Minimizing LEO Harassment at Gatherings

There are things that we can do to minimize the negative impact of LEO (Law Enforcement Officer) presence at gatherings and render them relatively impotent.

First off, every cop that sets foot anywhere in the gathering should have escorts. Escorted cops can't do much damage. However, it's very important that police escorts be done appropriately.  As with everything gathering related, we should have a minimum of three people. If you see someone walking alone with the cops, join in but only refer to each other by "sibling."  No names in front of the LEOs.

I'm sure there are many other ideas floating around, but as someone who has been spending a lot of time walking with cops over many, many years, here is my 2 cents. 

People escorting LEO should not interfere in their actions and keep a safe distance. Who safe is safe?  That varies by years generally.  If they are friendly, have a conversation with them. If not keep your distance. 

Someone should run ahead and yell six-up to warn our family that cops are coming up the trail.

Hopefully, someone has video equipment and is capturing the entire thing on tape, computer chips or whatever. You never know when a calm cop walk will blow up and the camera needs to be working before the blow up.

People doing escorts should not have any outstanding warrants or be carrying anything on their person that would be judged illegal by a court of law.  If you are high, it's not your turn. 

It helps if you have can display a non-confrontational demeanor and remember to walk like Ghandi or Robin Williams.

It's best to have three or more people doing this on each escort, but due to a lack of folks helping with cop watch these last few years, I've spent a lot of time on my own with 6 or 8 cops in the woods - definitely not a great situation and one I don't recommend unless you have a lot of practice under your belts.

If you can carry on a friendly low key conversation with any of the officers, that helps minimize tension.


If anything happens, video, write down details and if someone is arrested, make sure someone knows and will go after them to town and bail them out. If you don't know the person being arrested or their friends, go to INFO and post an announcement, let the INFO crew now and please announce it at main circle.

We all know how hard scouting is and access roads are both a blessing and a curse. They provide ease of access for disabled family and kitchens bringing in supplies in hand carts. Unfortunately they also
allow ease of access for the USFS LEOs.

As we don't know what this year's site will be, there's a couple of things we can do to minimize problems. Keep kitchens and camps off the road. Just cause a road goes through or near the sites, doesn't mean everyone needs to set up there. Explain to people before the gathering, at the front gate, at Welcome Home and when you see them setting up that the folks camped near the road or hanging out there are easy pickens for cops.

If you don't deal well with cops, then please don't. When someone yells six-up, just fade into the woods and let them pass. Engage in passive resistance.

OK Here's my pitch for middle aged + women. I'd love to have a tight crew willing to do cop walks together and even do it naked if we need to. Nothing like some nice cellulite and saggy breasts to take the fight out of the cops. I think middle aged + women make awesome cop walkers.The cops generally aren't threatened, we tend to be good at idle chit chat, and it's a great way to walk off those extra pounds.

Finally, cop watch is not an organized thing. If you see cops walking or driving and they are not being escorted, then tag you're it. If you get tired, try to recruit replacements before you drop out.

And my desperate plea. If someone walking with the cops taps you on the shoulder and asks you to run a message to someone, please take this seriously and do as you are asked - the person you keep out of jail might be your husband, wife, brother or daughter. We need to work together on this. 

Filtered Drinking Water Fundraiser May 9th on Zoom

Please help support clean water for drinking in the woods!

Saturday May 9, on https://EverybodysZoom.net

8pm ET Kitchen Sanitation/Water Filtration Tech-Talk

9pm ET Variety Show/Open Mic

Donate: https://gofund.me/1dd8ac1ed

If you would rather bring supplies than donate $$, please reach out to to rainbowwaterfundraiser at gmail dot com and ask for a shopping list.  Be prepared to arrive with purchased items very early as we will need them on or around June 19th.

 

 

On Shanti Sena

 

Some would say the phrase “Shanti Sena” means “peace army” from Sanskrit and has its roots in Gandhi’s concept of non-violent volunteer based peace keepers. While in gathering lore, some would translate the phrase as peace scene.  No matter the logical translation you wish to put on it, I translate it as being part of a family and looking out for my family in peaceful ways.

