Have an Alternative Summer!
By Royce Carlson

Summer is almost here and it’s time to plan for some alternative fun. Here are three major counter-cultural events happening this summer (or winter if you are in the Southern Hemisphere) that you will never forget:

 

The Solipse Festival – June 15 to 25. This is a special 10-day gathering in Zambia to celebrate the convergence of the solstice and a solar eclipse that is occurring at the same time. It is a festival of music, performance, peace, love and psychedelics in a beautiful park-like setting. This is the second annual festival held in this location so this is a fairly new event. It is drawing bands and attendees from around the world but mostly from South Africa. Find out more at www.Solipse.com 

The Rainbow Family Tribal Gathering – June 21 to July 4. The Rainbow Family is a non-organization with no headquarters, no hierarchy, and no official documents. The oral history of the Rainbow Family leads back to the end of the sixties and prophecy from some native American tribes that a new tribe will be born and rise in influence. It will be a tribe, not organized by race or nation-state, but of all nations and races combined – a rainbow. There are thousand of members and events worldwide. There is nowhere to sign up to be a member. If you adopt the vision and call yourself a member then you are one.

The first gathering was held in Colorado in 1972, and occurs annually between the summer solstice and July 4th in a different U.S. National Forest location each year. The government has been trying to stop these gatherings and has not succeeded yet. The lack of official leadership and the unusual decision making structure of the Rainbow Family is confusing to traditional hierarchical government people. Apparently this year, or maybe it was last year, the Rainbow Gathering was officially declared illegal. It will happen anyway. The legal stand the Rainbow people take is that the U.S. constitution guarantees our right to assemble on public land. The government stand is that the group must get a permit to assemble, which they refuse to do. Since there is no organization, who would get the permit? This battle has been going on for nearly 30 years and isn’t over yet.

This year’s gathering will be somewhere in the Washington/Idaho area. The location is not decided until late spring and not posted anywhere until after the first of June. There is more information about the Gathering and the Rainbow Family at www.welcomehome.org .

The Burning Man Festival – August 27 to September 3. The Burning Man is a 9-day festival of radical self-expression, experimental community and art. The event is held on public land in the Black Rock Desert of Northern Nevada each year. Although tickets cost upward of $150 (it’s totally worth it!) it is an almost totally non-commercial event. There are no vendors, no buying and selling (except for the Center Camp coffee bar), and no advertising is allowed (with the exception of festival events and activities). This helps create an alternative economy of gifting. Rather than the usual economy of lack - you need something so you buy it - people come to Burning Man with abundance to share.

There is more to see and do at Burning Man than you could ever take in. Dozens of large, and often participatory, art installations are placed out on the open desert. Hundreds of smaller sculptures, installations, and performances occupy theme camps throughout the city. People run around naked, painted, and dressed in wild costumes. Transportation consists of strange looking vehicles, bicycles, and other contraptions. Everyone is a participant at Burning Man - performers and audience at the same time.

Black Rock City is the name of this temporary gathering of 25,000 people. It centers around the Man, a 50-foot tall effigy in wood and neon that marks the ritual center of the community. On Saturday night, the man is set on fire and burns to the ground while the community watches the spectacle of fire and fireworks. I have been going to Burning Man since 1999 and the Zenzibar crew will be there again this year in our theme camp, The Temple of Virtual Wisdom. For more information on Burning Man visit www.burningman.com 

If you know of other alternative festivals and events, please let us know and we will list them in our Alternative Events calendar.

Have an alternative summer!