CHASING THE
RAINBOW
Facilitating a Pagan Festival
Without Losing Your Mind
Tish Owen
Copyright © 2007 by Tish Owen
All rights reserved.
Cover Design Copyright © 2007 Johnathan Minton
Cover Photo Copyright ©2007 On The Edge Photography
Interior Photos courtesy of PUF attendees, staff and On The Edge Photography
PLEASE NOTE: Neither the author nor the publisher of this book can be held liable or responsible in any manner whatsoever for any injury that may occur through following the instructions contained herein. Any Internet references and/or websites noted in this work are current at publication time, but the publisher cannot in any way guarantee that a specific link, website, or location will continue to be maintained. Please refer to the publisher’s website for links to authors’ websites and other sources.
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Smashwords Edition – 2010
To my father, Robert Edward Hickman,
who taught me that there are more things
in heaven and on earth than I had dreamt of…
I continue to find them.
Why?
Not enough medication…
You mean I get to pick?
Ask and ye shall receive.
Who you gonna call?
How anal-retentive are you?
Do not try this at home!
If you build it, they won’t come, unless they know about it.
Don’t guess who’s coming to dinner.
It takes a village and then some.
Here be dragons.
Cool things to buy!
Directions! What a concept!
Seating for 200, please.
Murder is illegal.
Hammers, saws and drain cleaner…
Don’t leave home without it.
Measure twice, cut once.
Yum! Yum!
Friends, Neighbors and the Media
Oh, my!
The drums, the drums, the drums!
Opportunity for cute cartoons…
Warts and all…
How to handle the authorities.
You want me to do what?
KISS
We don’t need no stinkin' rules!
Once upon a time…
Pack a bag. We are going to the festival!
Twenty-five rules for a festival organizer
~ Author’s Note ~
Why?
This is dedicated to all you tireless, sleep deprived, caffeine-cranked, bug bitten, sunburned, insane people who run festivals for the Pagan folk in this world. You have a tremendous amount of intestinal fortitude, an amazing work ethic and a genuine caring for the community at large. Plus, you are nuts and should probably be in a home somewhere for most of the year.
For those of you who have never done it, please know that running a festival is not about making a lot of money. Most don't. Most organizers are very happy to break even and consider an event to be successful if there are only a few dollars left over at the end of the weekend. Hell, some of us consider an event to be successful if it only loses a little bit of money. Our first festival went into the hole by $4.00. Before you complain about how much money a festival admission costs, consider what went into that festival. Even toilet paper is not cheap these days.
Running a festival is not about being the Big-Nose Witch. If that is your motivation, put the book down and go be a rock star. It is hard to feel self-important when you are unstopping a toilet at 3 A.M. To further take the wind out of your sails, add into the mix the number of people who come to you constantly over the course of the festival to bitch at you. They will happily tell you about all your shortcomings and all of the things you did wrong and all of the things that you do not do. They will even look you up after the festival and dump on you a little more. Not good for the old ego. But it does service to keep the head-swelling at a minimum.
Running a festival is not about looking good and floating around the site in a shimmering, gossamer ritual garb outfit, looking like something off an episode of Charmed. Usually you are wearing cut-offs, a tee shirt and a silly hat. Or is that only me? Anyway, usually you look like hammered dammit because you have not had sleep in three days and your nose is peeling from the sunburn. (Where did you pack that sunscreen?) You are lucky if you remember or have time to brush your teeth each morning of festival. Yeah, you are looking good, baby.
Unless you have ever organized a festival, you don’t understand all the shifting, changing, adjustments and hourly nervous breakdowns that go into it. You have no idea of the countless hours of work, worry, shopping, cooking, organizing, sweating over money and people herding that it entails. What makes it even harder is that the people you are herding are Pagans. That is a lot like herding cats or trying to nail Jell-O to a tree. It takes real dedication and perseverance and sometimes a psychotic break with reality to achieve.
If you love going to festivals, the next time before you leave site, pick up some trash, help load a van and take a moment to thank the folks who worked so hard to provide the weekend for you. Believe me that every “Thank-you” that a festival organizer gets fills us with joy and satisfaction. Every “What a great time we had” makes us remember why we do what we do. And every “I can't wait till next year” brings tears to our eyes. I am not kidding, nor am I being sappy…okay, maybe a little sappy. It is hard work, and most folks who run festivals do not sleep the week before or during the festival and spend countless hours putting out fires, real ones and otherwise. When we lay down at night (or usually in the wee hours of the morning), we are so wired we can’t sleep. Sometimes when we are in the thick of it, we don't realize how well it is going and how much fun is being had. So, pat your local festival organizer on the head; they deserve it. They are probably the hardest working folks you will ever meet. Pardon the shameless self-promotion, but festival organizers need love too.