In the years of the strife between gatherers and the United States Forest Service Law Enforcement Officers (USFS LEOs), the phrase came to spell trouble for the LEOs and by 2008/2009 many gatherers actually thought the cops were the Shanti Sena (so not true). Because of the many misconceptions floating around, I thought I would take the time to rap about my perspective on keeping the peace at a gathering.

As many of my friends point out, “Shanti Sena” is a verb not a noun. In other words, no one “is” Shanti Sena, but many people “do” Shanti Sena. Most functions at the gathering are verb rather than noun based.

In a culture where individual liberty and communal needs often clash, countless opportunities arise to “do” Shanti Sena and keep the peace.

Before we worry about keeping the peace, we need to define “peace.”  For different people, “peace” takes on different connotations. For some, acting peacefully precludes any acts of physical violence, but yelling is considered peaceful. For others, cussing is not peaceful. For every one hundred gatherers, there are probably ninety different perspectives on what “peace” means. When we gather, I believe that 99.999% of gatherers have every intention of creating peace. We’ll get back to the 0.001% later.  So how then do we create and increase the peace at the gathering and take those skills into the world at large?

In my perspective, the single most important aspect to “doing” Shanti Sena is to be observant. Sure there are big movies that happen and lots of gray haired folks get involved with radios, but most of the time when a big movie happens, the root cause was a failure of each and every one of us to pay attention to the hurt, suffering, pain and/or stress building up around us.  (As an aside, not everyone with a radio has a clue.)

Reality check!  Going to a gathering, especially for the first time, can be very stressful. It’s a crash course in a brand new culture. Learning how to access food and filtered drinking water can be challenging. Being unprepared for the conditions can leave people cold and wet or sitting up by a fire all night to stay warm instead of sleeping. Many people who take medications for chronic conditions often seem to space out on taking their meds, leaving their health further compromised. Dehydration, low blood sugar, and lack of sleep are just a few of the stressors gatherers experience -- add to that doing activities or substances that are new to you. When one small thing goes wrong, people who are stressed out can explode.

Being observant means noticing that some belly is having a hard time or a bad day. Allowing each of us to be our own unique self means not telling other people what to do. Telling people to eat or drink can backfire. So what’s a kind loving brother or sister to do?

Pay attention to the people around you. Notice if they seem to be struggling, are confused or look disoriented. Offer to share your water or an energy bar you might have on you (always good to bring lots of these). Introduce yourself and make a friend. Usually people are more willing to share their troubles with a friend, than someone just trying to fix a problem. Share a song or a joke if the vibe feels right. Sometimes people are in their own head space and don’t want to interact. That’s OK.  You can still stay near them (but not too near) just in case they need help. If it’s two am, please don’t walk away from someone. If someone wants to wander the woods all night, grab a couple of friends and trail after them just in case they need your assistance. 

If someone is using mind altering substances, make sure they are using the buddy system.  If they don't already have a few friends to hang with, please be that person or find someone who can be that person. Multiple times over the years, people who were under the influence wandered away from the main gathering and ended up dying. Please, please, please be your sibling's keeper.

If someone doesn’t have a safe place to sleep, try to hook them up with a camp that can help. If they have small children, Kid Village is a great place. But there are lots of other kind loving camps at the gathering that have the space to squeeze another body into a crowded tent or provide emotional support. If you yourself are new to the gathering (blessings to you for helping others), you can stop by INFO and ask for some advise.

If you find a lost kid, you and a couple of friends should escort the child to Kid Village or INFO. Make sure to take the child up to the kitchen and announce very loudly that you have a lost child. DO NOT JUST DROP THE CHILD OFF AT KID VILLAGE or INFO.

If someone is having a health crisis and is willing, take her/him to CALM (First Aid). Most of the larger kitchens/camps like Om Shalom, Loven Ovens, and Kid Village (to name just a few) have medical people as well. If the person isn’t willing to move, find someone with a radio and medical people will come to your location. If that doesn’t work, send a runner to INFO or CALM with as much information as you have about the situation. By taking care of people’s critical needs before people reach the point of explosion, we create the peace we want to see in the world.

