Camp Moxy Jo’s gets creative for summer 2026

Published 7:30 am Thursday, June 11, 2026

Last summer Camp Moxy Jo’s in Federal Way was a hotspot for community connection with free concerts, opportunities for artists in residence, community murals and all kinds of events – but this year’s summer plans have been hanging in the balance at the pursuit of required permitting updates.

Since its creation the vision for Camp Moxy Jo’s is to be “a host to creating more experiences for people to remember what it was like to be a kid, to remember to play and have fun…and get to know people that maybe you wouldn’t necessarily…and to remind people to appreciate the little things.”

In the fall of 2025, the camp was unexpectedly shut down due to a host of permitting issues, some stemming from the unique nature of the space, which denied definition.

Owner Joanna Hall has been working since then to reopen Camp Moxy Jo’s and plans to host some community activities there this summer, within the parameters she has been given by the city.

“I’m in the process of being up to code with the city and getting the entire property permitted, and then once that happens, then we’ll be back in business and open to the public,” Hall told the Mirror.

When Hall moved into her home, the approximately one-acre property consisted of a house, a large yard and an overgrown forested area.

After clearing out the brush, Hall found the trees made a natural circular clearing.

From there Hall got to work: building a stage, an open air living room, two fireplaces, a goat den, a tiki bar and the crown jewel – a circle of beautifully restored and decorated vintage camper trailers and RVs available for guests to book through popular apps like AirBnb and HipCamp.

Once the property began to get popular enough to gain some attention, the city stepped in to inform Hall that both owning multiple goats and allowing guests to stay in an RV on one’s personal property are not allowed.

There were also other permitting concerns related to the canopies she installed and electric and septic systems that needed changes in order to be in compliance.

Hall is very open about the fact that this has been a learning process, and there were some steps she missed when putting this property together.

Since learning about what she needed to change, she’s been working directly with the city to come into compliance and is looking into the purchase of a second property for some of the features that she won’t be able to work with the city on, like keeping the goats, who are currently being boarded at a farm.

For now, Hall is currently working on opening up her house as a vacation rental, with the possibility of using it as an event space. With that set-up, visitors will be able to at least utilize the yard for games, enjoy the fire pit, spend time with one another and “enjoy everything that Federal Way has to offer.”

Permitting will happen in stages, so as the various structures and amenities like the stage and the tiki bar area are approved, Hall plans to host more events utilizing them.

While waiting for those permits to go through, Hall said she is “looking into having a house party series, and a series almost identical to the summer sessions we had last year, except they will be either in the yard area or in the house.”

Hall is also interested in collaborating with community groups or letting local organizations rent the house and yard for retreats, workshops and more.

“I’m always open to ideas, or if somebody else wants to throw an event, I am always willing to have a meeting and discuss the feasibility of it,” Hall said.

While going through this challenging chapter of Camp Moxy Jo’s story hasn’t been easy, Hall said she has appreciated the way it has pushed her to get to know more community members in Federal Way and looks forward to building more relationships throughout the city.

“I definitely feel like every city needs more third spaces…we have entire books on the fact that we’re losing those third spaces, and have been for decades now,” Hall said of the importance of creating spaces for communities to connect. “I think it’s vital for every community to have places to come together that you don’t always have to pay to get inside and can just spend time with one another and fill your cup.”

No matter the barriers or the challenges that have come up, it seems that Camp Moxy Jo’s will continue to evolve, creativity will reign and there will be more opportunities for a lot more fun to be had.