In light of all that, why the hell do we do it? For the community. No really, quit laughing, I mean it. That really is why. So that the Pagan community will have someplace that is safe and neutral where they may come together. So that Pagans will get the opportunity to see Pagan authors in their local area and not have to drive several hundred miles or pay a fortune to do so. So that solitaries and newbies will have a place to learn some hands-on stuff and not just have to learn from books. So that 100 or 200 or 500 Pagans of different trads and paths and clans and covens and groves can come together and stand inside sacred space and blend their energies with each other and the powers that be. So that those same Pagans can come to know each other, to exchange ideas and have conversations with folks that walk a very different path, and each person can develop an understanding of the other. So that we can learn to work together. So that we can learn to love one another. So that we can understand that we must support one another. So that we can know that in times of trial we will lift up one another. So that we can finally understand that, no matter what our differences are, our samenesses are what really matter. (Wow, I have broken out in a sweat! Can I get a hallelujah?)
Add into the tally for doing this madness this little fact: for every person who bitches about something (and the list is endless and sometimes insane), there are fifty that praise all the hard work. Pagans are not shy about it either; they come to you and tell you what a good time they had, they slap you on the back and brag on you. That makes it worth all the work. Damn, we work hard for praise!
Besides all of that, it is fun! It is one big, crazy party, and you get to see friends that you only see once in a while or maybe only once a year. You get to catch up and find out what is happening in their world and vice versa. Everyone lets his or her hair down a little (or a lot) and everyone has a good time. You eat too much, drink too much, laugh too much and hang out with like-minded folks, and you’re usually in the woods. What could be better?
Why did I write this little book? Because it seems that there are more and more people out there attempting to create Pagan festivals from scratch. They have no guidance, only a good idea. They have no list of “dos and don’ts” to go by, only perseverance. They don’t really know where to start, and so sometimes the starting can be very rocky. I hear a lot of complaints that there are too many people trying to do festivals that have no idea what they are doing. I have heard not just bad stories but true horror stories about the lack of organization, no attention to detail, not plotting out the end results of having a couple of hundred people on a site for two or three days, not enough food, not enough space, horrible accommodations not fit for humans; the list goes on and on. The people that complain will not go back to the festivals they complain about. And those festivals will die aborning. I think that is a shame.
There are too many folks that get the great idea to have a Pagan festival and have no rock solid research on how to actually do it. They are working on the “If we build it they will come” theory. That is all fine and good to a point. It is where we started after all, but it takes more than that. I hope to provide those steps in this book.
We had a few missteps in the beginning (a few—who am I kidding?), and we just kept on reinventing the wheel. If I can save someone some of the pain and stupid mistakes that we went through, then I have done a good thing. If I can help an organizer to get their act together so that the folks who attend the festival do not suffer but actually have a great time, then everyone is happier for that.
I intend this to be a guide for Pagan festivals, Pagan Pride days, and beyond that, for anyone who wants to try their hand at some sort of a festival where you entertain, educate and feed folks, Pagan or non-Pagan. I think that the ideas and information I have included can work across the board.
If, after you read this little book, you decide to join the ranks of festival organizers, best of luck to you. You’re gonna need it! You will be joining a rather elite group of folks and a brotherhood/sisterhood of shared mirth, hysteria, fun, insanity and great personal satisfaction. Welcome—and try to have some fun with it. ‘Cause that, baby, is what it’s all about.
~ Acknowledgements ~
There are so many people to thank for the help they have given me on the Pagan Unity Festival and in putting this book together, I fear that I may leave someone out. My husband, Patrick, who has gone down this winding road with me from the beginning, even when he knew I was nuts. My children, Michelle, who made me look great; Tanya, who praised and encouraged me; and Elf, who offered me unconditional support. The Witches of the Woods who have stepped up to the plate and worked like Nubian slaves for this endeavor; it would never have happened without them. A special thanks to Lori (without her we would all be sleeping in our cars), Beth who told me I could not use the phrase “goat screw” in this book, Billy cause I love him and he keeps me sane (mostly), Doug and Rachel who have worn many hats, Lydia, Josh and Thomas who try to entertain the teens, Mehgan and Lisa who have run my shop while I played in the woods, Lynn who herds the kids, John who keeps us secure, Jim and Dave who have taken such good care of our VIPs and Todd, Ron, Chris, Amy, Tracy, Thayer, Dawn, Rodney, Elizabeth, Shawn, Scott, Carol, Anne, Mike, Perry, Evan and everyone else who has hauled and fetched and worked like dogs. You have been my partners in crime! Oak, Ash and Thorn, Tangled Moon and S.P.I.R.A.L. Their contributions have been invaluable. All the many individuals who have pitched in, you all know who you are, and I thank you for your countless hours of work and devotion. To Debbie Fertitta and Anne Donnelly, two of my oldest friends, who held my had and made me look good for the picture. To Sydney for just being. To Barry, thanks for all the Haiku. Thanks, Mom.