Other times we have conflicts that arise from differing lifestyles. For example in 2002, the gathering site was small and we ended up with Tea Time and Yoga Space next to each other. Talk about a mismatch in energies. Tea Time likes to stay up all night, serve tea and make raucous noise at 3 AM. The Yoga folks are more into silent mediation and mellow energy. Two distinct energies colliding is a classic gathering issue. If we want each camp to be free to express their own vision of peace and love, what to do?  When space permits, it’s always best to camp in an area that meets your vision of what comprises peace and love. So don’t be expecting to sleep in silence until noon every day if you’re camped in Kid Village as kids wake up early.  But ….

As to the 0.001%, when the situation gets a bit crazy, yell “Shanti Sena” and other people will come and assist. With a circle of people, we can try to get a council going with the parties’ involved and where random calm and centered gatherers can sit down and listen to each other.  Keep in mind that sometimes people’s emotions are volatile and getting a council going is difficult at best. Then what?

SITTING down on the sidelines and oming tends to help ground energies. If nothing else, it makes misbehaving people feel a bit silly and often times that breaks up the situation. This doesn’t mean the root cause of the problem is solved, but at least it buys some time and space to work on the issues. I’ve experienced a beautiful voice singing an appropriate song calm everyone down as well. Peaceful, mellow music helps everyone feel better.

Sometimes problems don’t seem resolved at the time. That’s OK. Rainbow magic takes time to work. I’ve sat in circles with people who were full of anger. At some point the primary people stomped out of the circle and didn’t return.  Then a day or two or three later, I ran into those same people again, very happy and peaceful. Rainbow magic doesn’t always have a logical cause and effect.  Sometimes, just hanging out with someone for six hours prevents someone from getting lost in the woods (yes it really happens and if it’s cold out can be a cause of death), drowning in a lake (yes this has happened multiple times at gatherings) or wandering up to the road and getting arrested (you know this happens). Plus you’ve just made a new friend. The more we get to know each other, the more we create community. The more we actively work on creating community, the more we increase the peace.

If you are not able to help when the universe calls you, please, please, please, make sure someone else helps. Ask others for assistance, guide the person to one of the larger kitchens, go to INFO or CALM and let them know what’s going on. Be the change you want to see in the world.

Many years, we have Shanti Sena councils or workshops at the gathering where people who have “done” more Shanti Sena share the lessons they’ve learned with those who have “done” less or no Shanti Sena. As with everything gathering related, we are all of us teachers and all of us students. In the spirit of sharing other ideas on what Shanti Sena is and does, here are some other voices on the subject.


From Welcome Home with links to multiple Shanti Sena Raps by well respected family (must read).
From Niman - a scholarly look

Rap 121

Ask not what the gathering can do for you; ask what you can do for the gathering.

We are our siblings' keepers.

Spiral Up and Unify

"Spiral Up and Unify" was a phrase I first heard at Fall Council/Circle/Counsel in California at the end of November 2023.

The phrase came out in response to discussions about why the 2023 annual gathering of the tribes happened without a dedicated kids camp. Most annual gatherings in the prior decade had two kids camp: DKV (aka Dirty Kid village) and Kid Village.  Both camps offered amazing love and support to families and children. After all, it's not that easy taking care of a 1-year old and a 3-year old in the woods.

So why did we not have a kids camp in 2023? Lack of both human and green ($$$) energy. What does this say about our culture if we cannot support our next generation?

Yet the issue isn't unique to space for kids. Many camps and kitchens are short-staffed, volunteers over worked, and communally based services struggling to keep going.

In Ancient Greek Mythology the spiral is the symbol of rebirth, the spinning and weaving of the web of life and often time the portal to the prehistoric Great Mother. This symbol tracks back to neolithic times and continues to be used today. But what can the spiral teach us in how to bring to fruition the hopes and dreams that we put into our gatherings?

C.G. Jung sees the spiral as a symbol of growth. As he wrote almost 100 years ago:

The spiral in psychology means that when you make a spiral you always come over the same point where you have been before, but never really the same, it is above or below, inside, outside, so it means growth.

        From (Dream Analysis, Parts II & III. 1929. Seminar notes)

I often see the annual gathering of the tribes, which has been happening for over fifty years, as a spiral. Every year we gather, we circle back to where we have been metaphorically but not physically. Hopefully we have grown since the last year, added layers of wisdom, and created new imaginal and physical tools with which to gather.

