Barter Fair Blog

Earthdance!

2008-09-24T22:11:00.000-07:00

Earthdance was awesome! I highly encourage the curious to attend an Earthdance event (they're held around the world in September). The one I went to was in beautiful Mendocino county, California, at Black Oak Ranch near Laytonville. It was one of the most conscious and positive festivals I've ever been to. The music and live entertainment scattered across several stages and "domes" was amazing, there was a good variety of things to do, and the food and other vendors were the types of businesses I love to support. We had an easy time finding vegetarian and organic eats, there was an activist alley with non-profit booths, a healing village with massage, sound therapy, health products, etc. It was a bit hot, of course, but the weather was gorgeous all weekend.

The central point of the event was a prayer for peace, timed so that every event around the world is praying for peace simultaneously. It's a powerful experience. I boogied and hula hooped my butt off, saw Michael Franti & Spearhead, Buckethead, Anthony B, and many more live, did a little shopping, learned a lot, and had a blast. My only complaint is that I must've had too much fun because I came home with a cold.

Good vibes, good music, good fun. I'm definitely going again next year.

Rainbow Gathering 2008: Beauty, Bliss, and LEO Bullies

2008-07-15T17:12:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful time at the Rainbow Family Gathering this year near the Wind River Mountains in Wyoming. The site was the most beautiful I've seen so far and a great place for the family to gather. I met some wonderful family, was fed delicious food, and helped whenever I could during the week we were there. Memorable moments include seeing Grandpa Woodstock at main circle being his silly self, making some great trades at the trade circle, creative and delicious meals at several kitchens, meeting the Crucial Kitchen crew, chocolate chip cookies from Welcome Home on our way out, and seeing some of my favorite local musicians (from The Human Revolution) play for hours by the fire at Lovin' Ovens while eating delicious pizza.

The Wind River Mountains peeking over the forest above Main Meadow was a wonderful sight and we got to camp in a gorgeous aspen grove filled with wild flowers. The peace prayer was once again a powerful experience (I couldn't believe how big that circle of family got!) and the party afterwards was so much fun (and complete with watermelon for everyone!). But of course, along with the good comes the bad.

The Law Enforcement at this year's gathering was especially unfriendly, hostile, and even violent. Luckily I didn't have any bad encounters with them personally (other than being really confused by them when they told us to evacuate), many family members were hurt and traumatized by a hostile encounter with the LEOs on July 3 in Kid Village. I heard from people that were there that the cops had come in after an undercover saw someone smoking a certain substance. This led them to come into Kid Village, armed and pointing weapons at everyone. Several rounds of paintballs containing pepper powder were fired at the crowd, burning several people's eyes. The cops eventually left, escorted by an unarmed crowd yelling things like "Shame on You" and "No Violence." You can see videos taken by witnesses here, and read more about the Forest Service's mishandling of Rainbow Gatherings here. If you witnessed this event on July 3, please see this thread on tribe.net and see if your testimony could help.

On July 7th, a forest fire somehow started in the middle of the afternoon and the LEOs used this as an excuse to issue a "mandatory evacuation." They drove through the gathering in trucks and first told everyone with a car at Front Gate to go move it, then they wouldn't let us go to Front Gate and turned us around. I met a few brothers with shovels who said they had tried to go help fight the fire, but once they started fighting it the LEOs threatened to taze them if they didn't leave. The fire only burned one acre and was quickly put under control. It was outside of the Gathering area but they tried to evacuate us even after it was out and safe. We ended up leaving the next day, a bit earlier than expected, because so many people had left during the evacuation and it was pretty cleared out. Many were saying that the LEOs probably started the fire as a tactic to get everyone to leave, but I know that clean-up crews were not deterred and are still there. We love you, clean up!

I love my Rainbow Family, and I love going home, but it really worries me that the government treats a bunch of peaceful citizens gathering on public land like less than human criminals. It is a sad world indeed when the peaceful and non-violent people that we should be looking up to are targeted like terrorists by the officials that are supposed to "protect and serve." The Forest Service should be very ashamed at how they treat their fellow human beings at the Rainbow Gathering, especially this year in Wyoming. I am proud of the family for remaining non-violent and for keeping the rainbow spirit alive despite it all.

I'm looking forward to the 2009 Gathering, which I hear will be in New Mexico. Loving you, family!