PUF would not be the same without our merchants, and we have had some wonderful folks over the years. You have brought us fabulous and exotic items to tempt us, and we have succumbed to your charms. All the folks that put themselves on the line to teach workshops, bless you all. You have brought knowledge, enlightenment and fun to so many. Everyone who has taken part, written, directed and starred in the rituals. They have been great and interesting and different. I have loved every one. Our musicians, who are so wonderful. Our music has grown over the years, from none, to drummers and one guitar and finally to musical groups, so thanks to Love Drums, Labyrinthe, Celeste Alane, Laura Powers, Skinny White Chick, The Blues Bards and Jack Montgomery and his group.
Last but not least, our VIPs have made the festival great, thanks so much for taking a chance on a small and unknown festival and putting us on your schedules. We have enjoyed you all, and I feel that I have become friends with each of you. As near as I can make it here is the list; Isaac Bonewits because he is a god, M. R. Sellars because he is so damn cute, Dorothy Morrison who is the coolest, Tony Kail who is so smart, Swain Wodening who is a delight, Ashleen O’Gaia and her husband CanyonDancer who fit in so well, Grey Cat our local celeb, Trish Telesco, and Anne Moura our wonderful new friend. Thank you, thank you. Bless you for the work you do for all of us in this crazy community.
Thanks to everyone who has encouraged me to write this book, as well as the folks who have read it, corrected my English, shoved me in a different direction—a better direction—and patted me on my head. Thanks to Murv and Isaac for suggesting that I write it. Know that mere words cannot convey all that is in my heart to you. I wish you all peace, love and joy. I also have to acknowledge the most important ingredient for the success of PUF, the folks who attend. Thank you for making us a success.
Murv, you are a huge reason for our success; you have hooked us up with so many great guests and been a good friend as well. Thank you so very much.
My editor, Kat, thank you; you make me sound so smart.
If I have left anyone out, it was not by intent but by virtue of the fact that the old brain cells are not what they once were.
~ Introduction ~
Not enough medication…
So, I run a successful Pagan festival, and this is my story. (Jeez, I sound like Sgt. Joe Friday from Dragnet, the old one with...well...ok… hmmm…dating myself...never mind.) Anyway, for years I read about Pagan festivals in other parts of the country, and they sounded so wonderful. I could visualize it all in my head; a gathering where Pagans would come together in harmony, sit out on blankets in the sunshine and commune with nature, where little children would run and play in the fields on a lovely spring day, where there were rituals, and people of diverse backgrounds would join one another to worship in perfect love and perfect trust. (Cue violins.)
It was a BIG picture; you know what I mean, where the entire scene fills the movie screen in your head, and you can feel the wind in your hair, the sun on your skin and smell the flowers blooming and the sunscreen on your face, all as you run through the meadow laughing. But as I ran across the fragrant fields with a silly grin on my face, I tripped over a great big rock every time. I live in the Bible Belt. The idea of a bunch of Pagans cavorting in public was a bit daunting; actually it was a little more than a bit. I could practically hear the angry mob coming over the hill with pitchforks and torches. That thought usually jolted me out of my daydream. At that point, the pretty pictures in my head would fade and become tattered and blow away like dandelion down on the breeze. After all, people in my part of the world still lose housing, jobs, friends and children because of faith issues.
Even here in the back of beyond, there were a few groups that did gatherings, but they were small and not well publicized. My own group occasionally did public rituals, usually in a park with a limited guest list. To keep from alarming the locals, we did not wave athames in the air or run about in great, black flapping cloaks. But on the occasions we met, we had such a good time, and the fellowship was great. The folks that attended always left on such a lovely spiritual high, and I grinned like a loon all the way home. Once or twice we got together with another coven and had a blast. It worked! It proved to me that Pagans from different traditions could work and play well together. This kind of success made me want to do a gathering on a larger basis. I tried to talk myself out of this crazy idea and listed for myself, over and over, all the reasons why it was a bad idea:
But try as I might to exorcise it, I could not get that damn daydream to quit running in my head. It just became stronger, and the violins became louder. I was enthralled by a vision.
Every now and then the gods would smack me in the head and make me wonder if I was insane to want to do a big festival. There were several local incidents that involved angry neighbors, police officers with guns, bad press and run-ins with the local Religious Right. Some of the incidents were just stupid enough to piss me off; but some of them were down right scary, and people were placed in the path of danger. Still I thought that if I was cautious, I could manage to make it happen without too many repercussions. Hope springs eternal in the human heart, or in those of us who need more medication.
I finally started talking to the other members of my group, Witches of the Woods, about this crazy idea. After very little discussion, we decided to go for it because they are all crazy too. So in 1997 we decided to try our hands at a small festival. Believe me when I say we had no clue how to do it. Back in those days, before the rocks got hard, there were not a lot of festivals in this part of the world, or anywhere else for that matter. There was no one to ask, “How do you pull this off?” No one had written a book to tell us how to do it, and so there was no one to tell us it was an impossible task to pull off for those with very little knowledge. Like us. So, since no one had taught us how to make the wheel, we had to build it from scratch. We forged ahead…or maybe I should say we stumbled ahead. We drew on what we knew, what we had seen and most of all what we had read. If you are old enough to remember the old Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland movies, it was kind of like that. “My uncle has a barn, so let’s put on a show.” If you aren’t that old, please don’t tell me, it will only depress me.
