Minnesota / Wisconsin Gathering 2019

Every year people, pets and various objects are lost at the gathering or people not at the gathering fear people have been lost.  Lost People Every year people go to the gathering and their loved ones worry.  Just a reminder, that while some people are getting cell reception, it varies by cell service. Plus, phone run out of batteries, get dropped in the mud, or get lost. If you haven't heard from your friends and/or family since they went into the gathering, odds are they are still down in the gathering and can't call you due to one of the above reasons. Again, on the road where the cars and cops are is the area where problems occur. We strongly recommend that people stay inside the gathering. Going in and out increases a persons risk of a negative experience with law enforcement. Again, people on the land will strongly suggest to your loved one that they stay inside the gathering until it's over. That being said, if you're going to the gathering, call y...

Thanks to a certain fiddler

Bad Tent Location - Too Close to surface water ( Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/meganpru/5914413517/ ) Lakes and other surface water provide water for animals in the area and spawning grounds for fish.  Water is the heart of the ecosystem. When folks disrespect the lake, they disrespect the land on which we gather as well as the heart of the gathering itself. While one or two people swimming in a lake can have minimal impact, when there are a few thousand of us, we can negatively impact the lake if we do not take the same precautions our local public pool requires. Tips & Tricks for protecting the lakes Grab a bucket of water and rinse off at least 300 feet away from the lake and where the water won't run back into the lake.  This helps remove sunscreens, tick repellent including natural remedies, and skin oils that are harmful to the lake and the creatures that live there. Don't pee in the lake. Do not camp within 300 feet of the lake.  Let's ...

The gathering functions as a temporary community where we practice creating the world the way we want it to exist. Not only are we creating a temporary community, but we are also creating hundreds of communities within a community. The gathering itself is a temporary community with not exactly rules, but guidelines on how to gather and create the peace we want to see on this planet. In gathering speak--these guidelines are called the “Raps.” I strongly recommend you read the raps, which you can find here  as well as the Mini Manual of Gathering Consciousness . Or read Paul's a rainbow guide. At the gathering, we have hundreds of individual camps (some small, some large) that might have their own special community standards. For example, Serenity Ridge is a camp for people in recovery so they request no smoking of any kind and no-mind altering substances of any kind (including caffeine). Tea Time is up and noisy all night long, while Kid Village tries to maintain...

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I love this video for sharing such a deeply personal experience of a first timer's gathering.

Bosnia - 2007 Circles helps us focus our energy, ensure that everyone's voice is being heard, and create a grounding for the gathering as a whole.  When good strong circles happen, the entire energy of the gathering is changed. Not only the people who participate in the circle, but all those bellies hard at work around the gathering will pick up on the positive vibrations coming from the circle and we'll all be a bit more loving, a bit more peaceful and a bit higher in spirits.  Have a problem, call a circle.  Want to share your love, call a circle.  Want to focus energy in your area, call a circle.  Having cop issues, call a circle off to the side.  When you hear the call "C I R C L E,"  please participate. If world peace is what we're after, a circle never hurts and often helps. July 4 Om in California 2004 (photo taken by Greg Van)  

One thing that goes a long way to keeping folks at a gathering healthy and safe is washing hands - a lot. And I don't mean just rubbing your hands with sanitizer, but actual biodegradable soap (Dr. Bronner's is great) and filtered or boiled water. Some awesome Rainbow engineers have designed a hand wash station that's transportable and light weight. One goal of a Rainbow hand wash station is to make it hands free, so no one picks up germs in the process of washing their hands. (A smaller setup of this same type can be used for soap dispensing). Here's a great drawing of what I'll explain in words below. Thanks TimBear (RIP). "From our experience, the primer bulb check valve can fail if the water gets trash in it. The solution we found was a small piece of filter material (like the filter from a wet vac) or fine mesh screening (a couple of layers of panty hose) around the end of the water intake. The pvc pipe allows you to direct the water where you ...

WE LOVE YOU: A Rainbow Gathering Documentary" from New Jersey Pictures on Vimeo .

As we are all starting to pack, plan for, and head towards the gathering, here are a few tips for information that will be common to any of the potential sites.   Planes, Trains, and Buses According to people out scouting, the gathering will probably be within 200 miles of Duluth, Minnesota.  Call the lightline for updates @ 651-356-8842. Planning Ahead for the North Woods Please plan on bringing jugs of drinking water. I always recommend one gallon per person to bring with you on the day you arrive for the hike in, plus leaving one gallon per person in the car, just in case. We are also asking everyone to bring a .2 Micron Filter system and be prepared to boil or filter your own water.  We have a bunch of family engineering water filtration systems for sites without elevation drops to push water, but the more self-sufficient you can be the better.  Some recommendations is to buy or build a Sawyer filter bucket system, , Katadyn filters are a...

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 par...

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 wil...

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.

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...

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? ...

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...

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...