9th Annual LammasFest Interview

The 9th annual LammasFest will be held July 29th – 31st, 2011 at Cottonwood
Campsite near Coralville, Iowa. This year, Chris and Melanie Moore will present the ritual and festival goers will be divided into four tribes.  “The Holy
Powers: Grove, River, Gorge, and Sky Hunter” and will be “hand-fasted as
one, at the Shrine of the Harvest Mother.”

Every year, LammasFest honors the hawks at the camp site by adopting a
red-tailed hawk at the MacBride Raptor Center with the proceeds from the
festival. This local event invites different local groups to present the ritual
every year, exposing the community to the many paths that make up the Pagan
umbrella.

Marsha, one of the organizers of LammasFest was kind enough to share more
information about the event with PNC-Iowa.

PNC-Iowa: Your website hints at a great beginning for the first LammasFest.  Would you care to elaborate on that story?
Marsha: I think you are referring to the story surrounding the hawk. In the
spring of 2003, a group of committee members toured various sites, hoping to
find the perfect home for our event. When they arrived at the Cottonwood
Campground, they were greeted by a large number of red-tailed hawks in the
canopy and soaring above the site. They took it as a sign that this was the
best site for our event, and the hawks inspired our choice of charities to
support, the MacBride Raptor Project. Each year we adopt a red-tailed hawk at
the MacBride Raptor Center to support with our donation.

PNC: Can you tell us a bit about how you plan LammasFest? Does the same group organize the event every year?
Marsha: There is a committee that plans the event each year, the Iowa Lammas
Group, which is a nonprofit group registered with the State of Iowa. That being
said, membership in that committee has changed over the years; I believe there
are only 2 members who have been on the committee every year. We try to do our first meeting for the following year’s event in the fall, and then meet
monthly after the new year. We are exploring the option of using various
technologies to be able to include those who do not live locally in the planning
process for future events.

PNC: What is it about the event that keeps you coming back and working for it?
Marsha: First, I love LammasFest because it is local and I believe creating
our own local/regional events is very important for the pagan community. I love to see our community come together each year and having the opportunity to reconnect with old friends that I may only see at this event, and to meet new
friends at each event as people find us. I also love the cause we support,
the MacBride Raptor Project. Finally, I suppose I shouldn’t forget to mention
that it was through LammasFest that I met my husband.

PNC: Can you tell us about a great memory you have from LammasFest?
Marsha: It would be hard to pick just one single memory, so I will offer
instead a collective memory that is my favorite part of LammasFest, the main
ritual each year. We invite a different group or individual each year to
present the Lammas ritual in the way they celebrate. Some years these rituals
have been very formal, in ways ‘d only previously read in books, while others
have been more informal and/or spontaneous. Many traditions have been
represented, and I’ve enjoyed them all!

PNC: What is the importance of having a long running event like this in Iowa?
Marsha: I believe we need local/regional events to provide support and community for the pagans in Iowa and the surrounding area. We need to see that there are others just like us (meaning having similar beliefs and lifestyles) and know that we are not alone, no matter how much it sometimes feels that we are.   I think it is very important to see how other people worship, how it is the
same and how it is different, so that our spiritual lives continue to grow.  Even solitaries-by-choice sometimes enjoy the communion with like minds and
spirits, and everyone benefits from discussions that provide the space for
growth of ideas and sharing of beliefs and workshops that teach new skills.
Events like this also help us each build our own web – of elders to approach for
advice, teachers to preserve and pass on traditions, like spirits to work and
celebrate with, artisans to create the tools and treasures we desire, vendors to
help us locate the supplies we need, other parents to show us different ways we
can raise our children within our beliefs…

PNC: What is in store for 2011?
Marsha: We will have many of the old favorites from events past, the
community harvest feast, a candlelight labyrinth, workshops, rituals, vendors, a
raffle, and a presentation from the MacBride Raptor Project. This year will
also include musical guest Celia, who is returning after several years away. And, for the first time ever, we will have a food vendor at the event, Chef Jenn’s Kitchen! We might have fire spinners on Saturday night. And this year’s ritual promises to be spectacular!

PNC: How can we get involved?
Marsha: Well, the best way is to pre-register and attend the festival! We offer
weekend and Saturday only registration. Walk-in registration is also an option,
but it is much easier for our planning process if as many people as possible
register in advance (there is food to buy for the Community Feast, site tokens
to make for attendees, etc). If you find you enjoy the festival, perhaps next
year you would like to help out at the event, or even join the planning
committee!

More information and a registration form can be found on the LammasFest website, http://lammasfest.us.

Thank you, Marsha and LammasFest, for putting on this event.

Posted by: Crystal

Editorial: Why I Donated to Sacred Paths Center

The opinions presented in Editorials on this blog are those of the writer(s) and do not necessarily represent the views ofThe Pagan Newswire Collective, its sponsoring organization, PNC staff, fiscal supporters, or volunteers.

