Rainbow Gathering 2008: Beauty, Bliss, and LEO Bullies

I had a wonderful time at the Rainbow Family Gathering this year near the Wind River Mountains in Wyoming. The site was the most beautiful I've seen so far and a great place for the family to gather. I met some wonderful family, was fed delicious food, and helped whenever I could during the week we were there. Memorable moments include seeing Grandpa Woodstock at main circle being his silly self, making some great trades at the trade circle, creative and delicious meals at several kitchens, meeting the Crucial Kitchen crew, chocolate chip cookies from Welcome Home on our way out, and seeing some of my favorite local musicians (from The Human Revolution) play for hours by the fire at Lovin' Ovens while eating delicious pizza.

The Wind River Mountains peeking over the forest above Main Meadow was a wonderful sight and we got to camp in a gorgeous aspen grove filled with wild flowers. The peace prayer was once again a powerful experience (I couldn't believe how big that circle of family got!) and the party afterwards was so much fun (and complete with watermelon for everyone!). But of course, along with the good comes the bad.

The Law Enforcement at this year's gathering was especially unfriendly, hostile, and even violent. Luckily I didn't have any bad encounters with them personally (other than being really confused by them when they told us to evacuate), many family members were hurt and traumatized by a hostile encounter with the LEOs on July 3 in Kid Village. I heard from people that were there that the cops had come in after an undercover saw someone smoking a certain substance. This led them to come into Kid Village, armed and pointing weapons at everyone. Several rounds of paintballs containing pepper powder were fired at the crowd, burning several people's eyes. The cops eventually left, escorted by an unarmed crowd yelling things like "Shame on You" and "No Violence." You can see videos taken by witnesses here, and read more about the Forest Service's mishandling of Rainbow Gatherings here. If you witnessed this event on July 3, please see this thread on tribe.net and see if your testimony could help.

On July 7th, a forest fire somehow started in the middle of the afternoon and the LEOs used this as an excuse to issue a "mandatory evacuation." They drove through the gathering in trucks and first told everyone with a car at Front Gate to go move it, then they wouldn't let us go to Front Gate and turned us around. I met a few brothers with shovels who said they had tried to go help fight the fire, but once they started fighting it the LEOs threatened to taze them if they didn't leave. The fire only burned one acre and was quickly put under control. It was outside of the Gathering area but they tried to evacuate us even after it was out and safe. We ended up leaving the next day, a bit earlier than expected, because so many people had left during the evacuation and it was pretty cleared out. Many were saying that the LEOs probably started the fire as a tactic to get everyone to leave, but I know that clean-up crews were not deterred and are still there. We love you, clean up!

I love my Rainbow Family, and I love going home, but it really worries me that the government treats a bunch of peaceful citizens gathering on public land like less than human criminals. It is a sad world indeed when the peaceful and non-violent people that we should be looking up to are targeted like terrorists by the officials that are supposed to "protect and serve." The Forest Service should be very ashamed at how they treat their fellow human beings at the Rainbow Gathering, especially this year in Wyoming. I am proud of the family for remaining non-violent and for keeping the rainbow spirit alive despite it all.

I'm looking forward to the 2009 Gathering, which I hear will be in New Mexico. Loving you, family!

The Spring Season is Upon Us (Ok, Well, Almost)

It's January, time for the classic cabin fever syndrome as we await the sun, the spring, and most importantly, the spring barter faire season. I've been too busy moving to a new state to make many crafts, but I'll definitely be keeping busy now that I'm settled in so there's lots of stuff to trade this spring!

If anyone else is itching for a barter faire, I've got some great news for you. In the spirit of spring renewal, there's a new festival called the One Family Gathering, scheduled for May 2 - 4 in Central Oregon. This is a private party for the entire family. According to the One Family Gathering site:

The One Family Gathering will be a three day unity gathering near Christmas Valley, Oregon. The festival intends to unify a variety of cultures from many other peaceful gatherings. It will manifest as a weekend long event encompassing barter fairs, music festivals, parties, and reggae shows, surrounded by a free camping area.

This event has a focus slightly different from other festivals. We will provide a large, secure vendor section inside the event in addition to hosting two stages: a "party" tent with nonstop djs, hosted by DJ4NORML and the main "Quetzalcoatl" stage. Both stages will have a dynamic array of musicians performing twenty-four hours a day throughout the event. Featured musicians will include Katy Turner, Bijhan, Jack Burton, Laurianne, Matt Zeltzer, Naugahyde Nights, Norman Baker, SpiritMoon, Deep Sleep Narcotics Company, Renegade Minstrels, Cntrl Alt Delete, Dj Eff, DJ4NORML, Hippinshlog, Jahson Ites, Essential I, Dj Sticky, Huckleberry, Jensen, Min.d,Tommy Dean, Wehrwolve, HannaH*s Field, and First Name Michael, with more groups signing up daily.

