, hot tub, lodge, onsite pub, café, and lots of friendly members to commune with while here.
We are located 20 minutes outside of Eugene OR on 40 acres.
Open year round. Our office is open 7 days a week 10 AM – 6PM.
Register at www.willamettans.com or call 541-933-2809 and talk to Deidre or Heather.
We hope you are safe. We hope to see you again soon.

The Willamettans

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We often work at cleaning our beaches, but don’t know if it matters. Mark forwarded a letter from a fellow nudist thanking the volunteers for our work.

Hi Mark,

I wanted to thank you for all the work you do for the Rooster Rock beach. We were there after the Portland WNBR event. It was breathtakingly beautiful. We had visited many amazing places before but nothing like this. What a magical view. It was so clean and very naturist friendly. We had such a wonderful time and felt very safe. I am deeply grateful for all your hard work to make and keep this beach what it is now. Thank you so much.

If I wanted to make a small donation to support the cause, what would be the best way to do so?

Kim P.

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The city of Fort Collins, CO made a decision on September 3, 2019 to remove references to a 2015 policy from its public nudity code that barred women and girls over age 10 from exposing their breasts in public. The ban was unenforceable since February 2017, when a district court judge ruled it unconstitutional; the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals confirmed that ruling 2-1 in February 2019. The city spent about $120,000 and negotiated a $202,000 payment to cover the legal fees of plaintiffs Brit Hoagland and Samantha Six. For more information, see https://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2019/09/04/fort-collins-axes-topless-ban-inspired-free-nipple-lawsuit/2200123001/.

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AANR-NW and AANR convention news

Jim Lahey, NW NudeScene editor

The regional convention was held at Kaniksu Ranch in July. The convention included a DJ dance, games and sports tournaments.

Here are the awards that were presented at the convention.

Member of the Year – Mike Capshaw. In addition to the many hours that Mike spends making sure that nudists are welcome, happy, and safe at Sun Meadow, Mike Capshaw has gone above and beyond in his work with preparing the graphics for our marketing materials. He has designed our banners and our brochures. Mike also stepped in to be our contact person for the AANR-NW sponsorship of the Portland WNBR. He and his team are also hosting the 2019 AANR convention and frequently hosts AANR-NW board meetings and conventions.

Member of the Year – Jim Lahey. I would like to nominate Jim Lahey for person of the year for his long and tireless service as secretary and as NudeScene editor and for his work on the AANR-NW website and on support for other club websites in the region that was above and beyond.
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President’s Award – Shirley Gauthier

President’s Meritorious Award – Donna Jennings, for her work as Vice-President and other work to support the region and the president.

Scholarship – Marie from Sun Meadow, who is now attending the University of Idaho.

Photography Awards:
Grand Prize and “At Your Club” – Robert Dashiell with the photo “Bare Buns Fun Run Start”
“Nude but Not Nude” – Mike Capshaw with the photo “At the Cafe”
“Out in Nature” – Alison with the photo “Nantucket”
“Out in Nature 2″ – Ron for the photo “Yoga Bare”
The contest winners and other entrants can be seen on the first page of aanr-nw.org.

Sun Meadow is the site of the 2020 AANR-NW convention. The Willamettans was selected as the site of the 2021 convention.
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The AANR convention was held in August at Sun Meadow in Worley, ID, here in the Northwest.

Awards that went to Northwest members and groups were:
Host Club Award – Sun Meadow Resort
Schofield Trophy, for the non-landed club that accumulates and documents the most mileage per member on visits to landed clubs in North America – Hidden Springs, 985 miles per member in 2018.
Non-Nudist Newspaper Article – “What Nudism is Really Like”, Charlotte Houston of The Daily of the University of Washington. Visit www.dailyuw.com and search for the article title.
Non-Nudist Newspaper Article – “Wear Sunscreen ‘Bare Buns on the Run’”, The Inlander, Spokane WA. Couldn’t find an online copy.
Non-Nudist TV Media Award – “Washington State Senator Rebecca Saldana addressed the Washington Senate on Social Nudism”
Non-Nudist Radio Media Award – Sun Meadow Resort, Idaho Matters
President’s Meritorious Service Award – Karen Lahey
President’s Meritorious Service Award – Kathy Smith

The 2020 AANR convention will be at Star Ranch near Houston, TX. The 2021 AANR convention will be at Suwannee Valley Resort in northern Florida.

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Sundays – Oct 13 (this is coming up soon! Reserve NOW!), Jan 26, Feb 23 and Mar 29. 6:30-9:00 p.m.

COST (Including shoe rental)

In Advance –

$13 person – AANR or TNS member

$15 person – non-AANR or non-TNS member

At Door –

$18 person – AANR or TNS member

$20 person – non-AANR or non-TNS member

HIDDEN SPRINGS INDOOR NUDE RECREATION NIGHT

Saturday, November 2- 6:00 to 8:30 p.m.

1.) This is a Family Friendly event – there will be non-nudist life guards, but usage of the facilities will be in the nude.

2.) Available facilities : 25 yard lap pool, 6 lanes 3’6” – 11’6” deep 82 – 84 degrees, 20×40 yard hot pool 92 – 94 degrees, two saunas, two hot tubs, two steam rooms, two dressing rooms with combination lockers (the state health department restricts usage of saunas, steam rooms, or hot tubs to individuals who are ages 14 and older).

3.) There is a top limit of 75 pre-registered, pre-paid attendees, who may be required to show ID upon entrance. No weapons allowed (including pocket knives)

4.) Recommendation of two towels per attendee – one for sitting on in sauna or steam room, one for drying off.

COST: 18 or older – $20 with proof of AANR or TNS membership, $25 for general adult admission with no proof of membership, $10 under 18 with accompanying registered parent.

These events are in the Portland, Oregon, southwest Washington area .

Location details for each event above will be provided upon preregistration. Contact treasurer@hiddenspringsnudist.org to register.

Please consider coming, so we can continue to have these events.

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