You mean I get to pick?
Once you have decided to have a festival, you must decide what kind of festival you want to have. No, that is not how we did it, but do as I say not as I did. We have been very lucky with Pagan Unity Festival. We did not have a plan; we did not know we needed one. What we did have was a lot of folks that would be attending who had small children. Since it is illegal in this state to simply duct tape kids to trees, we had to have some activities for them. So we decided to be kid-friendly. The first year, we set up a separate site for kids within the festival and created activities for them. We felt that kids who are being raised in the Pagan path should be able to come to a festival and feel welcome. There needed to be entertaining things for them to do. That was a philosophy, not a plan.
But because it was our philosophy, our festival started out being “kid-friendly.” Over the years our festival has developed the reputation for being a family event. Our reputation brings us people who want to have a good time; learn; commune with others, the gods and nature; and bring the kids along. Our reputation has kept out the folks that want to be naked, and drunk and stoned. Okay, let me amend this a bit, or it sounds like we run a church camp. There is some naked, but it is confined to cabins and tents so that the rest of us don’t have to see it (although admittedly, some of us have certainly heard it). There is drinking (we have a don’t ask don’t tell policy with the rangers), but no one gets out of hand or acts any more stupid than usual. It is really rather amazing. If there are drugs, I have never seen any. Which is good ‘cause I would hate to have to hurt someone. I really am dead set against them and believe that a Pagan festival is no place for them. Why? Illegal! Illegal! Illegal!! We are looked at askance by the general public; we cannot afford to participate in anything that is illegal. I do know that a fella came to the festival one year with a friend and combed the site looking to score a little pot; he came up empty. That makes me smile a little secret smile. I also know that a fella offered some pot to a young woman who, unbeknownst to him, was a member of the staff. She ripped his face off, and we have not seen him since. (She swears that she did not throw him in the lake with the snapping turtles, and I believe her.)
We have, over the years, created a list of rules that helps us to maintain the kind of atmosphere we have created. We spell out what kind of behavior we expect from our festival folk. Still, we know that there are people who will not come to PUF and go off and bad mouth us because of our rules. I hate that; hell, no one wants to be the subject of ugly talk. But there are plenty of festivals where folks can go to get what they are looking for, so we stick to our guns.
So, the first question you must ask yourself is: What kind of festival do you want to have? Is this to be a festival for all the Pagans in your area? Is it a festival for a certain designated group? Will it be child-friendly? Will it be for spiritual growth? Do you want to educate? Will it be an opportunity to meet others? Do you just want drunken craziness and debauchery? That is for you to decide. And decide you had better because as your festival starts out, so it grows. Unless you are just plain lucky like we have been. This is pretty weighty stuff; you are deciding the fate of your festival before you have even started.
So, let’s make this easy. What kind of a festival do you like to attend? Why do you go? Is it to catch up with old friends? Do you go to make new friends? Do you go for the workshops? Do you go to see the Big-Nose Pagans? Is it a chance to go nuts and party all weekend? How about because it is fun to attend big rituals. Or is it so that you can sample different traditions? Maybe it is because you want to hang out in the woods and commune with nature. Do you go to strengthen your connection to Deity? Make a list of why you go. Next make a list of what you would like to see that you think is missing from the festivals you have attended. Did you know there would be homework with this book?
If what you want is a festival that is open and welcoming to all the paths of Paganism and that offers something for everyone, then you have a tall order. Not impossible, it just takes planning. There are many festivals that go this route; they take the “we are all in this together” view. So if this is your idea, you want to organize your festival around the groups of people whom you know will attend and offer something for everyone. You must have workshops and activities in your schedule that have a wide appeal. That means workshops for the newbies and for as many different traditions as you can entice to your festival and different kinds of rituals too. I have heard this referred to as a “General Pagan Festival.”
This kind of festival is a good idea and one that we use for PUF. We encourage people from different paths and trads to come together. The festival is planned around all people on the Pagan Path. We try to have guests and workshop facilitators that have a wide range of information to disseminate. We encourage everyone to attend all the classes they can manage to get to and all the activities that interest them. We also encourage them to attend all of the rituals, no matter their chosen path. At this kind of a festival with folks from all trads and some from none, you need to encourage them to attend workshops and rituals; you have to push them to participate. This is because some Pagans are shy—yes really. It is also because they may have only studied one path and are unsure about dabbling in others. This will take work on your part.
We try to make sure that there are lots of things for folks to sample and to ensure that no one will be left out, if possible. Now, you don’t have to go crazy and find the only practitioner of East-Indies-Up-Side-Down-Naked-Fire-Dancing-With-Cats within 500 miles to come and do a workshop. You just need to find folks in your area, or folks who are willing to come to your area, who can teach something besides Wicca 101. You want people from a great many different paths to attend and people who have not chosen a path yet, and you want them all to feel welcome. So you need to offer them something good.
