Vision Council Consensuses

Vision Council Consensus

We, the People, on the land currently known as the Allegheny National Forest, forever the ancestral homelands of the Seneca people of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, warmly welcome all peaceful beings to join us in co-creating a celebration and prayer for world peace at the 2027 Annual Rainbow Gathering, from July 1-7 on the land currently known as Nebraska or Wyoming.

As we enter an area with potentially high fire risk, we commit to learning to use only propane and/or alternative fuel fires when necessary.

We ask family to work throughout the year to create an accessible 2027 Annual Gathering.

The Gathering is what we build together. We encourage individuals to arrive to seed camp as early as spring council to help build a strong village. To arrive early means to come prepared to take care of yourselves and others and help build the community. You have the opportunity to build the gathering you wish to see.

We invite individuals to continue circling for harvest counsel, October 22-26.

WE LOVE YOU!

 

Howdy Folks

Updated information will be posted here as it becomes available over the next week or so. Check back frequently as information will be refined. New directions may be added. Existing directions may be clarified.   Site specific information will be added.

Last updated on 6/23/26 at 10:35 AM Eastern Time 

2026 Annual Rainbow Family Gathering of the Tribes

End of June to July 7, 2026

 

We the people, participating in Spring Council/Counsel/Circle of the Rainbow Family of Living Light, on the land of the Allegheny National Forest, on the Ancestral Lands of the people known as the Seneca, of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, having lovingly found consensus: 

We invite all peaceful beings to gather in the Allegheny National Forest for the 2026 Annual Rainbow Gathering from July 1-7 on the lands currently known as the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, to pray for world peace and the healing of the earth.

Come a week early to help create the gathering, stay a week late to haul trash out of the woods.

Parking will along the road. Keep all 4 wheels off the road. There are some pull outs where you can get off the road. First come, first serve.

                   
Please note the 119 Road is now 1 way from Sheffield to Tidioute so you must use the Sheffield directions.

Dogs must be leashed. Unleashed dogs are a $380 fine. 

Directions from the east via  Sheffield, PA to Main Parking

Go to Sheffield PA, One tenth of a mile from the end of Route 666 (where it meets Route 6) there is a Uni-mart gas station. Turn onto this road, go past the park and cross over the bridge. Continue onto High St (State Road, SR2002) and follow for 11.2 Miles. Make a left onto Mayburg Road (FS 116 and 119.) Make an immediate right onto FS119  and drive 5.3 miles.  Main Parking is here. All parking is on the road.

Make sure all four tires are off the road or you will be ticketed.  

There is no real Handicamp at the moment. The best trail we have in at the moment does not have parking nearby.   Drop off only. Trail from main parking to the meadow is usable for carts, but there are some steep parts. 

If you get to the Hearts Content Recreation Area, you passed FS116/119. 

The back gate has very limited parking and unless you can park in a ditch, FS 119 is your best bet. 

There is a bus from Warren, PA to Sheffield that drops you off at the park in above instructions.  Find details at Bus Route. 

Greyhound goes to Bradford PA, which is about 40 miles south / southeast of Sheffield.  That's about as close as you can get. 

Very cold down in the gathering. Maybe low 40s on the night of  June 19.  Warmer on the road.  LEOs keep rolling in people at night on the road   Park and get in the woods ASAP!

Welcome Home!

Arriving at the Gathering 

Read Tips for Arriving at the Gathering, especially if this is your first annual gathering. 

Rap Raps 107/701 before you come. 

 

 

 

Spring Council / Circle / Counsel

Spring council/counsel/circle Updated 6/11 at 11:50 AM Eastern Time

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 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 spring CCC starts on June 10th. Directions to the council site (not the gathering) are :

From Sheffield, PA located within the Allegheny National Forest

 From Sheffield, go west towards Hearts Content. The road is Austin Hill Road out of Sheffield which turns into Hearts Content Road. 

From Main St in Sheffield turn at The Uni-Mart towards the park and go up the hill

From the turn west in Sheffield go 11 miles to Mayburg Road. Mayburg Road is Forest Road 116. Turn left/south onto Mayburg Road. Drive South 2.25 miles and turn right onto Forest Road 543.

The road 543 does not show on Google maps. But it is there with a numbered post. Maybe some rocks will get put out by the road or something to catch people's attention. 

 

If you are traveling, the directions to Spring Council and the gathering location will be posted on the Info Crew Lightline 530-ITS-INFO (530-487-4636) when they become available. 

Where will the gathering be?

 

Statement from the 2025 Vision Council/Counsel/Circle of Rainbow Family of Living Light on the land in Missouri:

We, the Rainbow Family of Living Light, peacefully assembled as Vision Counsel, in the Mark Twain National Forest on the land, at the site of the 54th Annual Rainbow Gathering, in 2025, have lovingly reached consensus on the following: 
 
We invite all beings to cocreate the 55th Annual Rainbow Gathering from July 1-7, 2026, and to participate in a silent prayer and meditation for peace from dawn until noon on the fourth day of July, in a national forest in the lands currently known as Pennsylvania or New York. 
 
We lovingly invite all Indigenous and Native peoples of Turtle Island to join us in love and peace and solidarity. We recognize that all lands in this region are traditional Indigenous lands, and we invite your guidance to respect these sacred lands in a good way. 
 