The Spring Season is Upon Us (Ok, Well, Almost)

2008-01-25T14:12:00.000-08:00

It's January, time for the classic cabin fever syndrome as we await the sun, the spring, and most importantly, the spring barter faire season. I've been too busy moving to a new state to make many crafts, but I'll definitely be keeping busy now that I'm settled in so there's lots of stuff to trade this spring!

If anyone else is itching for a barter faire, I've got some great news for you. In the spirit of spring renewal, there's a new festival called the One Family Gathering, scheduled for May 2 - 4 in Central Oregon. This is a private party for the entire family. According to the One Family Gathering site:

The One Family Gathering will be a three day unity gathering near Christmas Valley, Oregon. The festival intends to unify a variety of cultures from many other peaceful gatherings. It will manifest as a weekend long event encompassing barter fairs, music festivals, parties, and reggae shows, surrounded by a free camping area.

This event has a focus slightly different from other festivals. We will provide a large, secure vendor section inside the event in addition to hosting two stages: a "party" tent with nonstop djs, hosted by DJ4NORML and the main "Quetzalcoatl" stage. Both stages will have a dynamic array of musicians performing twenty-four hours a day throughout the event. Featured musicians will include Katy Turner, Bijhan, Jack Burton, Laurianne, Matt Zeltzer, Naugahyde Nights, Norman Baker, SpiritMoon, Deep Sleep Narcotics Company, Renegade Minstrels, Cntrl Alt Delete, Dj Eff, DJ4NORML, Hippinshlog, Jahson Ites, Essential I, Dj Sticky, Huckleberry, Jensen, Min.d,Tommy Dean, Wehrwolve, HannaH*s Field, and First Name Michael, with more groups signing up daily.

Set in the high desert, One Family Gathering promises to entertain with over 70 music performances, a trade market, a drum circle, exceptional food vendors, and much more.

Vendors, volunteers, and musicians are still needed, but positions are filling up fast. So mosey on over to OneFamilyGathering.org, sign up for membership, and get the skinny on the event. I'm excited to see the faires spreading down the west coast, especially now that I'm living in NorCal. Hope the trend continues... See you all at the One Family Gathering!

End of the Season Reflections

2007-11-05T15:22:00.000-08:00

I'm having a hard time believing that it's November already, and sadly it brings the end of the fall barter faire season. I had a wonderful time at the Okanogan Family Faire, other than not being able to have my entire family there since dogs were banned. The vibe was mellow and positive, the weather cooperated for the most part, and there were a great variety of goods for trade. Most of the changes in faire policy seemed to go over well, although I heard a few complaints about the large price increase. It was a cold weekend so there was plenty of huddling and drumming around the hospitality fires, and we saw a lot of old friends and met some new ones.

One very noticeable absence from the faire this year was the sacred circle of flags near the front gate. When I asked why they weren't there, I was told the lady who normally brings them was sick. Also absent were the barter faire pooches, although there were quite a few service dogs. Good trades were made, delicious food was shared, and the nightlife was exciting. Fire dancers, live music, drum circles, late night elephant ears, and my personal favorite, "glow man" provided entertainment into the wee hours each night.

The Tonasket faire usually marks the end of the season, which is bitersweet for someone like me who didn't go to nearly enough barter faires this year! But, there is always next year, and until then, it's time to stay warm and get crafty to stock up on tradeables for next spring's barter faires.

I hope everyone had a wonderful time at the faires this fall, I look forward to the spring season. Until then, keep in touch with your barter family here on the barter faire online community!

The Annual Trek to Tonasket

2007-10-15T23:16:00.000-07:00

This will be my sixth annual trip to the Okanogan Family Faire, and although I'm a newbie to the scene by some standards, this faire has become a big part of my life. I enjoy any barter faire, but the Tonasket faire has always been one that I look forward to and the largest one that I attend each year.

This year, of course, there are many changes taking place as the faire is growing and adjusting. Policies, prices, and rules are all undergoing a shift. I can't say I'm happy about some of them (i.e. the dog ban) but I can understand why changes are happening. I just hope that the spirit of the faire I have come to know and love is not diminished and that the new rules don't keep out the people that make the faire so special.

I've made a batch of soap, have been busy making jewelry, and the bus is packed and almost ready to roll. Okanogan Family Faire usually marks the end of the barter faire season, and regretfully I didn't make it to many faires this season. So I gotta get my barter faire kicks for the season all in one dose. Here's to the Okanogan Family Faire retaining its original barter faire spirit, for a successful and fun faire for everyone. See you there!