With this kind of a festival, scheduling is detailed (read “anal-retentive”), and it is a good idea to have a program printed that is handed out at the front gate where the festival folk arrive and sign in. This program can also include bios on the Big-Nose Pagans, a map of the site and directions to the closest civilization. Our program also includes the rules of conduct for the festival. At our registration gate, we have handouts from other groups, any special events during the festival, meetings, etc. Everything that is going on at the festival is put into the hands of each festivalgoer, and they are encouraged to attend as many different things as possible. We also include flyers about other events that will be happening in the future.
If you want to successfully include everyone and make them feel less shy about participating, you need a central meeting point. Find a spot that is central to your camp layout where virtually everyone will visit in the normal course of the day or maybe several times a day. This central point will give folks a place to hang out and will also provide the opportunity to meet most everyone at the festival. It also gives you a place to post notices for changes in schedule and other news. At PUF we have a central gathering point that consists of an open-sided tent, a couple of picnic tables, a trashcan and lights. It is very simple, nothing fancy, but it meets our needs. It sits right in the middle of the merchant row, which is set up in a long horseshoe arrangement. This gathering point is a place where folks can sit and talk, rest while shopping, play music, get out of the rain and just socialize. It has a very informal air to it, and so newbies are not over-awed to walk up and talk to a Big-Nose Pagan. It has been dubbed “the place where the VIPs hold court”. Think about it—if an author is sitting at a picnic table talking to a dozen or so people who are standing, sitting at the table, on the table or on the ground, this does not look like a private meeting. It looks and is casual, and it is not intimidating in any way. People feel comfortable just walking up and hanging out too. It works to make people feel that they are an important part of the festival and that they are being welcomed with open arms. It also brings folks to the merchant row where they might buy something, and that makes the merchants happy as well. It also makes the merchants feel they are a part of the festival. Too often they never get out of the merchant row, and with this setup they get to socialize as well as work.
We also post notices at this gathering point because sooner or later everyone comes through this area. Communication is important, especially when things can change from moment to moment because of unforeseen circumstances. I cannot stress too heavily the importance of a central meeting place if you want a “this festival is for everyone” atmosphere at your event.
In the normal course of events, folks have a tendency to gravitate toward their own, and so the Wiccans will hang out with the Wiccans, the Druids with the other Druids and so forth. Without a central meeting spot, there might not be much mixing. Folks won’t be able to meet a lot of other folks except at the workshops, rituals and meals. These are times when most folks will be busy with the business at hand, not meeting and greeting. The different trads will probably want to camp together or rent cabins that are together, so they can socialize. Some people will not feel comfortable going to someone else’s encampment uninvited. We don’t have that problem at PUF. There is a party circuit, and people visit the Druids, and then may amble over to check on what the Heathens are up to, or hang out with the Wiccans. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to visit. You may not be so fortunate. Keep in mind that you will have some folks who attend solo; your job is to make these people feel welcome and part of the festival. Otherwise they will feel isolated, they won’t have a good time, and they will not be back. And they will tell others.
At our first festival, I had not thought about the mixing and mingling thing. I figured that a lot of the folks attending would know others at the festival, and they would all just hang out. You know, the Pagan equivalent of “If you build it they will come.” We had a bonfire, and some folks gathered around that and sang, talked and visited after ritual. Since it was a bunch of Pagans, someone turned up with a guitar. A few folks brought drums and they played along. As I walked around the site, I noticed that not everyone was at the bonfire; many people were sitting around in small groups doing nothing and looking bored. At that point it dawned on me that I had not given much thought to the social aspect of the festival. I guess I thought that folks would turn up and just naturally fall into conversations with each other. Well, many of the folks attending were solitary or from different covens, and they were not doing such a good job of mingling. My heart sank. The staff had a quick conference, and we decided that we would encourage folks to mingle. My thugs went out with orders to drag people down to the bonfire so that everyone could meet everyone else. It took some effort, a little poking, a little prodding and even a little threatening, but it worked. Most of the people who attended that first year spent hours around the fire making new friends, greeting old ones and having a great time. But it took real effort. Herding cats is a tough, sweaty business. You can avoid this problem by creating a central meeting point, even if it is only a big tree in the middle of the site. Dress it up in some way so that people will know it is a meeting point, and encourage people to go there and hang out. Sooner or later, folks will get the idea.
If the site you choose has a mess hall, this is a good place for a central meeting point too. The only problem is traffic, and as your festival gets bigger, you will have to deal with it. The site that we use now has a mess hall which also houses the kitchen. We also set classes up in that hall. It has a large covered porch, and everyone loves to gather on that porch. It is a perfect place for that. The first couple of years that we used the site, this worked out ok. But as the festival got larger, there were too many people and too much traffic in and out of the main hall for it to continue to work well. Between meal preparation, classes in the hall and everyone coming and going, it became a huge traffic problem. The folks gathered on the porch had to be called down constantly because they disturbed the folks in the class. Then we had to throw them all off the porch so the dinner line could form. Many of them left their personal paraphernalia behind. It was a regular goat screw. So we moved the meeting place to merchant row, and it works well for us.
