Minnesota / Wisconsin Gathering 2019

For people with special needs, ask for Handicamp - a space for people with mobility and other related disabilities with lots of folks willing to help you make the most of your gathering experience. However, keep in mind that not all people who need close in parking at Handicamp will be able to get it as the lots do fill up.  Sometimes our ability to maintain Handicamp parking is constrained by the United States Forest Service. But the situation varies year to year and even day to day. Providing access for those who need it is one of the hardest things to manage at the gathering. We often work something out, then have to change it for a variety of reasons.  My best recommendation is arrive earlier as the later you come, the more challenging the parking situation tends to become. The gathering proper can be 1/2 to 2 miles away from vehicle access and may involve hills. There is usually a drop-off point where people and gear can stage at the trail head even if parking is further out

One of the many questions that come in regards to gathering, is how to I handling menstruating at the gathering. The question really becomes what products do I use to capture my menstrual flow that does is easy to manage. The first key is that there is no trash service at the gathering. If you bring something to the gathering, then you are responsible to take it home with you.  That means planning ahead is key. Many sanitary napkins are made with petroleum based plastic products and therefore are not biodegradable.  Non-biodegradable items need to be hauled out of the gathering. And who wants petroleum products on one of the most sensitive areas of their body?  Not me! To learn more about how to select products that are biodegradable, click here .  Make sure not to buy tampons with plastic applicators. Cardboard is OK. If you purchase plant-only based biodegradable sanitary napkins, panty liners, and tampons, you can put them in the shitter where they will decompose over th

There have been a few versions of booklets that help gathering participants understand the logistics of the gathering. Where Do I Poop? is the latest?   Find the full PDF online , print out copies, and distribute when you get to the gathering.

This comes from a wonderful sister Medicine Socks bit I will add my two cents. I never support duct taping of people. Sometimes we need to restrain people to prevent them from hurting themselves or others and then rolling them up in a blanket or sleeping bag is much more loving than duct tape. If for any reason, someone is being restrained, please have a professional medical person supervising the situation so that the person's vitals can be monitored.  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ On to the guest post ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ it's been a while, i'm too old, poor and crippled to involve myself in rainbow gatherings nowadays, so this qualifies as something like armchair quarterbacking... but i was once all gung ho, a regular local folkielizer and all about dealing with the some major instances of weirded out shit that sometimes came up at the getherings i was part of...especially around kid village... so here's some shanti sena lessons i learned in the trenches first of all,

The Mini Manual has been around for decades and has seen some updates from time to time, but it contains all the basic info. This is a great document to make copies of to bring to the gathering. Everyone needs this information and accessing the Internet at a gathering is a tough thing to do. Find the Mini Manual 2014 edition online .

A message primarily for my family at the Rainbow Gathering who do not have a penis. If you're drinking enough water to stay hydrated, you're probably peeing a lot. Now when you pee, hopefully you'll be peeing behind a tree or a bush or somewhere in the woods (Not the shitter). If you're like me, you like to wipe after you pee. But then you have some slightly used toilet paper to dispose of - and NOT by burying it under two inches of duff. Some one will have to pick up that tissue - let that someone be you. I've taken to bringing extra wash clothes or bandanda to the gathering. I keep one in my day pack at all times. Then when I need to pee, I wipe with a washcloth. I put it in a plastic bag in my pack. The next day I grab a new one. The old one gets rinsed out and left to dry for a day or two. 4 or 5 wash clothes or bandanas will last me 3 weeks using this method. The other option is to carry all that used TP to the nearest shitter and toss it in. Or burn i

Updated June 11 @ 9:45 pm California time Spring Council/Circle/Counsel aka spring ccc is where the site for the 2019 gathering will be determined and gathering layout begins. There may be travel to see sites the scouts propose, lots of walking, discussion and/or consensus. All are welcome to participate in the process. Spring ccc starts June 8 and can last one day or one week.  Spring council is over. For information on the gathering, read the Howdy Folk s. Spring council directions  Take State HW 13 north through Washburn, WI. From the north end of town, about 10 miles towards Bayfield. Watch for the State Fish Hatchery on the left, go two more miles to County Road J West/Left (at the Woodside Cottages sign). Follow J about 1 mile, until the STOP sign. Go straight onto Star Route Rd, ----be aware Star Route is a windy, up and down hilly, and narrow road. Take Star Route Rd. about 3 miles, watch for Echo Valley Road on right ---slow down---after the rise in

Today's guest post comes to us from The Other Karen who lives in San Diego and is one of the regulars who plugs in at INFO each year. If you like this post, she has a blog called What Is The Rainbow Gathering . Visit it for more great information. Enjoy!  The First-Timer’s Practical Guide to the Rainbow Gathering What is the Rainbow Gathering?                                 The Rainbow Gathering is an annual free event that happens every summer on and around the week of the 4 th of July on public land in a different National Forest, in the United States of America. These Gatherings have gone on each year since the first in 1972. Since then, numerous regional and international Gatherings regularly occur in American states and in different countries around the globe. When is the Rainbow Gathering?                 The original annual Rainbow Gathering in the United States takes place officially from July 1-7 every summer, every year. There are America

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. You do not want to go to Kangaroo Court However, these tickets are not the type of citation you would probably receive for any of these issues in your hometown. These are Federal mandatory court appearance tickets. There will be special cour

OK.  I dropped the ball on this. Folks seem to be at the rendezvous location today (Tuesday, May 7) near Tiple and will be there until tomorrow morning. If you are out scouting and don't know where this is, email me and I'll give you a phone number to call.

People who participate in Rainbow Gatherings have a written a number of raps over the years that you can find on Bliss-Fire . The raps help distill collective wisdom on how to have a fun, safe and memorable gathering. If you're a first time gatherer, or still in the fog about gathering logistics, here's some great links to time tested gathering information. The Mini Manual is a great how to plan a gathering, how to be safe at the gathering and how to keep yourself and the rest of the gathering healthy. Rap 107 is the short version on gathering safety - learn it, know it, live it.  Print out extra copies to share with folks at the gathering. Not sure what to bring, check out the awesome Turtle guide . If you've never camped before, remember the golden rule:   Bring every good thing. If it ain’t on this list, consider leaving it home. If in doubt, leave it out. ‘Cuz if you bring it in, you gotta bring it out. And well, dang! You just might be surprised how litt

If you plan on driving, make sure your car and driver is 100% legal-all lights work, valid insurance and registration, seatbelts, car seats for children. Our government assumes that we are criminals. Please try to arrive during daylight hours as the roads into gathering sites can be tricky and we want you to arrive home safely. If you can make space in your vehicle for a rider or you need a ride, ride share is happening at your local craistlist.org or on Facebook . Please note there are multiple places on the internet where ride share can take place. Explore on your own but make sure to read the following recommendations. If you will be sharing a ride, please meet the folks you'll be riding with at a local coffee shop, make sure you feel comfortable traveling a long distance with them, and establish the ground rules. If you are coming via bus, plane or train, try to connect up with a ride from your destination before you get there. If you are planning on hitchhiking, please tra

Enjoy this beautiful invite. Artwork and design by Drew Jones, words contributed by Michael Loye and many unnamed gathering participants. Beauty created through collaboration.