Changes for Okanogan Family Faire

2007-09-12T17:09:00.000-07:00

Change is in the air this fall, evidenced in that some policy changes that have been in the works for a while are taking place at the 2007 Okanogan Family Faire. Nothing too major, for the most part. But of course, as an animal lover and doggie parent, I'm upset to hear that dogs are banned this year.

Please see my thoughts on dogs at the faire, and chime in on the discussion going on in various virtual barter faire realms, and if you're so inclined, comments can be made to the Okanogan Family Faire Board of Directors by:

email: board@okanoganfamilyfaire.com
write to us at: P.O. Box 761, Tonasket, WA 98855
or call the OFF office message line at: 509-486-2173.

While I'm deciding what to do with my best buddy and fur-child Juneau, I am hoping to come to the Okanogan Family Faire and volunteer to make it happen. The only way to really ensure change is to speak up and to act, right? The more people that get involved, the more the faire becomes a democracy.

Well, I'm heading back on the road tomorrow, so I won't be online much. I hope to see you all at some faires now that the fall season is upon us!

~peace, love & light!~

I Miss My Barter Faires!

2007-08-26T16:10:00.000-07:00

While we've been traveling around in the "volksvegan" this summer, we definitely haven't been to enough barter faires. We skipped Rainbow because it was too far away this year and we decided to play in Canada's National Parks instead. We still haven't been to Oregon Country Fair because they don't allow dogs and when you live in a VW bus, it's impossible to leave the dog at "home." We didn't go to the Llama Family Reunion because my cousin's wedding was the same weekend (plus I was a little put off by the admission costs). We're not sure if we'll make it to Santa, although that's definitely one of my favorite faires (and it's free!), but we hope to make it to the Montana faire and of course, the Okanogan Family Faire in Tonasket. So I'm waiting anxiously for the next faire I can go to, and I'm super excited for the fall faire season!

I'm not sure why there aren't more spring and summer faires, and more in general. They can be difficult to organize, and of course one needs a large plot of private land and a bit of cash to get it started, but I'd love to see more new faires sprout up. As our elders get older, eventually younger generations will have to start organizing new faires and keeping the old ones alive. It's no easy feat, but I am hopeful that the barter faire spirit is still thriving and more faires will be born. I know if I had a big plot of land (and someday I will) I would definitely host a few faires each year. The more small faires that get started, the more we have a chance to get to know one another and rekindle a strong sense of community. Having faires more often also takes some of the burden off of the larger faires like OFF, which is growing so much that people have to be turned away for lack of space. Faires have come and gone in the few years I have been attending them, and it's great to see new ones flourish and grow year after year, but sad to see others fade away. So let's start a few more and keep the barter traditions alive!

Community Building at the OFF Spring Volunteer Summit

2007-05-23T08:56:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I attended the second annual Okanogan Family Faire Spring Volunteer Summit at the faire's site near Tonasket. After volunteering last year at the fall faire, I was interested in getting involved and meeting other volunteers and the people behind the barter faire I have enjoyed for many years. It was a gorgeous weekend, and the land is very different but just as beautiful in the spring as it is in the fall.

I was especially excited for this trip because it would be the first trip in our "volksvegan" since we got a new engine. We made great time thanks to turbo power, and as usual the bus was the perfect little home base for the weekend. We arrived late Friday night and it was almost eerie driving into the empty valley that is usually chock-full of barterfarians. We drove all the way back to the back of the site, where a small gathering of people was nestled against the hills.

On Saturday morning we awoke (a bit late) to see a circle of people joining hands in an openining ceremony. At the center of the gathering were the well-known white flags, blowing in the wind and arranged into an inner and outer circle, that served as the spiritual center for the weekend. While I missed some of the discussion Saturday morning after sleeping in, I heard that the faire's growing size and the increasing drug abuse within the family was discussed. Unfortunately I didn't hear much about why dogs were banned from this year's faire though. But I did hear that dogs were represented at the morning opening ceremony: a dog came out of nowhere and joined his paws with the people in the circle! So the dog spirit was in attendance, although my pooch still wants an explanation as to why he can't come to one of his favorite events any more...

