Ingathering & Sundae Social
At the beginning of each SUUSI Week, we march in our Banner Parade to show all the far-flung places we come from and gather for a kick-off pep rally.
Ingathering is an energetic, fun, all-ages introduction to SUUSI. We learn about our coming week together and remind ourselves of what it means to be in intentional, covenanted community—and also in our sweet SUUSI spot of joyous faces and awesome music!
Afterward, all are invited to an ice-cream social to reconnect with old friends and meet brand new ones (no one will be turned away, but please register for this event if you plan to go, to assist with planning).
Morning Worship
Every morning at 9 am (except Monday’s Intergenerational service, which starts at 8:30 am), we meet for a mixture of music, message, and spirit to take you through your SUUSI day. More on the Spirituality you can expect to find at SUUSI.
Workshops
The heart of SUUSI is the wide variety of workshops. All of them are led by SUUSI participants, and they change from year to year, depending on what people propose. Arts and crafts, philosophy, exercise, games, music, history, self-improvement, silliness, food and drinks, and anything else you can imagine can be found at SUUSI. The majority of workshops are scheduled either from 10 am to noon or 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm, but some take place in the evenings or even the middle of the night. Many are just one session, though some continue through the week. You might want to fill your whole schedule, but it’s wise to leave some room for relaxing and discovering all the rest SUUSI has to offer.
Nature Trips
Another one of SUUSI’s core features is our Nature Trips. Every day, starting in the early morning, vans shuttle participants to the wondrous native beauty of western Virginia and environs. There are hikes and walks of all difficulty levels, canoeing and tubing, caving, biking, foraging, horseback riding, as well as tours, dining, and other discovery trips. Whether you go with friends you know or people you just met, you’ll remember your experiences together forever.
Community Time
Every afternoon, from 3:30 to 5:30 pm, all generations gather at the tents out on the lawn for intergenerational fun. Some of the daily events you’ll find there include:
- Be Creative – Create a daily memento to bring home.
- Be Yourself – Decorate faces, hands and heads with a little glitter or glam.
- Be Active – Play Soccer, Kickball, Ultimate Frisbee, Scavenger Hunts, and other Team Competitions.
- Be Heard – Enjoy a preview from one of our SUUSI performers! Bring your own voice to share poetry or music.
- Be Involved – Learn more about the Religions of the World and make a difference in the world.
- Be Supportive – Come meet a SUUSI Bazaar artist and learn about their craft.
- Be Fed – Enjoy a tasty treat or refreshing drink after a long day of programming.
- Be a UU – Contribute to our Community Altar Table with found objects, made objects, blessings or notes of gratitude.
Evening Worship
Whether you are winding down for the day, or just gearing up for Nightlife, Evening Worship is an opportunity to spiritually center at SUUSI, Monday through Thursday at 7 pm. Tuesday’s service is a memorial for our shared and individual losses, and Thursday is a Bridging service honoring children, those claiming new identities, and those moving into Young Adulthood.
Volunteering
All through the week, everything at SUUSI runs on volunteers. No one at SUUSI is paid for the work they do, and everyone chips in to make it a great experience. One of the best ways to connect with other people at SUUSI is to work side by side, and there are tasks available for all interests and skill levels. It’s easy to sign up for a shift or two when you register and integrate it into your week ahead of time!
Books & Bazaar
THE SUUSI Books & Bazaar is a special place to find amazing books for all ages, copies of the incredible music you will be hearing throughout the week, and a wonderful array of fun items and SUUSI memorabilia such as T-shirts, lanyards, reusable water bottles & coffee mugs, bumper stickers, temporary hair color, etc.
Many creative people and top-notch artisans come to SUUSI and bring handmade goods in many media—including (but certainly not limited to) jewelry, floral designs, fabric and fiber art, stained glass, mosaics, wood, paper, metal, and ceramic creations. Support them, attend book signings and mini-concerts, and buy raffle tickets to raise money for SUUSIships.
If you have a book, art or craft, music, or other item you’d like to sell at SUUSI, contact store@suusi.org or art@suusi.org.
Common Ground Cafe
Common Ground is SUUSI’s self-service coffee house, open continuously from Sunday evening to Saturday at 1 am. Enjoy our excellent selection of certified fair-trade and organic coffees, plus hot chocolate, teas, specialty drinks, baked goods, and on-the-go snack foods. Payment is by the honor system: record your purchases all week in the Common Ground book and settle your tab by Friday evening.