Why Unify?

Since our gatherings are smaller than they were twenty years ago, me thinks we need fewer kitchens so that each kitchen has a great crew who doesn't work themselves to the bone feeding our family. 

Me thinks we need more people supporting the monetary costs of buying water pipe, walking the land, food preparation, tools, etc. 

Me thinks we need to take all our separate fiefdoms and create a functioning and coherent whole. 

After all, if we can't learn to work with each other, how can we expect to find peace?

This family has endless amounts of love, oodles of opportunities for growth, and plenty of space for  enthusiastic people. 

One of many truths I know about the gathering, is the more you sow the more you reap.  Please join us.  If you don't know how, visit my page on Plugging In. 

Do it for yourself, your family, and future generations!

Plugging into the 2026 Rainbow Gathering

 

Gathering planning efforts are ongoing. If you want to participate in heartsong regarding the 2024 gathering, join us virtually on Sunday nights at 6 PM Pacific/ 9 PM Eastern time. Find the connection info for computer or phone connectivity at Everybody's Zoom

Information and upcoming events as we plan for the 2026Annual Rainbow Gathering are on the Info Crew lightline  530-ITS-INFO.

If you Facebook, you can find good folks at Annual Rainbow Family Gathering of the Tribes.

Whose job is it? 

 

Pennsylvania Gathering 2010

 Enjoy this video from the 2010 gathering centered on NERF Camp (New England Rainbow Family)

I have been promised that everyone in the video agreed to be in the video and to have it shared.

 

 

Avoiding citations at the gathering

How to get a citation  

Every year the United States Forest Service Law Enforcement (USFS) Incident Management Team (the cops) attempts to write as many tickets to family coming home as they possibly can to justify their presence. 

They give out tickets for broken tail lights, failure to use a turn signal in a deserted parking lot at 2 AM, lack of seat belts, controlled substances (even just a trace amount), beads hanging from your rear view mirrors, prescription medications if the label doesn't clearly have your name on it and you can't prove who you are, dogs off leash, a vehicle missing a front license plate even if you live in a state that does not issue a front license plate and a lot more violations of the letter of the law. In 2025, they wrote tickets for being at an "illegal event." Never admit you are going to the Rainbow Gathering.

However, these tickets are not the type of citation you would probably receive for any of these issues in your hometown. 

 

If you receive a citation on the way into the gathering or at the gathering, please stop by INFO at the Gathering as we are trying to organize support for ticket holders. Details to be discussed on the land.

What happens next? 

We don't know what will happen in 2026 yet. But in the last few years there have been a few patterns of how the legal system addresses gathering related citations, no matter if it is for a broken tail light or an ounce of weed.

 

1) Kangaroo court

These are Federal mandatory court appearance tickets. There will be special court dates set up just for us during the gathering or shortly thereafter. These are usually held near the gathering, or at a local courthouse, fire station or visitors center and go before a magistrate. Or sometimes we got to a courthouse 100 miles away. In the past, charges have been reduced, fines were often minimal and the court has allowed people to make payment plans that could grant you 90 days to pay $200.

Court dates will be written on the citation. This is the best case to have your fines significantly reduced. If you miss your court date, the USFS LEOs will come into the gathering looking for you. If they find you they will arrest you and put you in jail until the next court date. If this happens on a Friday afternoon, you will be in jail until Monday 

2) Pay Online

In California 2024, there was on online payment system that you could use to pay your ticket online or go to court on the date assigned to you months after the gathering. It took a few months before peoples' tickets appeared in the system, but once there you had the option to pay Collateral forfeiture. This is a legal process that allows individuals charged with certain petty offenses to pay a specified amount of money to the government instead of appearing in court, effectively resolving the case without a conviction being recorded. 

CVB website and additional information.

In this model, as long as you pay your ticket before the scheduled court date, you do not need to appear at your arraignment to avoid a Federal Warrant as long as you pay the ticket a few days in advance. Don't wait until the last minute as courts move slowly and you don't want to pay the ticket the day before, the court may not be aware, and then you will get a Federal Warrant.