Saturday afternoon continued with meeting some great new people (I even met Ryan, the founder and organizer of Spokane's Hemp Fest, which I will have to try to go to this year) and attending workshops for volunteers. While my partner and his brother met with a drug task force officer to discuss drugs at the faire, I wandered over to the kitchen, where I am thinking about volunteering for the fall faire, and met with a few kitchen folk. We planned a preliminary menu for the fall faire and discussed ideas on running the kitchen, and we even decided on a taco bar for Sunday at the faire! Woohoo! After that we went to a conflict management workshop led by three experts in various psychology fields. Since dealing with rowdy, often intoxicated barterfarians is part of every volunteer's job, I thought this information on de-escalating situations and verbal and non-verbal communication was very useful.

After the workshops, we went on a hike up the hill overlooking the faire and soaked in the view. The valley that is normally filled with thousands of people at the faire was full of only grass and beautiful purple wildflowers, and the weather was beautiful all weekend, so with clear skies it was quite a view! Later in the evening was a potluck dinner that included veggie stew and buffalo stew (of course I had the veggie, as well as lots of fresh veggies, delicious bread, hummus, and all kinds of yummies made with love).

After dinner and a bit of socializing, we gathered around the fire to discuss the faire and introduce coordinators. One thing I learned from this discussion is that the barter faire is in dire need of the younger generation to step up and get involoved - the elders who have been running the faire for nearly thirty years are ready to pass the torch, so dedicated volunteers (especially younger ones) are needed! A date for the fall faire will not be set until all coordinator positions are filled, so if you have any interest in volunteering, now is the time to do it! See the OFF Site for more info on how to get involved. Speaking of the OFF site, I volunteered to work with some of the faire visionaries to redesign the web site, so that should be an exciting project and hopefully the site gets a facelift before the fall.

After a night of drumming and socializing by the fires, Sunday morning we held a closing ceremony. It was a truly spiritual experience as we focused on peace (it was World Pray for Peace Day) and I noticed that the wind blew through the flags with intensity during certain parts of our prayer circle. We finished off our prayer with a long "oooohhhhhhhmmmmm" and then a hokey pokey dance to lighten the mood.

Before leaving, we went on a walk around the site picking up garbage. I was amazed at how many little pieces of trash (especially cigarette butts - gross!) are all over the valley. We filled up several bags with little bits of barter faire trash - bottle caps, bits of twine, plastic pieces, butts, etc. We hardly made a dent in the trash but had to get on the road for a long drive home. So, from someone who experienced firsthand the effects our faire has on the land, PLEASE clean up after yourselves when you're at faires. The land is sacred and should be treated with respect.

All in all, the Spring Volunteer Summit was a great experience. Everyone was genuinely kind and warm-hearted, I met many friends new and old, and learned a lot about how the faire is run and the people who run it. We were blessed with beautiful weather and the spirit of togetherness, and the tiny gathering was quite a contrast to the loud and gigantic fall faire. I highly recommend attending future volunteer summits and getting involved in the faires in whatever way you can. It makes the experience more rewarding and gives you a say in the future of the faires. After all, big changes are on the way as the faire grows, and we need an able volunteer force to grow along with it and lead the way.

Moscow Hempfest: Fun as Usual

2007-05-03T23:44:00.001-07:00

I always look forward to Moscow Hempfest each April. For one, I live in Moscow and it's one of the hippest events we have in this little town. And for the last two years I have designed the t-shirts, flyers, posters, and other promotional graphics for the event, so when Hempfest day is here that means my work is done! Once again we just about sold out of shirts this year, so that's a good sign. The theme was "Hemp Can Save the World" and we handed out information about the many uses of hemp (printed on hemp paper of course), sold the Hempfest shirts made of hemp fiber, and even had a couple of medical cannabis patients speaking on stage and helping at the event. The main goal of Moscow Hempfest is to raise awareness of this amazing plant and bring about change: namely, making cannabis legal again and undoing decades of government suppression and misinformation about the plant.

This year was the 11th Annual Moscow Hempfest and it was held on April 21st, 2007. We had a wonderful turn out despite a bit of rain and cool weather, and some great musicians came from all over (including many from the local area) to entertain merry hempsters all day. There was good food (although not enough vegetarian food in my opinion), lots of vendors with a variety of goods, non-profit groups offering information, and of course, many wonderful people in attendance. At the end of the day, there was a drum circle around a fire, the perfect ending to a wonderful event!

Hempfests seem to be sprouting up all over, taking after Seattle's monumental event held every August. I am rather surprised and quite impressed that Moscow (a small town of just over 20,000 people in very conservative Idaho) has had a Hempfest for 11 years. Spokane, Washington began holding a hempfest just recently, and Portland started one in the past few years as well. Each event has its own flavor, but all contribute to the hemp legalization movement and educate people about the wonders of this wonderful plant.