Drop by for a quick beverage, or stay for conversation, comradery, and jigsaw puzzles.
Common Ground is also the site of UnBBQuusi.
Pair-a-Dice Board Game Lounge
Pair-A-Dice is SUUSI’s dedicated table-top gaming space for all ages! Each year, generous SUUSI board gamers loan favorite board games from their personal collections to create Pair-a-Dice’s huge board game lending library. Play all varieties of board games and meet other board game enthusiasts in the Pair-a-Dice lounge, or borrow a game to play in your own dorm and return within 24 hours. For a small fee, SUUSI-goers 14 and older can access this fabulous resource all week, or an even smaller fee gives you access for a single day. Children 13 and under can participate in Pair-a-Dice for free, but must be accompanied and supervised by an adult who is registered for Pair-a-Dice. Look for scheduled gameplay throughout the week, including D&D sessions set within our own special SUUSI setting.
Concert Hour
Every year, three musical artists join us at SUUSI to perform Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights at 8 pm. These singers and songwriters share a piece of their soul with us, and usually lead workshops, join in worship, and participate in SUUSI with the rest of us.
Thursday night is usually an opportunity for the School of Rock workshop to show off their stuff, but you never know what sort of performance might develop until it happens!
Cabaret
Cabaret is our nightly homegrown live music venue. It’s an intergenerational, multi-faceted, mixed bag of evening entertainment. We welcome musicians, poets, actors, dancers and instrumentalists from the SUUSI community to perform. To sign-up to perform at Sunday’s Open Mic Cabaret, be sure to stop by the Nightlife table at check-in on Sunday!
Do you want to perform at Cabaret during the rest of the week? Many of those who perform on Sunday night at the open mic will be asked back to do sets during Cabaret on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday evening.
Jamboree is our special Friday performance time where two or more folks who have never performed together before do so for the first time on the Cabaret stage. It’s also the time when workshops and classes get to perform. It’s amazing what can get pulled together in less than a week!
Ballroom, Serendipity, and CACHE
Warm yourself up for clubbing with an hour and a half of Ballroom music and dancing. Every night will focus on one ballroom style, but you will still have a music mix with enough variety to satisfy all Ballroom fans.
CACHE stands for Clean Air Clear Heads Everyone and welcomes anyone age 14 and over who loves to dance. It is a fun, self-guided dance party in an alcohol and smoke-free space. Our DJs will be playing the latest in dance music and invite any song requests that you have.
If you are 21 or over and love to dance, people-watch or relax with a beverage and friends, Serendipity is the place for you! Hear the best in dance music ranging from the 50s and 60s all the way up to current popular tunes. Our DJs play to the crowd and always try to make every ‘song one that will get you up and dancing. Song requests are welcome; our DJs will do their best to include them in the evening’s playlist.
Serendipity and CACHE share nightly themes, and people are encourged to dress up and go hard. But even if you come in your street clothes, you’ll be welcomed with open arms.
Late Night Song Circle
The music doesn’t stop after Cabaret.
Where’s everyone going? It’s not even midnight! Beginning at 11 pm and continuing until the wee, wee hours, Late Night is definitely worth staying up late for! If you can’t get enough music, either as a performer or audience member, check out our alternate performing space. You’ll be able to play with, sing with, or listen to other musicians on campus. All you need to do is show up!
UnBBQuusi
For the late-nighters, it’s convenient to join together for one more meal long after the Dining Hall is closed. This current version of BBQuusi is part of a long tradition of gathering to eat and socialize after most people are in bed. UnBBQuusi offers prepared delights in Common Ground for all participants 18+ from 1-3:30 am Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights (technically the wee hours of Mon, Tues, Thurs, and Sat). Please register so the organizers will know how much food they’ll need.
TWOB (Friday evening)
The can’t-miss event at the end of the week is the annual musical performed by Teens Way Off Broadway. It’s always filled with singing, dancing, jokes, pop-culture references, and a ton of heart. TWOB is also a lens on SUUSI itself, the struggles of big teen feelings, and a lesson to bring us all together. You might not get all the references at your first TWOB, but as you attend more SUUSIs you will recognized recurring jokes, themes, characters, and messages. The show runs a little less than an hour and is fun for all ages. The title and theme is a closely-guarded secret—watch the SUUSI NUUS for hints throughout the week. 2026 will be the fortieth TWOB.
Closing Circle
Our week concludes with the Saturday Morning Closing Circle, where we sing farewell and bless our journeys home. Don’t think of it as goodbye; we’ll see you soon!