Set in the high desert, One Family Gathering promises to entertain with over 70 music performances, a trade market, a drum circle, exceptional food vendors, and much more.

Vendors, volunteers, and musicians are still needed, but positions are filling up fast. So mosey on over to OneFamilyGathering.org, sign up for membership, and get the skinny on the event. I'm excited to see the faires spreading down the west coast, especially now that I'm living in NorCal. Hope the trend continues... See you all at the One Family Gathering!

End of the Season Reflections

I'm having a hard time believing that it's November already, and sadly it brings the end of the fall barter faire season. I had a wonderful time at the Okanogan Family Faire, other than not being able to have my entire family there since dogs were banned. The vibe was mellow and positive, the weather cooperated for the most part, and there were a great variety of goods for trade. Most of the changes in faire policy seemed to go over well, although I heard a few complaints about the large price increase. It was a cold weekend so there was plenty of huddling and drumming around the hospitality fires, and we saw a lot of old friends and met some new ones.

One very noticeable absence from the faire this year was the sacred circle of flags near the front gate. When I asked why they weren't there, I was told the lady who normally brings them was sick. Also absent were the barter faire pooches, although there were quite a few service dogs. Good trades were made, delicious food was shared, and the nightlife was exciting. Fire dancers, live music, drum circles, late night elephant ears, and my personal favorite, "glow man" provided entertainment into the wee hours each night.

The Tonasket faire usually marks the end of the season, which is bitersweet for someone like me who didn't go to nearly enough barter faires this year! But, there is always next year, and until then, it's time to stay warm and get crafty to stock up on tradeables for next spring's barter faires.

I hope everyone had a wonderful time at the faires this fall, I look forward to the spring season. Until then, keep in touch with your barter family here on the barter faire online community!

The Annual Trek to Tonasket

This will be my sixth annual trip to the Okanogan Family Faire, and although I'm a newbie to the scene by some standards, this faire has become a big part of my life. I enjoy any barter faire, but the Tonasket faire has always been one that I look forward to and the largest one that I attend each year.

This year, of course, there are many changes taking place as the faire is growing and adjusting. Policies, prices, and rules are all undergoing a shift. I can't say I'm happy about some of them (i.e. the dog ban) but I can understand why changes are happening. I just hope that the spirit of the faire I have come to know and love is not diminished and that the new rules don't keep out the people that make the faire so special.

I've made a batch of soap, have been busy making jewelry, and the bus is packed and almost ready to roll. Okanogan Family Faire usually marks the end of the barter faire season, and regretfully I didn't make it to many faires this season. So I gotta get my barter faire kicks for the season all in one dose. Here's to the Okanogan Family Faire retaining its original barter faire spirit, for a successful and fun faire for everyone. See you there!

Changes for Okanogan Family Faire

Change is in the air this fall, evidenced in that some policy changes that have been in the works for a while are taking place at the 2007 Okanogan Family Faire. Nothing too major, for the most part. But of course, as an animal lover and doggie parent, I'm upset to hear that dogs are banned this year.

Please see my thoughts on dogs at the faire, and chime in on the discussion going on in various virtual barter faire realms, and if you're so inclined, comments can be made to the Okanogan Family Faire Board of Directors by:

email: board@okanoganfamilyfaire.com
write to us at: P.O. Box 761, Tonasket, WA 98855
or call the OFF office message line at: 509-486-2173.

While I'm deciding what to do with my best buddy and fur-child Juneau, I am hoping to come to the Okanogan Family Faire and volunteer to make it happen. The only way to really ensure change is to speak up and to act, right? The more people that get involved, the more the faire becomes a democracy.

Well, I'm heading back on the road tomorrow, so I won't be online much. I hope to see you all at some faires now that the fall season is upon us!

~peace, love & light!~

I Miss My Barter Faires!

While we've been traveling around in the "volksvegan" this summer, we definitely haven't been to enough barter faires. We skipped Rainbow because it was too far away this year and we decided to play in Canada's National Parks instead. We still haven't been to Oregon Country Fair because they don't allow dogs and when you live in a VW bus, it's impossible to leave the dog at "home." We didn't go to the Llama Family Reunion because my cousin's wedding was the same weekend (plus I was a little put off by the admission costs). We're not sure if we'll make it to Santa, although that's definitely one of my favorite faires (and it's free!), but we hope to make it to the Montana faire and of course, the Okanogan Family Faire in Tonasket. So I'm waiting anxiously for the next faire I can go to, and I'm super excited for the fall faire season!

I'm not sure why there aren't more spring and summer faires, and more in general. They can be difficult to organize, and of course one needs a large plot of private land and a bit of cash to get it started, but I'd love to see more new faires sprout up. As our elders get older, eventually younger generations will have to start organizing new faires and keeping the old ones alive. It's no easy feat, but I am hopeful that the barter faire spirit is still thriving and more faires will be born. I know if I had a big plot of land (and someday I will) I would definitely host a few faires each year. The more small faires that get started, the more we have a chance to get to know one another and rekindle a strong sense of community. Having faires more often also takes some of the burden off of the larger faires like OFF, which is growing so much that people have to be turned away for lack of space. Faires have come and gone in the few years I have been attending them, and it's great to see new ones flourish and grow year after year, but sad to see others fade away. So let's start a few more and keep the barter traditions alive!