We also have two bonfire areas where dancing, drumming and chanting takes place. Almost everyone comes to one bonfire or the other before the night is done, sometimes both. So, lots of visiting goes on. For the past several years, we have had a Guedra at the bonfire on at least one night of the festival. Many people from all trads attend, either to participate or just to watch. It is a very cool experience, and it certainly brings folks together. For those of you who don’t know, Guedra is Moroccan trance dancing, the whirling dervishes. Very cool.
Some festivals use the “we are all in this together” idea and also set up the camping areas according to special interest groups. So you will find an area for bards, tarot readers, Asatru and so on. There may also be informal workshops on a variety of interests. Some even set up areas for families with children, and there can be discussion groups between parents about the difficulties of raising Pagan children. This also allows people who do not have children and don’t want to be bothered by them to camp in a different area. Many people think that you get the best of both worlds with this set-up; a large “everyone is welcome” group, but you also have places where folks with particular interests can gather.
There are many festivals that cater to the needs of specific groups or kinds of groups. These include a single tradition that has different branches, covens and sister covens, Druids, Asatru, Anglo-Saxon Heathens, Radical Fairies, Dianic groups, Reclaiming and so forth. These specific gatherings are usually small and have a family-like atmosphere. Many, if not most, of the festival folk know one another, which creates a nice comfort zone. This makes for a very relaxed festival, where most of the folks attending pitch in with everything from food to workshops. The workshops are chosen to educate and enlighten a particular group. All the activities and rituals are of that specific group or tradition. This can be a fairly easy festival to pull off. If you are the member of a particular group or tradition, then you are in communication with others of like mind. So you should know what and whom the folks attending are interested in seeing and activities in which they would like to participate. The ritual part of this type of festival can be planned easily with no arguments. Okay, so these are Pagans we are talking about…how about it can be planned with no arguments most of the time…alright, alright, a minimum of arguments then.
Some festivals are designed around a theme or subject. At some of these festivals the theme is only truly evident in some of the workshops and a guest or two and in the main ritual. You know the idea is there, but you are not beaten to death with it. Now some festivals are very serious about a theme and only allow workshops and rituals that are concerned with the chosen theme. The danger here is that this type of a festival may lose a large number of potential festival folk if the subject does not appeal over a wide range. For example, we have discussed having all the workshops at PUF pertain to some facet of ritual construction. We thought about constructing the classes so that the students would be the folks who would actually perform the rituals during the festival. We have done this on a small scale in the past. Isaac Bonewits has taught ritual construction workshops, and the class attendees performed the main ritual, and that worked very well. There are many places to go with this theme, but finally we thought it was too narrow and decided against doing it. We still have many classes on ritual; “Ritual Construction,” “Newbies in Ritual,” “Rituals for Large Groups,” etc. But we also have lots of other types of classes as well so that everyone can find something they like.
While we are on this chapter, let’s talk about “clothing optional” and what that means. “Clothing optional” means that folks don’t have to wear clothes unless they want to, or they can wear as little as possible and any combination in between. There are many festivals where this is standard operating procedure. If you don’t like that idea, there are a couple of different ways for you to handle this issue. First, you can say that clothing is not an option, and make sure that people understand that and comply with it. You will have people bitch at you, but stick to your guns. We are a “Keep Your Clothes On” festival. We have several reasons for our policy, such as simply good taste (and the danger of having our retinas burned out), the danger of sunburn, we are in a state park and the rangers would flip out, and the way the laws are written in our state we could get in lots of hot water. Plus, I personally do not want to deal with the controversy.
Another way to handle the “clothing” issue is to have a clothing-optional site, and make sure that you spell that out in the information that you hand out. Make sure that people understand that there will be folks at your festival walking around in the all together. Since many people do not read the fine print, make sure this is spelled out in BIG LETTERS.
The third way to handle this is to set aside a certain area of your site as “Clothing-Optional Land.” Again spell it out; this area is for folks to be naked if they wish. Put up a sign on the site so that folks will know that they are entering Clothing-Optional Land, and there will be no silly misunderstandings. Make sure that people who want this option understand that they must don clothing to wander the rest of the site.
Before you decide on the clothing or no clothing issue, you might want to check your local and state laws about naked adults being in the presence of minors. The last thing you want is to make the 10:00 News.
There are a lot of festivals now, as compared to when we started out, and they are all different. This is because the people that put them on are different and have their own ideas about how a festival needs to be run. Put your own fertile imagination to work on this issue. What do you like? Ask other members of your community what interests them. Ask people whom they would like to see as guests. Go to where the Pagans are and get your info. Get input, and then put it all together.