We gratefully acknowledge the indispensable aid of veterans of foreign wars in visioning and creating the Rainbow Gathering we cherish today. We invite all veterans to join us in continuing to heal, and cocreate our peaceful village in the woods. 
 
Welcome Home! 
 
Fall Counsel will be October 16–20, 2025, with a potluck feast on October 16, a counsel circle October 17–19, and cleanup October 20. 
 
Vision Counsel finds value and lovingly encourages participation in regional gatherings on any public lands available as best suits regional family's success and safety. 
 
Rainbow Gatherings happen on the land. Know your sources!  
 
Weee Looove Youuu! 

This is a 100% free assembly of peaceful people. Food is free, medical care is free, parking is free. No admission fee ever! All supplies are paid for by donation of cash or items people bring.

Harvest and/or Fall (giving thanks) Counsel/Council/Circle

  

Information on Fall Counsel.

 

Spring Council/Counsel/Circle

Spring council takes as long as it takes. Spring council is when all potential sites for the gathering are brought to any people who want to be involved in selecting a site. 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 aka "consensus by foot." Spring council goes until a decision is reached by consensus or by foot. The exact location for this council generally isn't determined until one to two weeks before spring council starts. Until the spring council process reaches a site, there is no home.  This being said, spring council is usually but not always in within 100 miles where the best potential site(s) for the gathering are located. 

 

Spring council/counsel/circle starts June 10th. Details on Spring CCC here.

Keep in mind that weather conditions (which are unpredictable) play a part in all of this. So let's say someone found a great site during the summer of 2025 (and I have no knowledge that anyone did or did not), for all we know come the first week of June, 2026 that site is out of water or under water, then what? Keep in mind that 4 feet of snow at a gathering is rough (anyone remember Washington 2011?).

Drought and high fire danger can have the same effect. A great site that was nice and wet in August 2025 can be dry as a tinder box in June 2026 . If the Forest Service has a no open fire ban on that site that looked so great last year, guess it's not looking that great this year. Available water can change year to year as well depending on snow melt.  Conditions change all the time.  The family needs to find the best possible site for the health and safety of gathering participants and the land on which we gather.

Spring circle/counsel/council starts June 10th.  Until the council reaches a decision, we won't know the gathering location. To learn more, visit this Spring Council blog post. 

Seed Camp

Once Spring Council reaches a decision, people move onto the site and start Seed Camp. Seed Camp is about creating trails, building kitchens, digging shitters, taping springs and dealing with the United States Forest Service. Historically, law enforcement harassment is highest during Seed Camp so if you are planning on being there, take the necessary precautions to keep your self out of the system if you so choose or need to. Bring your own food and drinking water. Bring first aid kits.  Bring extra food for those who do not have enough to feed themselves.

The Gathering

The main day of the gathering is July 4 when we observe silence from dawn until high noon and put our energy into manifesting world peace, the positive evolution of the planet and other good things.  Many people observe this with a prayer or mediation for world peace. Others do Yoga for world peace, blow bubbles for world peace, etc. Basically, if it's a silent, gentle energy then it fits in very well.  As to when the gathering starts, that's dynamic.  It's usually one day during the last week of June when some friends and I look at each other and say "today it's a gathering."  (of course you may pick a different date than I do when it feels like a gathering and not like seed camp).

The earlier you come the more self sufficient you need to be and relationships with the Forest Service can be rougher. On the other hand, showing up for seed camp allows you to influence the way the gathering goes and really plug into the workings of the gathering. If you show up later, say after June 27, then most (but not all) of the drama has subsided.  Traditionally the dates are listed as July 1 to 7, but most years people start leaving in droves on July 5th. Most years the gathering starts the last few days of June. It's hard to say when as it's an organic process, but one day it will feel like seed camp and the next day it will feel like a gathering.

Find the directions to the gathering at the Howdy Folks.

Ignore all rumors of cancellation or organization!

Live lightly with the Land and People!

Be the peaceful and loving person you want to see more of in this world.
Please copy and distribute this information widely

Vision Council Consensus

 

We, the Rainbow Family of Living Light, peacefully assembled as Vision Counsel, in the Mark Twain National Forest on the land, at the site of the 54th Annual Rainbow Gathering, in 2025, have lovingly reached consensus on the following: 

 

We invite all beings to cocreate the 55th Annual Rainbow Gathering from July 1-7, 2026, and to participate in a silent prayer and meditation for peace from dawn until noon on the fourth day of July, in a national forest in the lands currently known as Pennsylvania or New York. 

 

We lovingly invite all Indigenous and Native peoples of Turtle Island to join us in love and peace and solidarity. We recognize that all lands in this region are traditional Indigenous lands, and we invite your guidance to respect these sacred lands in a good way. 

 

We gratefully acknowledge the indispensable aid of veterans of foreign wars in visioning and creating the Rainbow Gathering we cherish today. We invite all veterans to join us in continuing to heal, and cocreate our peaceful village in the woods. 

 

Welcome Home! 

 

Fall Counsel will be October 16–20, 2025, with a potluck feast on October 16, a counsel circle October 17–19, and cleanup October 20. 

 

 

 

Vision Counsel finds value and lovingly encourages participation in regional gatherings on any public lands available as best suits regional family's success and safety. 

 

Rainbow Gatherings happen on the land. Know your sources!  

 

Weee Looove Youuu!