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.