The first PUF was a one-day only event. This got our feet wet, and showed us how much we knew and how much we didn’t. I reasoned that all of the mistakes we made in planning would only have to be endured from sun up to sun down, and everyone involved would probably survive. I claim that this one idea proves I am not crazy (at least about that). I really suggest this idea for all first-timers. Start small and build your numbers, and you will find the going much easier for you.
For me, the bottom line for a festival is that it should allow the festival folks who attend (and you) to connect with the Divine. It should be positive and life-affirming. You want folks to leave at the end of the weekend energized and ready to take their great feelings and information back to their community. At the end of the day, this is all about faith.
~ Getting Help ~
Ask and ye shall receive.
The first thing that you need to know is, you are not doing this in a vacuum. Let me say that again, YOU ARE NOT DOING THIS IN A VACUUM!!! I see people trying to pull off a festival, or a Pagan Pride Day or a workshop with a Big-Nose Pagan, and they try to do it all by themselves. That is just stupid. For the love of gods, reach out into the community and find some people to help you. There might be some folks in your area that know a thing or two about what you are trying to do. They may have contacts that you do not have yet. They may just know more people than you know. Use that knowledge. Your event will be a better success, people in the community will have warm and fuzzy feelings toward you, and you will not make yourself crazy trying to do it all.
When we started down this road, we were novices. We had decided to have a festival, and then we all stood around scratching our heads and saying “Now what?” The first thing we did was to look at ourselves and take stock of the talents we possessed. We found out, much to our own amazement, that we had quite a lot. But we did not have enough to pull off a festival all by ourselves.
Thankfully, we were smart enough to know that we needed to ask others for help, and we were not too proud to do it. Surely, we reasoned, someone somewhere had to know how to throw a really big party. So we started looking.
We went to other covens in the area and begged for help. We told them that we wanted to do this crazy thing, and we needed help finding teachers for the classes, spreading the word about the festival and doing all the actual work on-site. Several of the local groups stepped up to the plate, for which I am grateful. Every coven has members that are experts in some field. Ask them to recommend a member to teach; many of them will be flattered that you asked.
After I had pitched the idea of a festival to some of the local Pagans, I started searching for a perfect place to hold the festival. There were several requirements that I felt we needed; it had to have a fair amount of open land, it had to be private, and it had to be cheap. I did not have a lot of luck at first. Finally, I put the entire venture into the hands of the God and Goddess. I figured if They wanted to see Tennessee Pagans playing in the woods, They would open the doors for me. I also put the word out on the Pagan grapevine. Funny thing how prayer is answered because it was not long before the priestess of another local coven, Oak, Ash and Thorn, came to my rescue. She knew of a place that only cost $50 to rent for a whole day!
I asked the leaders of Oak, Ash and Thorn to join with my group so that we could do the ritual together. There were some logistics to work out, and while there were some glaring differences in style, it went well and folks had a good time. I really felt that it was a good example of cooperation between Pagans.
Blake from Tangled Moon built a labyrinth in the field next to the ritual field. He laid it out with flour. Starhelm from Oak, Ash and Thorn built one with deadfall. In fact, labyrinth building was an actual class, so there were a lot of folks to help them. Many people spent the morning dragging deadfall from the woods and setting it into a labyrinth pattern.
The next year, I decided to put the festival in the hands of a local organization called S.P.I.R.A.L., which stands for Serving Pagans in Religion and Life. The reasons for doing this were twofold. It would give us more hands to help run the festival. It would also take the festival into a bigger arena and make it the work of many people, not just one group with one or two other groups pitching in to help. Pagan politics being what they are, it seemed like a good idea. It worked out very well for us. So, look and see if there are any organized groups in your area, not just covens.
The year that we decided to expand our festival to a weekend event, we found the perfect park in which to hold it. There was just one little problem; someone had already booked it for the weekend we wanted. So we inquired as to the person’s name and were surprised to find out that the person was a Pagan from just outside of Nashville, one Lady Morgaine. We contacted her and found out that she wanted to put on a festival and had booked the park. She was new to the area and did not realize that there was already one festival in progress. We suggested that we join forces since she had the park and we had the organization. She agreed and we hijacked her reservations. A fine example of cooperation.
We are fortunate to have our very own Big-Nose Pagan in this neck of the woods named Grey Cat. She has written several books and is very familiar with the Pagan festival circuit. We invited her, and she agreed to come play with us. She has taught Ritual 101 classes that explained the etiquette of doing ritual with others and how to behave. We thought it was a class that was very necessary since we had solitaries and so many people new to the path attending. She has also taught other classes and performed several rituals over the years.
So start with the Pagans in your area that you know. Many of them will step up to the plate; you just have to be brave enough to ask. True, some will turn you down, but don’t allow yourself to be discouraged. Work with the ones that will work with you, and remember that when they come knocking on your door, you owe them. Despite what you may think or have heard or even experienced, it really is possible for Pagans to work together. Our festival is living proof of that.