To everyone who helped make this year's Moscow Hempfest a success, even if that just meant attending it, thank you! As Moscow Hempfest expands and we face new challenges, we hope that Hempfest continues to grow strong, enlighten people, and inspire change. Having a great time is, of course, always part of Hempfest as well. How could you not be happy after having a Ruthie Roll for breakfast? :)

Barter Faires as a Model for Sustainable Living

2007-02-05T10:12:00.000-08:00

With all the recent talk on Global Warming and the IPCC Report on climate change being released recently, I have been thinking about how we can make barter faires more sustainable. Barter Faires, the Rainbow Gathering, and other similar events are already attended by earth-loving people who make the planet a priority in their lives, but any large gathering of people has an effect on the earth, so we need to be especially conscious of our footprint when we gather. I have often thought (and I know I'm not alone) that in the event of a catastrophe resulting from global climate change, all of society may end up going back to a more primitive way of living on the land, similar to the way we live at Rainbow or at a barter faire. We have a lot to teach the rest of society and we have proven that living in harmony with the land is possible, but I hope we can continue to reduce our footprint at gatherings and become an even better model for sustainable living.

So here are a few ideas I have for making barter faires and gatherings more sustainable:

We can begin by cleaning up the sites we use for faires and enforcing the "pack it in, pack it out" policy. At a Scotia Road faire I attended last year, I noticed that the site has obviously been used for events without much thought to sustainability. Trash was scattered everywhere, people were burning plastic and other polluting materials, and there wasn't really a system in place to clean things up. A plan for dealing with trash should be part of every faire, and each person should take responsibility in cleaning up their camp and reminding others to do the same.

Perhaps we need an "earth defense team" of sorts at each faire to educate attendees about keeping their camps clean, what types of garbage can and cannot be burned, and where to recycle. Recyclables need to be collected and sorted, and if possible we should also separate compost from other trash, as is normally done at the Rainbow Gatherings.

Each person needs to be more conscious of the effects of their actions on the earth. This means sharing community fires instead of having one in every camp, being responsible for cleaning up your own (and possibly others') trash and recyclables, and taking care to preserve the natural setting of the faire as much as possible. Tread lightly and be aware, and of course, spread the word!

Barter faires and gatherings are a wonderful place to share information on alternative and sustainable forms of energy. I have seen many examples of this at faires already, such as a solar shower at Okanogan Family Faire, and a solar cooker at a Rainbow Gathering. We can use the faires as a way to educate ourselves, share what we've learned, and see alternative sources of energy in action.

Promoting alternative lifestyles has always been a part of counter-culture gatherings, so we need to continue to promote ways of life that are easier on the earth. This means bringing vegetarian and vegan food (which uses far fewer resources and pollutes less than meat-based meals) to share, creating and enforcing rules (such as banning generators and keeping cars turned off once parked) that protect the natural environment at the faires, and educating others about how to live more sustainably. This also means taking the knowledge and experience we gain at the faires into the larger world, and begin making changes at home as well.

There are so many intelligent and amazing people who attend barter faires. I always learn something new and am touched by the beautiful people that surround me at every faire I attend. Wouldn't it be great to put our minds together at the faire and brainstorm how we can live a greener life both inside and outside the faires? We could begin by having workshops, brainstorming sessions, and discussions at barter faires on topics such as green building, alternative energy, organic farming, spreading the green message, etc. We can bring our experiences and ideas together and focus our energy to bring about change. We can use this knowledge that we share at gatherings to begin projects that focus on sustainability, both at faires and in the larger world.

We should make efforts to reduce the pollution produced as a side effect of the faires. This means encouraging car-pooling to the faire locations and using alternatively-powered vehicles. It may even mean reducing the size of faires so that less gas is burned for people to get there. We need to make sure we are gathering on areas that are not environmentally sensitive to begin with. We should not burn materials such as plastic and styrofoam in the fires, and reduce the number of fires overall to reduce air pollution. We need to have enough restrooms and spread them out so that no one is tempted to pollute groundwater and endangering public health by going to the bathroom in the woods or on the ground. Clean-up crews should be set up at every faire to sort recyclables, remove all trash from the site, re-seed eroded areas, and generally make sure that we are leaving no trace.

