Dearest Devotees,

Our obeisances to you all. I am writing on behalf of the Italian devotees here at Villa Govinda. As you all know, the festival is drawing near and all of us are eagerly awaiting Srila Gurudev's visit! We are looking so much forward to greeting all of the Vaisnavas who bless us with their presence and we are praying for the opportunity to serve them.

While making the preparations for the festival we have realised that we must humbly request a few things from the devotees who wish to come:

• Firstly, please let us know as soon as possible if and exactly when you are coming, so we can make arrangements for you.
• Secondly, there are several types of accommodation available for the devotees according to their situation. There are some beds available in the ashram itself, but not as many as we would like to be able to offer. There is space for some devotees to sleep on the floor in the prasadam room, etc., as well as lots of room for tents. For any devotees who would like a bit more space, there is also a beautiful organic farm which is about fifteen minutes away by foot, which has several beds available. The cost is 16 euro per person per night.
• If all devotees could kindly bring their bedding (sleeping bag etc.), that would be greatly appreciated, and any devotees who are happy to camp please bring your tents.
• Another request that we would like to make is if all devotees could bring a steel plate, cup, bowl and cutlery. We realise that this is an unusual request, but the local council has very strict garbage disposal laws and the amount of plastic plates etc. needed for the festival would be a problem.

One final plea that we would like to humbly make to the world devotees is in the matter of the cost of the festival. The costs of goods necessary for the ten day celebration will be approximately $100 US per person. We understand that devotees have different circumstances, so please give according to your capacity. Any donations will be welcome and appreciated.

We are praying to have your association!
Your aspiring servant,
Jaya Shree devi dasi
for the Devotees of 'Villa Govinda,' Italy