Don’t be afraid to go outside the Pagan community to find help. You will be amazed at what you will find. Several members of our coven were involved with the Society of Creative Anachronisms, a worldwide historical reenactment organization. True, our aims are different. Their events include people in funny clothes who like to hit each other with sticks while living in an altered zone of time and space. Our events involve people in funny clothes running around with sharp pointy things while living in an altered zone of time and space; we just try not to hit anyone. (Hey wait a minute! That sounds very similar!) Actually, there are huge differences; they recreate history and we deal with spirituality. But they also know how to camp, cook for large groups of hungry people and present great workshops to entertain and enlighten. And they are damn good at it.
We started to ask questions about places to hold events, how to cook for a large group of people and still have it taste good, how to figure out how much food to buy, length of class-time, in short, all of the logistics for handling people. Before too long, all of our SCA friends began to get that “deer in the headlights” look whenever they saw any of us coming with more questions. But we just smiled and asked our questions anyway. (We did find that plying them with alcohol helped to ease their pain.) Luckily, a couple of us had actually done the cooking for several SCA events and could draw on that experience. After a few months of gathering facts and figures from our friends, and adding our own scant knowledge to the mix, we felt a little more prepared to actually throw an event ourselves. But only a little. Facts and figures on paper are a long way from actual people running loose in the woods. We knew that.
The first year, the funds for the festival came out of my own pocket, which was pretty thin. So, I looked for ways to defray that cost. I put the word out that we needed help with food. Within a week, a woman approached me to tell me that a friend of a friend of hers worked at a bagel place that did not sell their day old bagels. They went into the trash. The manager was delighted to donate all the day old bagels to us since he felt bad about just throwing them away. We picked up garbage bags full of bagels for three days before the festival—lots and lots of bagels. Neither the woman who worked at the bagel place nor the manager was Pagan, but they had no qualms about giving us bagels. In return, we told all the Pagans in town where the bagels had come from and encouraged them to shop there.
In my ramblings, I had the good fortune to meet a man named Tony Kail who is an occult crimes investigator. He presents workshops for law enforcement groups, and because of his expertise, he has been called into police investigations many times. He called me to ask a few questions that were pertinent to an investigation he was working on. I was very impressed with his knowledge of the occult and religious practices, even the obscure ones. So I called him and asked if he would be willing to come to our festival and present a workshop. He agreed and became our first headliner. Tony is a non-Pagan but is Pagan-friendly enough to come play in the woods with us. He is a brave fellow as well as a knowledgeable one.
You have to be determined to have people and entertainment at your festival that is top-notch. To do this you must become an unabashed self-promoter. You must be willing to ask anyone you think will add to your festival to come and be a part of it. You must not be shy. So what if you get turned down a time or two, what is the worse thing that can happen? Will it kill you? Nope, it will not. I promise that you will get more “yes” than “no” answers from the people you approach.
The really good news is that as your festival grows larger and becomes better known, you won’t have to beat the bushes so hard to find people who are willing to be a part of your festival. They will find you. As we have become better known, groups have approached us. One year a Pagan women’s group wanted to have an ice cream social to raise money for fire fighting equipment to replace what was lost by the New York City Fire Department on 9/11. That was a good cause, and we agreed to let them hold their event. (Besides, ice cream is always high on my personal list.) As we had no official lunch period that year, the ice cream social took place during the breaks in the afternoon. The women’s group took care of finding ice cream donors and hauling all of it to the site. They ended up getting Baskin and Robbins—yum. This was a win-win situation for everyone; us, festivalgoers, the women’s group and the fire department of New York City. As we have gotten larger, we have had many musical groups and individuals contact us about entertaining at PUF, and merchants and workshop facilitators as well.
There are a lot of people right in your own back yard that will be willing to help you with your festival, Pagan and non-Pagan alike. All you have to do is go and stalk…I mean hunt them, and place your request before them. Many will cooperate. Have faith.
Setting up the labyrinth
~ Staff ~
Who you gonna call?
First, you have to have dedicated people to help you run a festival because it is a lot of hard work. The details will kill you, and there will be a hundred things that you did not think of before they sneak up and bite you on the ass.
I am very lucky. To put the pieces together for our first festival I went to the members of my group, Witches of the Woods, and discussed the crazy idea with them. They are a bunch of folks who have a lot of different talents. So I had a good base with which to work.
The second year, I joined forces with a local Pagan group, S.P.I.R.A.L. and that brought more hands to help. Good thing too; we had more folks the second year, and more people means more work. Over the years, the core of my staff has been my own group, but we have reached out into the community for more numbers. No choice—our festival has grown from ninety-seven attendees to 426. The amount of work needed to make it happen has grown as well.
Many people have come to me over the years to volunteer for staff positions, and if I knew them or they came highly recommended to me, I have taken them on board. Sometimes this approach has worked, and sometimes not. A staff position means free admission to the festival. There have been those who only volunteer in order to get a free ride. What they find out is there really is no such thing as a free lunch. That should be our motto, TINSTAAFL. They must work hard for it.