There are many more ways we can live more sustainably both at the faires and in our everyday lives. I hope you will all share your ideas, either by leaving a comment on this post or by discussing this topic on the forum. We need to use the faires and gatherings as incubators for change and continue to live our ideals at the faires and beyond. The barter faire community is more conscious than most, and I have faith that we will continue to be environmental leaders and examples of how to live in harmony with each other and the earth.

It's Holiday Time...

2006-12-07T15:53:00.000-08:00

Winter is certainly lacking in barter faires, but it's a great time to catch up on reading, make crafts and goods to trade at the faires, and celebrate the holidays with friends. Hopefully I'll be doing all three this winter.

The holidays are always a busy time but hopefully y'all will keep in touch with your barter faire friends and come say hi in the forum this winter. Keep the memories alive! :)

Hopefully by next spring I will have some time to make some changes & improvements to the barter faire site. In the meantime, if you have any information on upcoming events, please e-mail me and I will post them on the site.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Winter Brings Change

2006-11-16T09:33:00.000-08:00

The last few months have been extremely busy and there have been quite a few changes in terms of the Barter Faire site! I guess I'll start with a summary of my favorite annual barter faire, the Okanogan Family Faire near Tonasket, WA. I had a great time and stayed very very busy this year volunteering as a dog patrol coordinator. This was my first year volunteering for the faire (well, other than being a year-round webmaster for this site), and it was very rewarding. I arrived in the wee hours of Thursday morning and parked just inside the gates & went to set up camp. We got a great spot near the drum circle and camped with friends. Thursday morning I started by checking in vendors with dogs, explaining dog rules, and drinking a lot of maté to keep me awake. I worked pretty much all of Thursday & Friday checking cars for dogs, handing out collar tags, explaining the rules to folks as they came in, helping set up the "doggie hilton" cages and siging up dog patrol volunteers. I was amazed at how many volunteers signed up, and how well-behaved most of the pooches were. There were still a few stubborn folks who didn't want to leash their dogs, but most people are pretty rational when spoken to rationally. :)

I set up my booth Friday and had friends watch it most of the time while I was volunteering. On Saturday I got to do some serious trading and made some great trades. One of the best was probably trading my herbal massage oil for foot massages for my boyfriend & I. I also got a beautiful patchwork dress and hand-made fairy wings. Yay! The faire was huge this year, so big that people had to be turned away at the gate and all the day camping lots were full of campers. It was beautiful weather (although we got a bit of rain on Sunday) and the vibes were wonderful as well. I got to do some dancing by the fire, see some great bands like Panda Conspiracy, check out the awesome fire dancers, and fall asleep to the sound of the drum circle. The food, as usual, was excellent, especially the brick-oven pizza and organic oatmeal. Mmmmm... I got to hang out with all kinds of friends old & new and made some great trades. And that's what barter faire is all about!

I hope all that attended had a great time at Okanogan Family Faire — I highly recommend volunteering if you've never done it before. The faire is run on volunteers and they're needed even more as it grows. The growth has caused some problems and quite a bit of discussion among faire planners, so we need all the help, ideas, and good vibes we can get...

The Okanogan Family Faire is the last barter faire of the season, and of course I'm sad to see the season end. I can't wait until springtime when the faires start up again. Until then, I'll be crafting and looking for the community on the forum, so stop in & say hi! And speaking of this site, I'm sure you all probably noticed that it has moved. After a year or two of redesigning, expanding, and maintaining the site at barterfair.org, the owner of the barterfair.org domain name, Ed-I, has taken the site back and has different plans. So I didn't want to see such a good thing go to waste, and moved the content I developed to a new domain name, barterfaire.org (with the olde tyme "e" on "faire"). Now that the site is all up to me, I hope it will grow into a nurturing community atmosphere and a place to share information, stories, and memories. Please spread the word about the move and tell everyone you know that everything on barterfair.org is now on barterfaire.org (don't forget that "e"!) — with more on the way soon! Unfortunately the forum didn't make the switch, so we had to start from scratch. So you better go introduce yourself all over again on the forum and keep the conversation alive all winter long! :)

Thanks for your support and your visits, I hope everyone enjoys the new site and participates in the community online. I am open to suggestions for improvement, and as always I need information on upcoming faires and events, so keep me posted! Have a Peaceful & Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Getting ready for the last big Barter Fair!