3) Mandatory court appearance months after the gathering 

These are Federal mandatory court appearance tickets that require you to appear in a Federal Courthouse (typically in the State's Capital) a few months after the gathering is over. This happened in Missouri 2025. People were not allowed to pay their tickets online. Everyone had to travel to Springfield Missouri in October and plead no contest or not guilty. The information I received from those who went through the process was that the court was not prepared for this nor did they know anything about it until 1-2 weeks ahead of time. 

 

 

All Citations

If you do not pay your citation using whichever method 2026 brings, a Federal Warrant will be issued for your arrest. The next time a law enforcement officer for any reason stops you, your ID will be run through the database and you will go directly to jail.
 

Of course, everyone is free to manage this situation as they wish but I strongly recommend you go to your court date. I have seen people charged with crimes that could potentially result in a six years' prison time walk out with a $500 fine and three years’ probation. Keep in mind that every year the dynamic is different and these results may not always be available. Sometimes there are lawyers and other experienced family at the gathering (I am not a legal expert) who attend the court dates and will assist as best they can although I recommend you catch up with them before your court date to gain a better understanding of your specific charges and strategies to get the charges dropped or reduced. If you do not know these people personally, go to INFO and let them know you received one of the magic tickets and you need legal assistance.

 

FYI:  Federal law trumps state law on weed. This means that WEED IS NOT LEGAL IN NEW YORK OR PENNSYLVANIA NATIONAL FORESTS.  This applies to any reason for having weed, medical or not as the Federal Government has draconian marijuana laws. The LEOs will try to trick you to admitting that you have weed. Don't fall for it.  

 

Start today by making sure your car and driver are 100% legal, you do not smoke anything in your car that is not legal under federal law (even if the state has legalized weed) as at the gathering, federal laws apply. Don't let yourself get tricked. If they smell it, they can pull you over. When you drive within 25 miles of the gathering, drive like you are taking a driving test. Signal ahead of time, drive below the speed limit, make sure all riders have seat belts and all children are in an age-appropriate car seat. 

 

Some people will say I'm making this up or being paranoid. If you don't believe me, talk to other long-time gatherers and confirm what I am saying. 

Before you enter the national forest, pull into a legal parking space and test that all your lights are still working correctly. Play the game and you can glide into the gathering trouble free and spend your time chopping firewood and hauling water instead of going to court.  The choice is yours. 

 

 

Rap 121 Sexuality and Consent

This is a gathering based on love and respect.

Please help create a safe space for everyone.

 

Respect each other and do no harm.

 

Ask before hugging or touching anyone.

 

Nudity is natural, and not a sexual invitation.

 

“No” means NO! The absence of “Yes” means NO!

 

A sleeping or intoxicated person cannot consent.

 

A person under the legal age of consent cannot consent.

 

A person unable to competently consent for any reason cannot consent.

 

Consent at one time does not imply consent at any other time.

 

Consent for one action does not imply consent for any other action.

 

Consent given can be revoked at any time.

 

Respect yourself and trust your instincts. If you don’t feel comfortable being intimate or alone with someone, or with what someone wants you to do, you have the right to say “no”.

 

If planning on engaging in sexual activity, open and forthright sharing about sexually transmitted infections is necessary.

 

Love happens – protect yourself – use condoms! If you don’t have one, just ask.

 

If you observe what you believe to be a boundary or consent violation, offer support or get help.

 

If you see immediate danger of any kind, yell out “Shanti Sena!” and other gatherers will rush to your aid. If you hear someone yell “Shanti Sena,” approach quickly, carefully and peacefully.

We are all Shanti Sena – Peace keepers!

Spring Fever

Now that spring is here and the gathering is still months away, what's a home sick gatherer to do?

Now is the perfect time to start getting ready for the gathering.  So here's a random list of steps you can take now to create a positive gathering for yourself and others this summer.

Make sure your car is 100% legal. All brake lights, turn signals, seat belts, registration, insurance and nothing hanging from your rear view mirror.  The cops seem to like to pull people over and write mandatory court appearance tickets for the littlest thing.  Who needs the hassle of a mandatory court appearance ticket just because you forgot to fix that broken tail light?  (did you read this?)

