We're back

Okay, troops. We're back home, just returning from three (3) wonderful festivals.
1. Sirius Rising
2. SummerFest
3. Kaleidoscope Gathering
Sirius and SummerFest occur at the back end of New York State at the site called Brushwood, between the towns of Sherman and Clymer. Kaleidoscope Gathering happens west of Ottawa, Ontario. If you live anywhere in the northeastern quadrant of the US, any one of the three can be a life-changing experience for you. Take off those whalebone stays or that celluloid collar, and dive in. You'll never look back.
To us it seemed that this year they all three exceeded themselves in being more loving and with far less friction than we have known in earlier seasons.
In some respects Kaleidoscope, at its new site of Raven's Knoll, is more of a family affair than the others. It's 60 miles west of Ottawa, Ontario; and of course being in Canada they don't have the problems we face in the States with raucous fundamentalist thinkers from an assortment of franchises, Baptist and other. Because Raven's Knoll is in a piney forest (with a river running past it), and because the summer has been very dry, we could have only one small fire. But everyone gathered around and had a good time anyway. Yes, Virginia, such an event is possible.
The fires at Brushwood more than lived up to expectations; and the very sight of 500 to 600 pagans dancing around while the Dragon burned was awe-inspiring. They broke another world record for the Guinness people, by the way: the most couples hugging for a full measured 60 seconds. This follows on with their earlier world record-breaking event of the most body-painted people on a single site in a 24-hour period.
This year everyone enjoyed the labyrinth, and the weather was good to us, in that the candles of the labyrinth did not get doused.
So what do we recommend to our readers? Wherever you live in the USA, make it your business to go on a pilgrimage and visit all three festivals. They follow week by week after one another. If you can visit only one in the US, go to Sirius itself. If you can visit only one in Canada, Kaleidoscope is a must. Each event has its own character; each is worth a visit ... or many visits as summers come and go.
Their respective contact sites:
Sirius camp@brushwood.com
SummerFest camp@brushwood.com
Kaleidoscope Gathering www.kaleidoscope-gathering.ca
We'll look forward to seeing you there.
Blessed be all. GY