2006-10-10T20:18:00.000-07:00

I'm leaving tomorrow for Okanogan Family Faire near Tonasket, Washington. As any barter fair veteran knows, this event is probably the biggest barter fair of the fall, as well as the last of the fall season. I've gone for the past 4 years or so, and it just keeps getting better every year. I've also had the opportunity to get more involved in the faire. This year I'm volunteering as a dog patrol coordinator. Dogs have been an increasing problem as the Okanogan Family Faire gets bigger every year. Last year a child was bitten and one dog killed another. OFF organizers are taking the dog issue very seriously and so dog patrol was created. As someone who loves animals and taking her dog to the barterfair, when I was asked if I would be interested in helping out I jumped at the chance. If we're successful we can prevent dogs from being banned altogether in the next few years. If you're interested in helping check dogs in, remind owners to keep them on a leash and clean up after them, etc., dog patrol would love volunteers! Just sign up at the volunteer bus, it will be to the left right before the gate. The doggies and dog patrollers need you!

I've been getting ready for the fair for a while, but still it seems like I procrastinated on a lot of stuff (as usual, it sneaks up pretty quickly). All my tradables are ready though - soap, massage oil, gemstone & hemp jewelry. Now we're packing up and doing last-minute repairs on the bus to get her ready for the fair. Speaking of which, I better go finish packing! See y'all at the fair, be safe & have a blast! :)

Dogs at Faires

2006-09-06T21:14:00.000-07:00

If you've ever run into me at a barter faire, you've undoubtedly met my dog Juneau. He LOVES the faires, where he gets lots of attention and compliments, and gets to sniff and play with other dogs. He is always on a leash and goes with us everywhere, but unfortunately not all the doggies at the faire are so well taken care of. There are many dogs that are not on a leash, running loose and causing trouble (dog fights, messes, or even injuries) at the faires. Juneau was attacked by a couple of pitbulls at our first Gathering (they were both running around off-leash and un-neutered) and thankfully we were right there to break up the fight. There have been children bitten at faires, lots of lost dogs, and many dogs cruelly chained to cars and left alone in campsites. Dogs can cause problems, but more often than not, the problem stems from an irresponsible doggie parent.

Because of the problems dogs and their owners cause, the folks organizing the Okanogan Family Faire have considered banning dogs altogether. I really don't want to see this happen. Juneau would hate to miss out on one of his favorite events, and since he has separation anxiety it would be very difficult to leave him at home. Pooches provide warmth on cold nights, lots of love, entertainment, and companionship at the faires, and I wouldn't want them to be left out of the fun. So I am volunteering to be a "dog coordinator" at the Okanogan Family Faire this year, and hopefully if we can get the doggies under control and prove that everyone can be responsible for their companions, we can prevent dogs from being banned.

The rules are tightening up this year, so I need your cooperation in making sure that everyone has a great faire and doggies will continue to be welcome. PLEASE keep your dogs on a leash (and have a responsible person holding the leash) at all times! Even small dogs or dogs that are usually good off-leash can react differently in unfamiliar situations, and we certainly don't want your friend to get lost or get in a fight. If you're bringing your dog, be prepared to pay the fee ($35). Doggy patrol volunteers will be tagging dogs that are paid for and watching for dogs that aren't. Please don't chain your furry friend or leave him or her unattended at any time. Dogs are like children, they need supervision and lots of love.

To join the discussion about dogs at the faire, please see the forum discussion. We'd love your input. And, we always need volunteers! When you get to the gate, you can mention that you'd like to be a doggy patrol volunteer and help out.

With your help, it will be a great faire for ALL species, and we can keep dogs at the Tonasket faire!

EDIT: The dog rules have now been decided upon. To see dog guidlines and information, check out this flyer. More information is available on the OFF site. And we definitely need your help! To volunteer for dog patrol, just stop at the volunteer bus before heading into the faire and let them know you'd like to help. Remember that four hours of volunteering gets you into the faire for free, and you might even get to work with me to make this faire safer and happier for dogs and people. :)

Some awesome videos

2006-08-22T19:09:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share some amazing and beautifully done videos called "Warriors of the Rainbow" filmed at the 2004 CA gathering (my first one! yay!):

And here's an example of democracy in action at Rainbow in CO this year. Nonviolence works!

Rainbow Family Peaceably Schools Police, Dissolves Roadblock

peace! :)

Fall Season is Coming Up!