Make sure your camping equipment is in good shape. Check your tent for leaks. I hope we'll see rain this summer and camping is much more fun in a dry sleeping bag.

Check out thrift stores, garage sales and swap meets for things you can share with others at the gathering: tents, 60 quart cooking pots, sleeping bags, cast iron grills, very large metal mixing bowls, hiking boots, digging shovels, pick axes, rain gear, etc.  Once you get to the gathering, ask around and someone will be sure to need what ever you brought to share.

Get in shape.  Yup, at the gathering you'll be walking for hours every day so now is the perfect time to get in shape.  Try walking an hour a day for starters if you're not in the habit already and plan to be up to four hours a day by mid-June.  You will have more fun at the gathering if you can experience it.

Plan a workshop or camp focused on your special talent.  Some ideas are singing, drawing, ocarina making, drum making, meditation, yoga, belly dance, Tai Chi, sewing, caring for dogs or cats (probably not a great idea to mix dog and cat camps),  massage, or beading.  Start getting your supplies together and your friends lined up to get there early and find a great place for your camp.  Then arrive at least  week or so before July 1st  (two weeks scores a better site for your camp) and start creating the camp.  You are the rainbow magic and the gathering happens because individuals like you share your unique talents with other gatherers.  Don't forget to announce your workshop at breakfast/dinner circle, post a notice on the workshop board at INFO, and maybe make some signs on the main trail informing people of when and where the workshop takes place.

Plan a fundraiser for Everybody's Medical, water crew, scouting, or the Magic Hat that you support.  Remember just because everything at the gathering is free, doesn't mean we get everything free. 

Get involved with scouting.  If you like to read maps and walk the land, email me and I'll hook you up.

Build a rickshaw or other fat tire wheeled device powered by human or animal energy to help transport mobility impaired gatherers and food supplies to kitchens -- you will be one of the most popular people at the gathering.  

Start a list of all media outlets in the consensus states (see top of blog) and get together with other folks and start contacting people with positive information on the gathering.

Get your first aid certification so you can help keep our family healthy.

Rehearse your best rainbow story for Hipstories on the night of July 5, than share your hard won wisdom with your family.

Starting going to your local circle (or start one if there isn't one already) and plan a camp like Muskogee, Oklahoma camp or whatever city you live in.  Get together with folks in neighboring cities and plan a regional camp.

Get a job and earn money (or set aside some money from your existing earnings) to donate to the magic hat on the land to feed your family or to buy a boat load of fruits and veggies and bring with you to share with the hardworking kitchens that are feeding you.

Learn how to play guitar and share your music with your family. Learn some of the Rainbow songs now and teach them to people on the land. Or become a wandering minstrel (trail musician) and share music in tense situations.

The most important lesson I've learned through my gathering experiences, is that the more I give to the gathering, the more the gathering gives to me and the more I grow and evolve as one of the amazing creatures on this miraculous planet. I can't wait to see your amazingness on display when I hug you on the land.

On Consent

Tea Consent 

Tea Consent

Copyright ©2015 Emmeline May and Blue Seat Studios Non-commercial use: Video must have copyright information displayed below video, with a live link to original. No alteration to the video may be made, other than translation.

Spring Council / Circle / Counsel

Spring council/counsel/circle

Spring council is when all potential sites for the gathering are brought to any people who want to be involved in selecting a site.

People talk about critical issues and plant the seeds for a positive and healing gathering.

The council usually takes one to seven days and normally ends with either a consensus by silence among people at the council or an exodus of the majority of people heading to the preferred site. Spring council goes until a decision is reached by consensus or by foot.

Until spring council process determines a site, there is no home.  This being said, spring council is usually but not always in within 100 miles of the area of where the best potential site(s) for the gathering are located. 

Spring council takes as long as it takes to reach a decision. If you want to have a voice in the decision making process, please be there on the land. Once Spring Council reaches a decision, then we move to the land and start building the gathering aka Seed Camp.  If you are not a self-sufficient gatherer and are not willing to do the work of preparing the gathering for family coming home, please don't show up until at least June 20th.   Even then, water systems will be under construction,  kitchens may not be prepared to feed anyone but their own crews, and engagement with government entities will be ongoing. 

