Questions re- Rainbow....

Peter Fraterdeus (pfraterdeus@igc.apc.org)
Tue, 04 May 1993 23:55:29 -0700 (PDT)

The following letter is a reply to a request for information from a Mom whose
teenage daughter and friends want to come to the Gathering this year.
Seemed like it might be useful to post.

Peter

--------------------------------------
Date: 5/4/93 1:59 AM

From: peter f
*****REPLY -- Original Note Follows*****

To:Joan Livingston-Webber

Hello!

Thanks for writing!

I have passed your letter on to the Rainbow Family Office in Kentucky. The
final site decision will not be made until Spring Counil, which is Memorial Day
Weekend. A "Howdy Folks!" with map and directions is usually sent out soon
after to the regional "focalizers" and anyone who sends a note to the Rainbow
Office (See address below).

I can give you my personal point of view, which is that the Gathering is always
a learning experience for folks that come with an open mind...and even for
those that don't!

The opportunity to participate in >making< the gathering is the high point of
the gathering! It's not a cliche to say that without the free contribution of
time and energy on the part of each participant, the Gathering would not have
continued for the last 20 years.

Young people are particularly welcome. In the exuberance of youth, they are
ready to throw themselves into it, if it looks like fun!

They way I see the Gathering is that we try to make "doing the right thing"
look like fun! The Kitchens are my favorite places. In a good rainbow kitchen
during the full swing gathering, there may be 3000 people fed a day.
Learning about cooking over wood for 100, playing music late into the night
under the stars, dawn yoga and meditation circles, the council process of
decision making, working at the Info tent; or CALM, the Center for Alternative
Live Medicine. Re-seeding and restoring the site before the last rainbow
leaves. All this and more....and it's Free!

As a rule, a true Rainbow Gathering may not charge any admission or limit the
attendance of any person who is peaceful. However, common expenses, (mostly for
food and supplies, sometimes including trucked well water) are met through the
"Magic Hat." This is a large Hat that makes the rounds of the whole gathering,
into which everyone may contribute what they can. At dinner circles, one might
throw 25 cents or $20 dollars. Nobody's counting. However, the 'bank' keeps
open books showing how and where. Many also choose to contribute "in kind,"
bringing sacks of rice, flour, crates of veggies and even medical supplies for
CALM.

The final cleanup is often just finished as the contributions dwindle and
people go on to the next scene.

The opportunities to help out and to learn are enormous. But, it's also
important for people to have their wits about them. Naivete' makes one an easy
mark, and this is not Disneyland... However, the Vermont county Sheriff,
commenting on the 1991 Gathering in the Green Mtns., said they had "more
trouble in one weekend during Fair Week" than he'd seen the whole time the
Rainbows were in town....

Security is as close as those same Kitchens. If you make yourself part of the
crew, or at least a regular helper, then people will get to know your name.
This is the way to "plug-in" to a good scene. Many kitchens have long running
reputations for special goodies, like Lovin' Ovens, where ovens are fashioned
in the hillside out of oildrums and Popcorn Palace, with popcorn popping up to
24 hours a day. There are tea and coffee camps up and down the trail, so
there's always somebody nearby.

If your daughter and her friends are good common-sensical young women with a
good sense of "direction", I would think they would have an excellent
adventure.

Maybe they'll invite you to go next year! (Everybody's welcome, even parents!)

The closest "focalizer" in the current mailing is in LIncoln--

Julie Kermmoade
1743 N. 59th St.
Lincoln, NE 68505
402-464-1193

Also, if you can find it on the internet, check out the alt.gathering.rainbow
newsgroup, where, even though it's inhabited by techno-rainbows, who are a
small sub-species, you'll still find a pretty good cross current of Rainbow
chatter.

If you don't mind, I'd like to post your letter and this response to the
newsgroup, since there may be others with similar questions. Please let me know
if I may do so.

Thanks for asking!
Peace,

Peter

PS if you'd like to get the next Pot o' Gold, just drop me your address.
(Donations accepted ;-)

Donations are also being gratefully accepted at the Rainbow '93 Office for
mailing and phone costs.

Rainbow '93, PO Box 187, Tateville, KY 42558
606 561 6185 (9am to 11 pm ET)

************Original Follows*********************
*******Reproduced w/ permission of author********

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