I recently donated to the Sacred Paths Center in Minnesota although I am not in Minnesota and I am doubtful I will ever make it up to Paganistan. Why, then, did I donate? I did it because I believe in putting my money where my mouth is, and because they didn’t plead with me for it.

The site for Sacred Paths says it all, “There are thousands of us here in the Twin Cities metro, and among us all, we can’t give $3000 a month to keep that banner standing open. What does that say “really say” about “Pagan Community”?” The SPC have made a stand and are challenging the Pagan community to stop talking and start doing.

I could say they should have started smaller, with a lower overhead and less things going on. $3000 a month does sound like outrageous rent to me, but I’m not from that area. I could say I don’t have enough to donate. After all, I am a single mom struggling to get out of debt. I could say that I will never go visit.

Instead, I donated $10.

The center is a community center, a place that is wholly Pagan and sacred. It isn’t a meeting room at the UU or a shelter at a park. It is a visible, tangible place where Pagans can be Pagans and leave the sacred altar flame alight. It is a place where other religions can see we are dedicated to our faith and here to stay.

I long for such a temple here in Central Iowa. If I cannot support Pagan community elsewhere, how am I to support it at home? Who else is going to want to put forth the effort to make a physical place for Pagans when Paganistan cannot keep one going? What hope is there my Iowan temple if they can’t do it? Therefore, I put my money in a cause I believe in.

If ten people like me donate $10 each, that’s a $100. But more importantly, that’s ten people willing to give of themselves to see our community grow and thrive. That’s ten people invested in the future of our faith.

Written by Crystal, Ames, IA.

Posted by:  Crystal

IOWAN Camp Out for Lammas

IOWAN, the Iowa Organization of Witches and Neopagans, will gather on the last weekend in July for a Lammas camp out.  The story of John Barleycorn will be shared, feats of strength witnessed, and corn dollies made.  There will be several workshops, include one about camp cooking and baking.  This family friendly event will be camping in a back yard, so bring your camping equipment and food.

The camp out will take place in Monroe, Iowa, which is about an hour east of Des Moines. The event begins Saturday, July 30th at 12pm and ends Sunday, July 31st and 12pm, however, campers are welcome to come out on Friday.  Astarte MoonSilver, of IOWAN,  will be running the event and ritual.

For more details, address, and directions, contact Kevin (Sings With Coyotes) by email at SingsWCoyotes1 AT aol.com or Astarte at astartemoonsilver AT yahoo.com.

Posted by:  Crystal

Faerie Festival On Saturday, July 16th, 2011

The Iowa Pagan Alliance‘s 2nd annual Faerie Festival will take place on Saturday, July 16th, at Union Park in Des Moines, Iowa. The festival begins at 10am with a group ritual and ends at 6pm. There is a full list of workshops for the adults and a children’s area for the younger ones.

The price of admission is a donation of home and personal products for the Women & Children’s Advocacy Group which helps support those who find themselves in domestic and sexual assault situations.

Schedule of Events:
10:00-10:30 Opening Ceremony
10:30-11:00 Magick Theory (science side of magick) – Cody Johnson
11:00-11:30 Medicine Wheel – Dave Carr
11:30-12:00 Idol Worship – Wade White
12:00-12:30 Inner Planes Paranormal Discussion
12:30-1:00 Pagan Chants – Liz Röhret
1:00-2:00 Red Tail (Ralph Moisa Yaquid Tribe) Native American Tradition and Song
2:00-2:30 How To Design A Cloak – Jamila Hulbert Kepple
2:30-3:00 Faerie Tradition – Rev. Linda Countryman H.P.S.
3:00-3:30 Tibet Singing Bowl & Tuning Fork – Lahoma Simons
3:30-4:00 Mirage Belly Dancers (Middle Eastern Dance)
4:00-4:30 Moon Signs & Moon Lore – Dave Countryman
4:30-5:00 How To Work With A Pendulum – Rev. Linda Countryman H.P.S.
5:00-5:30 Violin, Drums, Guitar & Flute – Ed Hotkins & Dave Carr
5:30-6:00 Closing Ceremony

Check out the Iowa Pagan Alliance’s Facebook page for more information.

Posted by:  Crystal

An Interview with Pagan Pride Day

October 1, 2011 will be the third year in a row that Iowa will host a Pagan Pride Day celebration. Chrissy Dunham, Administrator of Pagan Pride Day, was kind enough to give PNC-Iowa an insight into the event and some information on a Pagan land project where future PPD events might take place.

PNC-Iowa: I believe this is the second year you have been the Administrator.
How did you, Chrissy and the Coven of the Blessed Lady, get involved in running
Pagan Pride Day?