Community Building at the OFF Spring Volunteer Summit

This past weekend I attended the second annual Okanogan Family Faire Spring Volunteer Summit at the faire's site near Tonasket. After volunteering last year at the fall faire, I was interested in getting involved and meeting other volunteers and the people behind the barter faire I have enjoyed for many years. It was a gorgeous weekend, and the land is very different but just as beautiful in the spring as it is in the fall.

I was especially excited for this trip because it would be the first trip in our "volksvegan" since we got a new engine. We made great time thanks to turbo power, and as usual the bus was the perfect little home base for the weekend. We arrived late Friday night and it was almost eerie driving into the empty valley that is usually chock-full of barterfarians. We drove all the way back to the back of the site, where a small gathering of people was nestled against the hills.

On Saturday morning we awoke (a bit late) to see a circle of people joining hands in an openining ceremony. At the center of the gathering were the well-known white flags, blowing in the wind and arranged into an inner and outer circle, that served as the spiritual center for the weekend. While I missed some of the discussion Saturday morning after sleeping in, I heard that the faire's growing size and the increasing drug abuse within the family was discussed. Unfortunately I didn't hear much about why dogs were banned from this year's faire though. But I did hear that dogs were represented at the morning opening ceremony: a dog came out of nowhere and joined his paws with the people in the circle! So the dog spirit was in attendance, although my pooch still wants an explanation as to why he can't come to one of his favorite events any more...

Saturday afternoon continued with meeting some great new people (I even met Ryan, the founder and organizer of Spokane's Hemp Fest, which I will have to try to go to this year) and attending workshops for volunteers. While my partner and his brother met with a drug task force officer to discuss drugs at the faire, I wandered over to the kitchen, where I am thinking about volunteering for the fall faire, and met with a few kitchen folk. We planned a preliminary menu for the fall faire and discussed ideas on running the kitchen, and we even decided on a taco bar for Sunday at the faire! Woohoo! After that we went to a conflict management workshop led by three experts in various psychology fields. Since dealing with rowdy, often intoxicated barterfarians is part of every volunteer's job, I thought this information on de-escalating situations and verbal and non-verbal communication was very useful.

After the workshops, we went on a hike up the hill overlooking the faire and soaked in the view. The valley that is normally filled with thousands of people at the faire was full of only grass and beautiful purple wildflowers, and the weather was beautiful all weekend, so with clear skies it was quite a view! Later in the evening was a potluck dinner that included veggie stew and buffalo stew (of course I had the veggie, as well as lots of fresh veggies, delicious bread, hummus, and all kinds of yummies made with love).

After dinner and a bit of socializing, we gathered around the fire to discuss the faire and introduce coordinators. One thing I learned from this discussion is that the barter faire is in dire need of the younger generation to step up and get involoved - the elders who have been running the faire for nearly thirty years are ready to pass the torch, so dedicated volunteers (especially younger ones) are needed! A date for the fall faire will not be set until all coordinator positions are filled, so if you have any interest in volunteering, now is the time to do it! See the OFF Site for more info on how to get involved. Speaking of the OFF site, I volunteered to work with some of the faire visionaries to redesign the web site, so that should be an exciting project and hopefully the site gets a facelift before the fall.

After a night of drumming and socializing by the fires, Sunday morning we held a closing ceremony. It was a truly spiritual experience as we focused on peace (it was World Pray for Peace Day) and I noticed that the wind blew through the flags with intensity during certain parts of our prayer circle. We finished off our prayer with a long "oooohhhhhhhmmmmm" and then a hokey pokey dance to lighten the mood.

Before leaving, we went on a walk around the site picking up garbage. I was amazed at how many little pieces of trash (especially cigarette butts - gross!) are all over the valley. We filled up several bags with little bits of barter faire trash - bottle caps, bits of twine, plastic pieces, butts, etc. We hardly made a dent in the trash but had to get on the road for a long drive home. So, from someone who experienced firsthand the effects our faire has on the land, PLEASE clean up after yourselves when you're at faires. The land is sacred and should be treated with respect.

All in all, the Spring Volunteer Summit was a great experience. Everyone was genuinely kind and warm-hearted, I met many friends new and old, and learned a lot about how the faire is run and the people who run it. We were blessed with beautiful weather and the spirit of togetherness, and the tiny gathering was quite a contrast to the loud and gigantic fall faire. I highly recommend attending future volunteer summits and getting involved in the faires in whatever way you can. It makes the experience more rewarding and gives you a say in the future of the faires. After all, big changes are on the way as the faire grows, and we need an able volunteer force to grow along with it and lead the way.