2006-08-11T22:41:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's August already! And the fall barter fairs are just around the corner. As you can see I added all the dates I know about so far to the front page, as well as a bunch of concerts, festivals, and other fun stuff. Cuz it's summer & you never can have too much fun! I'm hoping to go to a few, just haven't finalized plans yet. I'm definitely going to be at Santa though. For those that haven't been, it is a wonderful little faire that is FREE and only about an hour from Moscow (yay!) and quite a lovely drive. It's very family-friendly and there's a potluck, so don't forget to bring something to share. See ya'll there, and possibly at String Summit & Seattle Hempfest as well.

Now go post on that forum, dammit, it's dead in there! :)

All Roads Lead to Rainbow!

2006-06-21T09:30:00.000-07:00

I'm getting ready to head to the Rainbow Gathering near Steamboat Springs, CO. This will be my second Gathering (first was in CA, 2004) and I'm so excited that it's hard to concentrate on all the work I need to get done before I leave! I was looking through my travel journal from the 2004 Gathering and came upon a couple of lists I made that I thought would be fun to share. So here goes...

Rainbow Lingo
The Rainbow Gathering has its own language, so here's what I learned at my first Gathering:

Everyone = Brothers & Sisters
Candy = ZuZus
Cops are coming! = 6-UP!
Toilet = Shitter
I agree = Ho!
Peace-keeper = Shanti Sena
First Aid = CALM (Center for Alternative Living Medicine)
Greeting = Welcome Home!
Donations = Green Energy (in the Magic Hat)
Asking for a smoke-out = Fishing or Needing a Plumber
Dishes = Blissware
Babylon = regular society outside of Rainbow

What to Bring
There are a few things I wish I had at the first Gathering, and a few things I was really glad I brought, so I made a list of stuff to bring next time:

Tarp & rope (to make a shelter from the hot sun)
Poncho for the cold nights
Beanie (my head got cold, luckily I traded for one)
Lots of tea
Magnifying Glass
Cart to haul stuff into camp
Head lamp
Drums
Food to donate to kitchens
A camelback to keep water handy
Biodegradable soap
Garbage bags to sort out recycleables & trash
SUNSCREEN
First Aid kit with Ace bandages (would've come in handy when we were the first ones to show up to help a kid who broke his leg on the mountain!)
A smile and an open mind

Lessons Learned
Finally, I thought I'd share some of the things the Rainbow Gathering taught me. It really changed my life!

Vegan & Vegetarian food is DAMN GOOD, even when eaten out of a dusty bowl and served out of a 10 gallon bucket. Actually the Rainbow Gathering is what convinced me to finally go vegetarian, and I haven't eaten meat since. It was way easier than I thought and Rainbow showed me how good veggie food could be.
People are inherently good.
Home is where the family is, where your heart is, and you may not know where it is until you're there.
We don't need money, an alternative way of living is possible and the barter system works.
Volunteering is one of the most rewarding experiences you could have.
Love is everywhere, we've just forgotten how to express it and seek it.
When people work together, anything is possible.
The power of collective focus & prayer is palpable.
Dogs off-leash are bad news! (My pooch was attacked by 2 unleashed pitbulls at once, not pretty.)
We need to respect the land and each other, it's something we've forgotten how to do in Babylon.
Collective consciousness and action is our only hope for changing the world.
If everyone smells, you don't notice how badly you need a shower.
Everyone needs to get back in touch with nature, and with each other.

Hope to see you at the Colorado Gathering! :)

New Barter Fair Blog

2006-05-19T22:47:00.000-07:00

What better way to remember barter fair stories, share information of interest to the barter fair community, pass along news, and share pictures than a barter fair blog? I figured the barter fair site could use just that. :)

So here's my idea for this blog, and I may need your help. I'd like to gather a small group of barterfair family who are good writers, interested in the community, and full of useful information and stories. We can take turns posting on topics of interest to the blog, like sharing links, news articles, commenting on current events, reminiscing about a recent fair, sharing some information on the goods or services you barter, or generally talking about the barter fair lifestyle. Hopefully these will be longish, thought-out articles, not just random ramblings (save that for the forum, lol!). Over time we will build up a wealth of information and memories on the blog.

Anyone like this idea? Who's with me? Am I the only one addicted to blogging? So if you are interested, please e-mail me at megan@barterfaire.org and let me know why you're interested, what topics you'd like to talk about, how regularly you can post, and if you have one, a writing sample or link to an existing blog you write. Elders and barter fair veterans are especially encouraged to participate and share their knowledge and experience with the family. Let me know what y'all think, and check back often. :)

peace!