Everyone is welcome to participate in the spring council process!

When does Spring CCC start?

 This year the council/counsel/circle starts June 10th. Check back about a week to ten days before June 10th for details.

Music as Magical Peacekeeping Tool

The Earth Is Our Mother

 

For family who are more musically included, we have a long tradition of chants and songs not for performance, but for participation. Many of these songs are call and response or chant type songs. We use these songs to create community, help people be more peaceful and create the energy we wish to see in this world.

If you do not already know some of the rainbow songs, there are on-line websites that have the information.  If you play an instrument or even if you do not, try to learn these songs.  Then when you are at a gathering, I'm sure you will find a moment that is calling out for family singing and you will be prepared.

Thanks to family who have taken the time to make this information freely available.
 
Bliss Fire Website
Welcome Home Website

Singing is one of the best tactics to improve the vibration of the gathering. I've even seen people sing to break up hostile situations, calm the anxious, and create community among random strangers. Be the magic!

So you want to focalize a kitchen?

In my humble opinion, the gathering needs more kitchens like it needs more dogs, but for some  reason, everyone wants to focalize a kitchen. That being said, being part of the kitchen provides an amazing growing, learning experience on working collectively and provide safe and healthy food in the woods.

However.....

The reality of focalizing a kitchen goes something like this.

Main Supply won't provide all the food for cooking if you're feeding the gathering at large - either off-the-rails or at dinner circle. This means you provide much of the free food in the woods. While some kitchens have a donation can on the counter for after people have been fed, in reality most of the cost of food is born by those running the kitchen. Bring 500 to 1,000 pounds of food to get started. You'll need to provide pots and pans for cooking, 5-gallon water buckets for dish washing, filtered drinking water for you and your crew and hopefully for all gatherers. You'll need to chop wood, haul water and wash dishes in addition to cooking. You'll need to make sure you provide sanitary cooking and serving facilities, keep sick people out of your kitchen, deal with late night movies and work your ass off.

If you've never plugged in with a kitchen at a gathering before, you might think about joining your energy with a well established kitchen to get a sense of how hard cooking in the woods can be before you strike off on your own.

If you're ambitious enough to serve main circle, make sure to be at kitchen council so your kitchen gets some of the supplies - check at INFO or with other kitchens for council days/times. But keep in mind that even those kitchens serving main circle only get a portion of the food they serve from main supply.

Sure late night zuzu cooking is fun, but it also is hard to work around all the tripping hippies -- especially those who need baby sitting at 2 AM.

You'll also need to have some serious shitter movies going down. Not only for your crew but for anyone who is attracted to your camp. This can mean digging one or two new shitters every day from June 28 to July 3 when the gathering population swells.

When the gathering is over, you get to disappear your kitchen so no one knows it was ever there. You get to haul your trash out, bury your compost and fill in your shitters.

What do you get for focalizing a kitchen?

More personal growth than you ever imagined possible in a couple of weeks. More stress than you can imagine and more people smoking you out that you could ever wish for if you're kitchen is dank. You get to move your kitchen three times because the US Forest Service keeps changing the rule on how close to surface water the kitchen can be - play it safe and go 500 feet if you want to avoid the move your kitchen game.

You get people bugging you at all hours of the day and night because they're hungry or thirsty. You get random dogs digging through your supply tent and eating the food you just hiked three miles on your back. If you leave your kitchen unsupervised by trusted kitchen crew, you come back to a kitchen missing pots or oranges or a tarp.

The wonderful tarps you strung over your kitchen collapse from rain in the middle of the evening meal. And above all, you get to have a complete temper tantrum when your nerves snap because no one wants to help wash dishes or dig the next shitter.  Of course, you can plug into an existing kitchen and learn from experienced family how a great kitchen works. (Try the Ovens, Kiddie Village, Iris, Instant Soup, Fat Kids, or Montana Mudd to name but a few of the great kitchens. Ask at Info when you get to the gathering).  Most kitchens welcome new people who are willing to work.

It's a wonderful magical crazy ride and worth every second if you survive! But please, please, please read the Kitchen Mini Manual so you don't get your family sick due to lack of proper hygiene.

If you've every plugged into a kitchen, please share your words of wisdom.