Pagan Pride Day: In 2009 an old friend Linda, ask me to help her out with Pagan Pride. Linda and I have worked on an event before so I said yes. It was a busy year that year as I had 3 family events going on myself that year. A wedding, graduation and a big sweet 16th birthday party. After the Pagan Pride event, Linda decided to go on another adventure and decided to continue it. I have a coven and knew that they would help if needed.

PNC: It must take a lot to put together an event like PPD. Can you tell us a
bit about how it all comes together?

PPD: Well it just depends. if you are a person that is new to organizing an
event then yes it will be hard. However, if you had some experience like I had
you gain a lot of connection with people over the years and it comes together
nicely. I have been organizing events since 2000. I like Pagan Pride the best as
it has more people attending! The hardest part is fund raisers. Finding new
ideas and getting the people to come.

PNC: What is it about the event that keeps you coming back and working for it?

PPD: What motivates me is the pagan community. Getting them a chance to meet a well-known pagan author and to help each person in the pagan community to get connected with an old friend or find new friends. Connected to pagan shopping vendors, entertainers and other pagan groups in their area. I do it for the pagan community no matter if we have 50 in attendance or 500. I do it for them.  I am only a tool for the Goddess to help bring her children together as one.

PNC: Can you tell us about a great memory you have from PPD? How about a worst memory?

PPD: Well last year in 2010 we got Raven Grimassi to come along with his wife
Stephanie, and being with them for 4 days promoting the pagan pride event at 2
pagan businesses and then the main day of apgan pride was awesome. My coven
follows raven’s path and we already had a connection to him so it was easy to
ask him the hardest part was getting them here. I was pleased that we did. The
community had a great time visiting with Raven and Stephanie and loved the 2
discussions that him and Stephanie did. The worse was the heat it had to be the
hottest day of the year, the temp reached 100 that day of all days. But
otherwise everything went well.

PNC: What is the importance of having something like PPD in Iowa?

PPD: To have Pagan Pride day is to let the general public know who we are and
what we are about. Tolerance. Spirituality. Kindness. Caring. Earthy. Many
people think Iowa is boring we don’t have the controversy like other states but
we do. More so than other states. We are consider to be in the bible belt of the
Midwest so having pagan pride does let people be aware that we are here. Let
them know who we are exactly and that we are not bad folks. We want to enlighten the community on what they need or want to be enlightened with.

PNC: What is in store for 2011?

PPD: This year we have Amber K and Azrael K that will be joining us on October
1st at Union Park in Des Moines from 10 to 6. They are wonderful women and also well known for their books. We will have a belly dance troupe form Cedar Rapids.  Melissa Cox, with her beautiful voice will eb joining us as our musical guest.  We will have shopping vendors, food vendors and of course our readers. This year we will only have about 2 to 3 workshops going on instead having a workshop an hour so this way our attendees can shop more, eat more and visit with our guest.  We are also planning our 2012 PPD with a list of authors to choose from it will be hard to make this choice. But now since the Grimassis been here and gave us a great recommendations we have over 10 authors that will like to come now so I see this PPD going on for a decade at least!

PNC: How can we get involved?

PPD: Getting involved is easy. Just let us know you that you want to help out.
We always need someone to help put on a fund raiser in different parts of Iowa.
We can use people to help advertise. We always need help each year for security, clean up, welcome tables and many more spots.

PNC: On your Facebook page, I noticed that there are references to an
acquisition of land for a Pagan retreat. Can you tell us how that came about?

PPD: Yes the land we are talking about is 26 acres up by Monticello,Iowa
(Northern part of Iowa). We have a couple in the Coven of the Blessed Lady that
has willed it over to us. They want to make it into a place where pagans can go
and be way out in the open. Public parks are great but to have a place that can
be a pagan retreat where no one can see you is awesome. Something like Heartland that they have each year in MO.

PNC: Where is the land located and what is it’s intended use? Monticello,Iowa
(Northern part of Iowa).

PPD: We want it for a pagan retreat to have pagans/wiccans/druids/ all paths of
life to enjoy it. There are two things that we are looking forward to. 1) is to
have Pagan Pride Day there some day. 2) is to have a pagan meet up fest. That is
where we can have about 20 or so authors, musicians, shopping vendors and
readers come for 2 weeks or more and just have a grand ole time. Something like
they have at PSG (Pagan Spirit Gathering). Except we want it bigger. We would
like to build a few buildings for a pagan store for campers and have a few
bathrooms and showers, several places to worship – even to accommodate those
skyclad groups. There is a lot of work to be done as it used to be rented out to
farmers and now it isn’t and we just need help to get it altogether.

PNC: How can we find out more information and get involved?

PPD: There is not much info on this yet. We have advertised it through the IPP
Facebook. A lot seem interested. We need volunteers to help and get the land
ready. Maybe a few weekends and we can get it started. If anyone is interested
please contact us through Iowa Pagan Pride facebook and send us a message
through there.

Thanks to Iowa Pagan Pride for all the hard work put into the Iowa Pagan
community.

Posted by:  Crystal