At our annual assembly, the Federation was inundated with new, freshly-forming communities. It was amazing! It was overwhelming! And it was viewed by many as a valuable opportunity to reinvigorate a stalled project...
The annual assembly for the FEC takes place during March, in an attempt to happen at the beginning of the year when it's least inconvenient to everyone. We have gardeners whose season hasn't yet kicked into high gear, a goat herd who's fielding baby goats (conveniently within range of the assembly), outdoor workers whose season hasn't totally started yet, and people to whom the changing of seasons has absolutely no effect.